Thanks to Alan and Suzanne for this sailing update. In their own words. Ed
After the wettest June in the UK since records began and an equally rainy July, the weather looks set fair for a few days.
This coincides with the start of racing at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup and those with the larger heavier boats may find conditions not to their liking. Have the selectors made the correct choice of boats for their teams? After the final race at the end of the week we will know who got the tactics right.
Local knowledge will pay off
Jamie McWilliam, one of the co-owners of the Hong Kong team’s Ker 40 Peninsula Signal 8 had mixed feelings about the overdue arrival of the British summer.
“Lighter breezes and sunshine would be very welcome after the “summer” we’ve seen so far, but obviously this will make Hong Kong’s task more difficult as local knowledge can really pay off in the light stuff “ he said.
Peninsula Signal 8 is one of several boats to have been out honing their skills recently with the Hong Kong team big boat competing on McWilliam’s home waters at Cork Week.
Revealing potential
Back in the Channel, in last weekend’s Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race, the French team made a clear indication of their Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup potential. Olivier Pesci’s Grand Soleil 40, Beelzebuth 3, came out as the top overall boat in the provisional results with Herve Borgoltz’ Grand Soleil 44 R, Eleuthera, and the J/122, Nutmeg IV, of Francois Lognone, 11th and 13th overall respectively.
Team GBR Red has undergone a re-branding since announcement of their selection. Mike West’s A-35 Eaujet is now to be skippered by Paul Worswick. This boat will now be called CNBC, after the team secured backing from the Consumer News and Business Channel.
Racing underway
After a Skipper’s Briefing and an Opening Party at the Royal Yacht Squadron, racing got underway for the seven three boat teams at 1030 on Sunday with two inshore races. Jamie Matheson, Executive Chairman of Brewin Dolphin was introduced to the teams at the opening party saying he had brought the good weather from Scotland with him.
Much to the delight of competitors and organisers alike, Mediterranean conditions prevailed on the Solent on Sunday as the Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup began with two windward-leeward races held between Hill Head and Gilkicker Point in a 6-10 knot southeasterly.
Underdog led the way
After two races it is not the British A team, but the supposed British underdog team, GBR Black, that is leading after a consistent performance across their three boats, all finishing within the top eight of the 21 boat fleet.
In GBR Black, Mike and Seb Blair’s King 40 Cobra was the third best individual performer of the day. The best individual boat performance of the day came from the Hong Kong team’s EFG Bank Mandrake, better known in the UK as RORC Commodore Mike Greville’s Erivale.
Chartered by Nick Burns and Fred Kinmonth, EFG Bank Mandrake posted a 3-5 today, just beating Neil Kipling’s J/122 Joopster, in GBR White, by a point. At the end of day one, France holds third place behind GBR Black and GBR Red, 14.5 points off the lead.
For the week
Today (Monday) all the boats set off for the offshore race, designed to be 24-36 hours long, its scoring weighted by a 2.5x co-efficient.
On Wednesday there is a single inshore race, two more inshores on Thursday, a Round the Isle of Wight race on the Friday, with a 1.5x co-efficient and a single inshore race rounds off the series on Saturday.
