Another fine and sunny day was predicted for the final day of Cowes Week, but the light gradient north-westerly wind was predicted to fade to zero during the morning, before being replaced by a gentle sea breeze.

"We don't see any point in starting races today in the dying north-westerly," Stuart Quarrie, CEO of Cowes Week explained after the race team's early-morning briefing. "But we are hopeful that the sea breeze will fill in before 13:00, enabling us to get racing in during the best winds of the day." By mid morning the north-westerly wind at the Bramble was down to less than four knots, making the decision not to start classes in the dying breeze look like a good call.

At 12:30 race officials were still hanging onto the hope of the sea breeze appearing in time for racing to start. By the final decision time of 13:00 the direction at the Bramble swung to south-west and started to climb from two knots to four-five knots. This gave race officials the confidence to go for a start sequence commencing at 14:00.

The starts got away in just four to six knots of wind, and a building west-going tide. However, after 1500 the sea breeze gradually built from the west to give 8-10 knots. With the larger Black Group yachts racing in the western Solent they enjoyed champagne sailing conditions in almost unbroken sun. However, some White Group courses had to be shortened to ensure at least one boat finished before the 17:00 time limit.

A classic finale

Black Group was given a classic finish along The Green, with the light winds and strong tide encouraging competitors to get close inshore. In the run-up to 16:00, a huge mass of boats across all Black Group classes approached the line, giving the finishing teams a tough challenge and photographers big grins as competitors gybed repeatedly within a stone's throw of the shore.

Two Farr 45s finished at the top of IRC Class 1, with Ange Neilson's Fortis Excel beating Tony Langley's Atomic by just 61 seconds. Finishing between them was one of the smallest boats in Black Group - Philip Williams' Folkboat Tattarat, winner of today's IRC Class 6 race. Bob Metherell's Hunter Pilot 27 won the ISC Rating System class, with a very different boat, Colin Hall's Oyster 53 taking second.

All but two of the White Group classes were scheduled to race on the final day of the regatta, and in many of these there were still tight battles at the top of the leaderboard. Race officers opted for a five-minute starting sequence in order to get the fleets away as quickly as possible. However, two minutes before the scheduled Daring start many were still on moorings, so another postponement was called to give them time to get to the line, delaying the sequence by 10 minutes.

Defender on the attack

The top of the Daring class has seen a tight battle between Giles Peckham / Milo Carver's Dauntless and Scott Macleod's Defender all week. With only two points separating these boats, a win in today's race could still have seen Macleod take the overall title.

Peckham and Carver led the fleet at the start gun, opting for the offshore end of the line, nearest Beta. Almost every boat in the fleet had spinnakers up before the start, but all were making slow progress against the tide - even Dauntless didn't reach Beta until 20 seconds after the gun.

Starting closer to shore, James Tew's Darius was also well-placed on the line. She took a different strategy to most of the fleet, heading inshore out of the strongest tide. This also kept her wind clear and 10 minutes into the race she had a sizeable lead on the next boat in this part of the fleet, Brian Hardy's Destroyer.

A larger group, however, was heading further offshore, taking an early hit in the west-going tide, but hoping to reach the slower stream near the Bramble Bank quickly, as well as chasing the better wind in the mid Solent.

When the course was shortened at Hamble Yacht Services, Dauntless was again out in front, with Defender second and Audax third. The overall podium ranking was unchanged by today's result, with this trio of boats taking the top places.

A close shave

The fiercest battle of the day was at the front of the J/80 class, where the top seven boats went into the final race separated by just six points.

Sam Atkins' Exwuss and Neil Stevenson's J Caramba were the closest boats to the line, but started at opposite ends, with Atkins near Beta, and Stevenson closest to the shore. Stevenson, who was gybing through big angles inshore, looked to be making best progress in the initial stages of the race. Meanwhile, Atkins was suffering in the stronger stream and was passed by first by Tim French's Jabberwocky and then by Gordon Craigen's Juicy.

At this stage in the race the top three boats overall - Hoolingkazan, Team Baltic and Jane - weren't making great progress, leaving their narrow lead vulnerable.

Today's finishing order was Juicy, followed by Rob and Jon Fox's Jevan, then Brian Charlesworth's Alamara B. Hoolingkazan finished fourth to retain the overall lead by two points. However, Juicy and Jevan's podium finishes in the final race moved both two places up the overall leaderboard, to take second and third places respectively.

The overall result in the Swallow class also depended on today's result, with Charles Fisher and Richard Thompson's Migrant leading Anthony Lunch's Solitude by one point. Harry Roome's Skua was lying third, just three points behind Lunch. Migrant and Paul Ward's Cockersootie looked best placed as they headed away from today's start, but by the finish Skua had a comfortable lead over Solitude and Migrant, with the latter retaining her overall class lead by one point.

13-year-old Fred Warren-Smith, the second-youngest skipper in the regatta, made a solid start in the Squib class and held the lead when the course was shortened at Hill Head. Andy Hough's Halycon was second and Stephen Porter's Polyphagus third, a result that left him tied on points at the top of the overall results list with Bob Cheek's Buccaneer. Cheek won the class overall on countback, with Christopher Gear's Osprey third.

Warren-Smith took fourth place overall, just one point behind Gear. With four first places in eight races, this young skipper is certainly one to keep an eye on next year.