News - 2014

18:32 Tuesday 5 Aug 2014 Sue Pelling/CWLDay 4 quotes

Photo – Rick Tomlinson/CWL

Squib

Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey, overall winners of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2013, are on form again this week. With two firsts and a second place from the 30 strong fleet, they are currently leading the Squib class in Lady Penelope. Hutchings commenting on today’s race, said:

“We may be leading overall at this stage but the second placed boat – Aquabat – has two seconds and a third, so nothing in this fleet is certain. We had more wind out there than expected because it was up to 15kts, which meant we were hiking and had some good reaches. We only had one very short beat on the course so it became a bit processional. The leading boat – Squibo – made a navigational error, which allowed us to sneak through. Otherwise I don’t think we’d have made it. We are having the best fun because it is just a fantastic regatta.”

XOD

Team Lass is currently leading the XOD fleet overall with an impressive score of two firsts and two seconds from the 80-strong fleet.

Skipper John Tremlett commenting from the Island Sailing Club this afternoon, said: “We had a good breeze 12-15kts which was very sailable, and a good first beat but very processional from then on. The reach across from the mainland shore to Gurnard was interesting with a huge amount tide so a lot of place changing went on. We were lucky because we were comfortably in the lead but others were taking underneath the layline and trying to get across and getting mixed up in the tide. We extended our lead, put the spinnaker up and headed for the line. Job done.”

Sportsboat

Howard Steavenson and his son Tom on the new Ovington-built VX1 made their long 360-mile trip from the north-east worthwhile with a win in the Sportsboat class today.

Former International 14 sailor, Steavenson from Tynemouth Sailing Club, who hasn’t been sailing for two and half years due to a serious leg operation, is back on form.

“We had a fantastic race and we are really enjoying sailing on The Solent on our new boat. To be honest, our win today was down to my son who does the main, jib, spinnaker up and down, and he does the navigation. All I do is steer and fall over on the tacks.”

IRC 5

After many years of trying, Nick Munday from Royal Southern Yacht Club sailing his J/97 Induljence with his son Adam and team finally won a Cowes Week race. There win today puts them in a respectable second place overall with four races to go. Nick commented: “We had a fantastic day. At the 39^th attempt and only a few hundred grand later we finally nailed it at Cowes. Off to celebrate now.”