2008 British Classic Yacht Club Regatta Day 2

by Justin Chisholm on 23 Jul 2008
The second day of the 2008 British Classic Yacht Club Regatta in Cowes dawned sunny but windless, resulting in a postponement of the start of the Ladies Race. Given the long day on the water yesterday, most crews were appreciative of the extra time for a leisurely breakfast and a little more sleep. The more active competitors headed for the RCYC to find out the results of the previous day’s Round the Island race.

Yesterday’s course was split into two races – from the start to St Catherine’s Point and another from St Catherine’s to the finish off the RCYC line.

In the hotly contested Class Zero, after much discussion about who had and who had not sailed the correct course, victory in Race 1a was awarded to Mariette with Tuiga taking second and The Lady Anne in third. The second part of the race was won by Tuiga followed by The Lady Anne and Mariquita.

In Class Two, despite being first home of all the fleets on the water, Guy Ribadeau Dumas’s 12 Metre Wings had to settle for second place in Race 1a behind David Murrin’s Cetewayo. Clive Emerson’s Lutine took third in both legs and The Earl of Cork and Orrery & D Glasgow’s Athena took second in Race 1b.

The Class Three winner for Race 1a was David Messum’s Josephine ahead of Charm of Rhu owned by Martin Thomas with C van Rijckevorsel’s Sensa taking third.

Class Four Race 1a was won by Roger Dann on Leonie with Lance Rowell’s Dorothy in second and Alan Stannah’s Sally of Kames third. Dorothy stepped up a gear to win race 1b ahead of Chris & Liz Day’s Thendara second and Kees van der Klugt’s Tiger C third.

Today as noon approached the postponement flags were still flying and the BCYC Commodore Tim Blackman sagely commented ‘We are now approaching the tipping point. If we don’t go out on the water soon then the lure of the pubs and bars of Cowes might prove too much for the sailors’. Accordingly, at around 1230 the fleet made their move, away from temptation, out on to the Solent to wait and hope for breeze to fill in. After a short wait, they were rewarded with the arrival of a steady thermal breeze which quickly built to around sixteen knots, producing sailing champagne conditions for the Ladies Race. Many of the lady skippers had fully entered into the spirit of the day and were decked out in finery equalling the beauty of the yachts in their charge.
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Aboard Lance Rowell’s 1894 Thames Rater Dorothy the crew were still on a high from the previous day’s racing. Lance’s daughter Ali explains ‘We are really happy because not only did we win the second leg of the race yesterday but this is the first time that Dorothy had made it successfully around the Island in four attempts. She is the oldest boat in our class and was built for the flat water of the Thames so she doesn’t really behave herself in the waves that you usually get on a Round the Island race. Yesterday we struggled a bit on the first half of the race where it was a bit bumpy but we still managed to be second on corrected at St Catherine’s. On the last leg in from the Needles we set our gennaker and just flew home. The only downside of the race was that it needed to be a bit warmer for proper bikini weather’.

Helming Dorothy in today’s Ladies Race was Ali’s close friend Jenny Deyes who told us that she only gets the chance to helm once each year. ‘We had a really bad start and first beat, but when we tuned downwind we picked up loads of places. One of our problems was that we don’t have any instruments on board, so our navigation, if you can call it that, was a bit shaky. We didn’t get lost but we sailed a bit further on the tide than we needed to. We didn’t have any problems with sail handling but we got involved with the Oyster regatta boats at one point. Rounding a buoy in close quarters with a sixty footer when we are only thirty-three foot was a bit hairy’. Dorothy finished a creditable fifth in Class Four.

Taking third in Class Four was Roger Dann’s beautiful 1953 Lion Class Leonie, with Caroline Ross at the helm. ‘Caroline did very well for us today and admirably put up with us shouting at her’ said Roger. ‘She only helms sporadically and more often than not it is in a Laser 4000 which is nothing like our boat’. Leonie got a great start and was leading her class around the first mark.

Dann described their race ‘Conditions were perfect for racing. We had plenty of wind and the sun was shining. We had a great battle with the other Lion Class - Patrick Moreton’s Twilight and also Barrie Martin’s A Day at the Races’. Leonie was lucky to be racing at all today having run hard aground during yesterday’s race. ‘We were trying to get into the shallows to get the advantageous tide near Albert Fort when we overcooked it a little and were stuck fast on a falling tide. It took a rib to pull off in the end’ commented a philosophical Dann.

Aboard the replica Bristol Pilot Cutter Polly Agatha Sally Finnamore was helming for her first time in a race. ‘We finished last in Class Three but we had great fun’ she told us. ‘I am massively competitive and the boys had to keep me reigned in on the mark roundings. We did pass three boats at one buoy though and we did lots of overtaking downwind too’.

Results of the Ladies Race:

Class Two:
1st Cetewayo
2nd Ilderim
3rd Quiver V

Class Three:
1st Clarion of Wight
2nd Charm of Rhu
3rd Sensa

Class Four:
1st Sinbad of Abersoch
2nd Sally of Kames
3rd Leonie

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This evening, in the last of the sunshine, the yacht’s crews enjoyed a barbeque with a ‘Naughtical’ theme at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. The fancy dress outfits were as bizarre as they were entertaining but the conversation was all about another great day of classic yacht racing in Cowes.

Racing continues for all fleets tomorrow (Wednesday 23 July) when Classes Two through Four will start at 1000 and sail two races. Class Zero boats are scheduled for one race starting at 1200 from the Royal Yacht Squadron line.

As results, press releases and photographs become available during the regatta they will be posted on the RCYC website at www.rcyc.co.uk . Video from the start of the Class Zero boats on Monday and other images captured at the regatta can be found on the Offshore Rules website at www.offshorerules.com .