News - 2017

13:05 Tuesday 1 Aug 2017 Rupert Holmes/CWLDay 4 - lunchtime update

It’s another perfect day on the Solent with champagne sailing conditions. All classes have now competed their starting sequence and at mid-day the central Solent was bathed in glorious sun and packed with boats. The Redwing fleet tacking west after their start, and Solent Sunbeams running back under spinnaker towards the eastern Solent, were closest to the Island shore.

Further out were the big boats in Cruiser Division A, including the X-55 Pioneer Lutine, also tacking to the west after their start from the Bramble line. At the same time the Fast40+ fleet was flying downwind, planing fast under their giant asymmetric spinnakers and gybing slickly in the few gaps among the various other fleets.

In White Group the Etchells class has already finished on the Shrape line off East Cowes. The finishing sequence will continue here until around 1600, when the back markers in the XOD fleet will be finishing. The Black Group yachts finishing on the Royal Yacht will approach from the east, with the first classes expected around 1300. The last boats finishing here are predicted to be the slower entries in IRC Classes 4 and 5 around 1530-1600.