AAM Cowes Week – FAST40+ Race Circuit – Tenacity pays for Pace

by Fast40 Class on 10 Aug 2016 Johnny Vincent's British Ker40+ Pace is now the fourth team to have claimed victory in the FAST40+ Class at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week after a tenacious comeback to win a tricky light airs race.

A fast reaching send off, towards the Eastern Solent, added an extra spice at the start. Sir Keith Mills' Ker40+ Invictus was called over the line at the start, and did not return to re-start correctly, and was therefore disqualified. Bill Coates Texan Ker 43 Otra Vez was second to Pace, by just 31 seconds on corrected time. Peter Morton's British Carkeek 40+ Girls on Film was third and retains the lead for the regatta. Today's race winner Pace moves up to second overall, Otra Vez to third and Invictus slips down to fourth.

“We knew we had it all to do after a terrible start, we were eighth around the first mark and in that situation it is easy for heads to drop, but the crew know our tactician Jeremy (Robinson) never gives up and that I am as stubborn as a mule. We kept going and waited for our chance and when it came we took it. Near the end of the race, we saw boats hitting a wind hole and picked a line around them and got through. Call it luck, call it what you like but it was our chance and we got it because we didn't give up and we sailed extremely well as a team to recover from the start to be there for that chance.

Five races and four winners, that shows what this class is all about. My previous boat was a TP52 and at the time, it was the boat to have. When the FAST40+ Class was forming, I went to a meeting at the Royal Thames and when it was time to commit eleven hands went up and we knew we had something going. Personally, it is wonderful to be racing again with my old team, and that is our strength coming in as a new boat. It is fantastic to be racing in this class at Cowes Week.”

There was a strong performance today from Tony Dickin's British GP42 Jubilee scoring a fourth. Mike Bartholomew's South African GP42 Tokoloshe led in the early part of the race but finished fifth to retain that position for the regatta. James Neville's British JV42 INO was sixth.

Racing in the FAST40+ Class at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week continues tomorrow. The Britannia Cup is awarded to the winner of the class nominated by the Royal Yacht Squadron and this year the FAST40+ Class has that honour and will race for the coveted trophy tomorrow.

In 1950, Sir Peter Scott suggested to King George VI that larger yachts should compete for a new trophy as it was felt that the America's Cup could not be restarted after the war. It was time for another competition of international significance to be introduced. King George was in favour and presented a trophy to the Royal Yachting Association, naming it the The Britannia Cup. It certainly acted as a stimulus to big boat racing after the war. This competition also gave points towards the Admiral's Cup.