Will Heritage (14), Young Skipper’s Trophy, and Flying 15 class, Freddie Flintoff (Flying 15)
“We are new to the class so to come here and win our class, and the Young Skipper’s Trophy is really, really good. I have learnt a lot this week too. Although we are local sailors, the courses we had took us to lots of different areas on The Solent, so we learnt about new tidal streams and conditions. I also learnt a lot about sailing with masses of other boats around.
“If I could offer any one else some advice on competing at Cowes Week, it would be to pace yourself. It is a really long week and if you have tough condition you get worn out really quickly.”
“I’ll hopefully be back next year to defend my title, although I still have plenty of time [11 years] for a chance to win the Young Skipper’s Trophy again.”
Malcolm Hutchings, Lady Penelope (Squib)
“We are delighted to have won our class for the fifth year in a row, particularly as we did it with a race to spare. As we have learnt in the past, doing well at Cowes Week is all about consistency.
“It was by no means easy though given the strength of competition, with some new faces in the fleet including the Rileys on Brimstone, and the Grogans. The conditions were also tricky this year, probably more tricky than I’ve ever known but that is all part of the challenge, and the reason we enjoy competing at Cowes Week so much.”
Shaun Frohlich, Exabyte V (Etchells)
“Having won with a race to spare, we had no pressure out there today. We had a cracking start but it didn’t end too well. We lost out when we went too far inshore towards Newtown Creek hoping to pick up the predicted sea breeze. We gained a lot by doing that, but the sea breeze didn’t appear and those further out benefited from the gradient breeze that filled in. We had a good sail though and we are delighted with our overall performance.
“Our crew, which includes David Bedford and Duncan Truswell, has sailed together for a long time now so we work well as a team. We won the nationals earlier this year and our time spent at Cowes Week this year is really good training for next year’s Etchells world championship on The Solent.”
For earlier news stories, as well as results, videos and photographs from previous years, visit our comprehensive Regatta Archive.