This morning at the RORC’s new Cowes clubhouse, a select cross-section of competitors in this Sunday’s Rolex Fastnet Race shared their observations about the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s biennial 600 mile flagship event. By way of introduction, RORC CEO Eddie Warden Owen said he was delighted with the record-sized fleet of 370. “We thought that…
A damp morning, with challenging winds around the rain clouds, failed to squash spirits at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week today. The weather cleared during the afternoon, giving competitors a chance to dry out while enjoying post-race drinks and a display by the RAF’s Red Arrows aerobatic team brought to the event by Artemis Investment…
With no wind predicted for the Solent area today racing for all classes was abandoned. “It was really unfortunate to lose a day’s racing,” says race director Stuart Quarrie, “but with no wind there was no other option. We waited until 1100 to see if any zephyrs from the north-east might build into a sailable…
With Cowes Week in full swing and with a 2nd and a 3rd already in the bag, the racing duo of Pip Hare and Ashley Harris are feeling buoyed up on board Cazenove Capital Management. The weather last weekend was amazing and the blistering hot sunshine has left the pair without much of a thought as…
After two brilliantly sunny days this morning saw increasing cloud over the Solent, accompanied by a band of rain that provided competitors with interesting and challenging wind shifts. While Black Group yachts in the Western Solent saw winds of up to 17 knots, the smaller White Group dayboats that were competing in the eastern Solent…
The second day of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week delivered perfect conditions, with bright sun and decent winds. A west-south westerly breeze built gradually through the day to give gusts approaching 20 knots by early afternoon. With 30-degree wind shifts at times, accompanied by big gusts and lulls, there was plenty to challenge competitors. For…
The opening day of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week was bathed in unbroken sunshine, with a fickle breeze that saw racing postponed for two hours. Shortly after 1100 the first signs of a fitful east-south-easterly appeared off Cowes, but the big question was how long it would take to become established as a consistent sea…
With a record-sized fleet of 335 in the running, the question ‘who will win the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race’ on handicap is a tough one. As ever, the corrected time prize is raced under IRC, which this year aims to equalise a fleet as diverse as Jim Clark and Kristy Hinze Clark’s VPLP-Verdier 100 Comanche…
The Royal Yacht Squadron’s Bicentenary International regatta is complete. “Four seasons in one week,” was the apt summary from crew member Richard Mason of Dorade of Monday’s gales, and a gradual wind reduction to the windless afternoon that ended the regatta today. Mike Broughton, navigator on Jethou explained the conditions in the Western Solent. “We…
Today was a day where local knowledge was the winning advantage for the races ‘around the cans’ for the J Class and Maxi Yachts along with the IRC classes at the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Bicentenary International Regatta. While they battled it out on long Solent Race courses, however, there were some equally fierce competitions going…
