News - 2014

12:30 Friday 9 May 2014 CWLTips from the 2013 Winners of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week

In preparation for the 2014 regatta, Sue Pelling extracts some useful tips from last year’s overall winners.

With 800 plus boats competing in 40 different classes at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, a class win is a huge achievement. To win Black or White Group overall – beating all other class wins in each group – is probably one of the biggest accomplishments a racing sailor could ever hope for. Imagine therefore, what it would feel like to win overall at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week?

For East Coast sailors Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey sailing their 12-year-old Squib Lady Penelope last year, it was the biggest surprise of their life. They knew they’d won their class and White Group overall, but when they went on stage to collect their trophies they discovered they’d won the Aberdeen Asset Management Overall Winner Trophy too.

Chatting about what makes a winner at this sort of regatta,

Hutchings said: “Without doubt it is having a good crew. Andy [Ramsey], is always spot on at the front of the boat, and in a challenging regatta such as Cowes Week, a good crew is what makes all the difference.”

A modest Ramsey said while he agrees a good crew is important, preparation and good communication are key.

 Hutchings and Ramsey’s top tips for White Group competitors:

• Ensure your boat is in good working order. If you think something may need replacing, or is showing signs of wear, replace it.
• Splitting roles, with the helmsman in charge of boat speed and tactics, and the crew in charge of navigation, mark/wind shift spotting, really works.
• Try to arrive at the boat an hour before your start. Be aware that you will only receive your course via text 10 minutes before the start, so you need to have everything prepared beforehand to leave yourself time to concentrate on the course.
• Tune in to Cowes Radio and listen carefully for start/course updates.
• Tidal preparation is really important. Study tidal charts and keep an eye on what’s happening in other starts before you set off. Be aware that the tide may turn before your start.
• Know your boat speed settings, and set up your boat taking into account tidal conditions.
• Work out where the first mark is as you will not be able to see it.
• To avoid an OCS, err on the side of caution. It pays every time.

Last year’s Black Group winner, Adam Gosling, and his super-hot team on his Corby 36 Yes!, say they will be back this year to defend their title. Gosling is no stranger to this regatta having competed on 26 consecutive occasions. After so many years of experience he says to be in with a winning chance, it is important to keep a good balance between the socials and the sailing. “Too much of either is a bad thing.”

Gosling’s top tips for Black Group competitors:

• Practice – prepare for all points of sailing in all wind strengths, including running starts.
• Prepare – print out The Solent racing marks chart and learn where the marks are before the event. Prepare for the tides before you leave the dock. Graham Sunderland's Winning Tides book makes great bedtime reading pre Cowes Week. Get the boat properly prepared the weekend before. Do remember you have to sail with the same set of sails for the series so check they are up to eight days of varied conditions. Also think about the number of spinnakers. You might need a different reaching one. The extra rating hit might be worth it (we think so).
• Race – To prevent course errors, have two people take down the course. Transfer the course to the chart, and make sure one course chart stays on the rail, and the other is in the cockpit so everyone knows where to go. It's a long series, try not to get involved with little boat-on-boat battles, and do your best not to get involved in protests because it is a waste of a good evening.
• Crew – Ideally keep the same crew for the week because I find consistency make for an easy life.

The early bird period for entries ends at midnight on Monday 26th May so submit your entry now to make sure you meet the deadline!