News

12:55 Saturday 6 Aug 2016 Rupert Holmes/CWL1300 update - a great day for racing

Perfect conditions for racing on the Solent

After a two-hour postponement while waiting for a solid sea breeze to fill in, there’s now a perfect 12-14 knots of wind in the Solent, along with unbroken sun, making for perfect racing conditions.

The start sequences are now well under way, with the early White Group classes starting on the Royal Yacht Squadron line enjoying a spirited short-tacking battle in the favourable tidal eddy close inshore, followed by a fast spinnaker reaching leg across to the north shore.

Among the larger yachts in Black Group, the fast40+ class was the first of the Black Group classes starting on the Bramble line. Although scheduled to start at 1240, a general recall in this hugely competitive new class meant it didn't get away until 1300.

The first finishers in White Group are expected to reach the Shrape line off East Cowes around 1440. Black Group yachts, led by the largest boats in the regatta, those in IRC Class 0 that are competing for the coveted 119-year-old Queen’s Cup, are expected to begin finishing on the Royal Yacht Squadron line around 1515.