Several class winners have secured victory with a day to spare at North Sails Cowes Week, after light, unpredictable winds made for a demanding penultimate day of racing for the 641 boats competing on the Solent.
Thursday’s racing, which coincided with Royal Navy Day, had been expected to benefit from a reasonably solid north-westerly wind.
However, warmer-than-forecast conditions left the breeze full of holes, while the tide continued to build from the west, creating a difficult day for tacticians, sail trimmers and helms.
The 8 dayboat classes starting from the committee vessel in Osborne Bay tackled courses of between 12 and 15 miles, taking them across the Bramble Bank and the mouth of Southampton Water.
Larger boats starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line faced longer courses stretching as far west as Lymington.
There was drama in the XOD Class as Tim Copsey, John Tremlett and Fraser Graham aboard Astralita were knocked out of the battle for overall honours after being disqualified for being OCS before the second start, following an earlier general recall.
Lone Star, sailed by Phil Lawrence, David King and Nick Froud, took another second place to secure the Captains’ Cup with a day to spare.
The crew have finished inside the top 2 throughout the week in the 59-boat fleet, with Lone Star also leading the White Group overall ahead of the final day.
Hong Kong’s Beau Geste, owned by Karl Kwok, claimed the New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup and has dominated IRC Class 0 with 6 consecutive victories.
There was similar dominance in the Sigma 33 class, where Toby Gorman and the crew of Stan The Boat have secured an unassailable lead after also recording 6 straight wins.
Sam Laidlaw’s BLT has achieved the same feat in the Quarter Ton class, with 6 victories from 6 races ensuring the boat will repeat its class-winning performance from last year.
BLT is also well placed to take the overall Black Group title.
Other classes remain firmly in the balance ahead of the final day.
In the Mermaid class, Sirena, sailed by Anthony Eaton and crew, holds a strong advantage despite not recording a race victory so far.
Three second-place finishes have helped the crew build their lead, although Ben Few Brown’s Halluf remains in contention.
The Swallow class, which returned to Cowes Week last year after a 10-year absence, is also set for a final-day showdown.
Nigel Masding and Hugo Fisher aboard Svala hold a narrow advantage over Osprey, sailed by James Hartley and crew, with nobody else now able to catch the leading pair overall.
Former Cowes Combined Clubs chairman Peter Taylor won Thursday’s Sunbeam Class race by just over 2 minutes.
Holly, sailed by Martin and Vicky Jones, finished second, with both establishing a sizeable advantage over Symphony, sailed by Zac Sheppard and crew.
The 13-boat Victory class also remains competitive, with James Joplin and Mark Brighs aboard Zest leading Jim Downing and Zoe Whitaker on Ziva. John Scammel and Maxine Reeves aboard Zilch sit close behind.
Meanwhile, a new trophy created to mark the 200th Cowes Week regatta has been awarded.
The Bicentenary Gold Cup was presented based on results from the opening 3 days of competition, using Cowes Week’s overall scoring format to give everyone who had raced the opportunity to win.
High Spirit, competing in Performance Cruiser D, claimed the new trophy for Andy Maskell and his team.
Thursday’s combination of strong cross tides and a light, variable north-westerly breeze ensured crews faced another technically challenging day on the Solent.
With just 1 day of racing remaining in the 200th Cowes Week regatta, some crews can already celebrate victory while others face a final battle for honours on Friday.
