Telegraph journalist Kate Lavern, provides daily news roundups for Skandia Cowes Week and VentnorBlog have permission to reproduce her reports here for the benefit of our readers. Ed
The third day of Skandia Cowes Week belonged to the cannonball crews as perfect sailing conditions propelled the fleet round their courses at breakneck speed.
In the TP52 class, crews reported sustained runs in excess of 22 knots as a consistent Force 5 south westerly pushed the boats to their limits and gave them an exhilarating surf through the Solent.
A tantalising battle is developing between the front runners of IRC Class Zero, though Niklas Zennstrom posted his third win of the week in Ran with Charles Dunstone’s Rio, finishing just 27 secs behind having registered a fourth and a fifth at the weekend.
“I think we got lucky,” said Charles Dunstone, Rio’s owner who is driving the boat himself.
“The guys on Ran sail the boat very well. Yesterday we trawled our kite and the day before we got something round the rudder but today we were luckier.
“We will be doing our best to win this week. We are good in the wind and the forecast is for more wind but it is still a big hill to climb.”
Victorious Louise Morton faces new threat
Dunstone’s navigator Peter Morton was keeping a close eye on the Quarter Tonner class, where his wife Louise was putting in a blinder of a performance on her 1980 Bruce Farr designed Espada.
For the past two days, she has been runner up to Howard Sellar’s Bullet but today she stormed past the Faroux boat, winning by almost four minutes.
Next year, Louise will have another mighty contender to fend off. Her husband, who won the 2007 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Championships on Espada has himself bought a Quarter Tonner and as part of the classes’ glorious revival, plans to restore her this winter and campaign her next summer.
Tuffers takes a spin in Juno
Phil Tufnell, the former England cricketer and King of the Jungle, was aboard the Farr 65 Spirit of Juno watching the racing in the new Ondeck 65/68 class, which in its inaugural year has attracted a field of 15 contenders, including five Farr 65s and ten Clipper 68 boats.
These boats, which are extremely user friendly for even the most novice of crews, have been made available for folk who want to ‘rock up and race’ at Skandia Cowes Week and enjoy a taste of what this event is all about.
Only seven were competing yesterday and it was Spirit of Isis with two professional crew and ten clients who completed their course first, crossing the line 90 secs ahead of sister ship Spirit of Diana.
Debutant West heads up the fleet
Bill West, the former marketing director at Skandia Life, now Skandia, and the man who famously introduced the company to the Cowes Week Regatta, is competing at Cowes for the first time in his life.
His J/109 Jo Jo Gunne, which he sails out of Lymington has produced a range of results since the first race on Saturday when he came eighth. Yesterday he posted a 22nd but today he was back in the mix with a 12th and the bit between his teeth.
Also moving up through the fleet is Matt Boyle whose results in his J/109 Shiva have steadily improved culminating in today’s win by more than three minutes with Jambo – one of four from the Royal Yacht Squadron boats focussing on training for crews under 25 – in second, and Brian Morton’s Juke Box in third.
Royal honours for Hunter 707 crew
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was on the RYS platform this morning and played his part in setting the course for the Hunter 707s using the new software that has replaced the string and pin system of old.
The 13.19nm course – RYS, Fastnet Insurance, RYA Yachtmaster, Williams Shipping, Burges Salmon, Gales HSB, RYS was presented to him for examination and was personally signed off by him before it was sent out via SMS to the competitors.
His race was won again by Betty, which has been superbly campaigned by Jon Powell and his girlfriend Sarah Norbury, editor of Practical Boat Owner. Their winning margins, this one by more than four minutes over The Ant Hill Mob and Paul Curtis’ Sparkle have been emphatic.
Daisy, the 85 year old Solent Sunbeam that competed in its first regatta at Cowes continues to impress, missing out by an agonising six secs on a class win to back-up his victory yesterday. She was beaten again by Roger Wickens’s Danny but the 85th anniversary skirmish is shaping up to be a humdinger.
Alinghi take title
There was more drama in the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week when JP Morgan Asset Management capsized. Her skipper Shirley Robertson, who is due to fly out to Beijing to commentate on the Olympics tonight had surrendered the helm to the talented Paul Campbell-James but his bid for honours resulted in a broken rig and a second to last place in the series.
Alinghi finished second in the final double points race today, which was enough to secure them victory ahead of Team Origin, who in the end trailed the leaders by five points.
But Rob Greenhalgh and crew retain the Overall iShares Cup Extreme 40 Series title at the halfway point of the European series. Holmatro sailed well to hang on to third place but it was Alinghi skipper Ed Baird who received the garland at the prize-giving.
Skandia team up with the EMT for a ‘Voyage of Discovery’
Skandia have today announced where some of their attention will be turned when the association with Cowes Week comes to an end after this year’s regatta.
Skandia have teamed up with the Ellen MacArthur Trust to sponsor a special Round Britain ‘Voyage of Discovery’ for children recovering from cancer. Starting in Cowes in May 2009, the Scarlett Oyster the charity’s dedicated yacht, will visit 20 ports around the UK and finish up back in Cowes in September.
Around 100 children in all will take part in the voyage and they will be joined on some of the legs by Dame Ellen MacArthur herself and also by Shirley Robertson.
