52nd Cowes-Deauville Race presented by AVEVA
by Peta Stuart-Hunt 28 May 2014 08:11 BST
23-26 May 2014
David Cooper, skipper of Longue Pierre being presented with his award by Jean-Michel Berly, Secretary of the Board of the Yacht Club de France. Natalie Gray, Sailing Secretary of RSrnYC, is in the background © Graham Nixon
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A good turnout of 63 boats assembled for the 52nd running of Cowes to Deauville yacht race on Friday 23rd May to start the 102nm race, sponsored by AVEVA Group plc and organised jointly by the Royal London, Deauville, JOG, and the Royal Southern Yacht Clubs. However, the weather didn't play ball. It was blowing a bearable 18-25 knots southerly at Cowes, albeit with heavy rain, out at the Nab Tower it was at 38 knots. So the race officers wisely decided on a 2-hour postponement as the Met Office was promising that the wind would moderate early in the afternoon, but stay from the south. By 1430 the wind had done just that and the fleet set off in three separate starts, but somewhat depleted, as some boats had decided that this weather was not for them and had already retired.
The reach down the protected eastern Solent was brisk, but manageable but, once out beyond the forts, the full force of the remaining wind and left-over seas took their toll and a number of the smaller boats decided not to continue. The next 10 miles out from the Nab Tower were heavy going, with the wind right on the nose and intermittent heavy rain. Once past the Nab, the wind eased back but still stayed right on the nose. It proved to be one of those days when the wind heads you whichever tack you're on.
As the evening drew on, the wind dropped further - and further - and further but the rain kept going - until boats were doing less than 3 knots and the GPS was showing another 29 hours to Deauville! And so it continued, but thankfully with the seas now quieter. The wind eventually filled in to the promised 10-15 knots, still right on the nose, allowing the fleet to creep across the Channel, with the occasional rain/hail storm of biblical proportions thrown in for good measure.
Most boats took almost 24 hours plus to arrive off Deauville, for a race that normally takes 15-16 hours; and tired competitors headed off to the Champagne reception hosted by Pierre-Alain Duplais (Deputy Mayor of Deauville) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the twinning of Cowes and Deauville.
It was regrettable that the majority of crews were feeling that this had been the most disagreeable crossing they had ever experienced (not the adjective they actually used), but the champagne and canapés soon faded those memories away. Richard Longdon, CEO of AVEVA, awarded the prizes for those brave and dogged enough to see it through.
David Cooper, skipper of Longue Pierre being presented with his award by Jean-Michel Berly, Secretary of the Board of the Yacht Club de France. Natalie Gray, Sailing Secretary of RSrnYC, is in the background.
A special prize went to David Cooper, skipper of Longue Pierre, who first did this race in 1992.
The Cruiser prize went to the young Academy crew from the Royal Southern sailing the borrowed
Illywhacker.
The Double-handed prize went to Noj and Chrissie White for what they described as the toughest race they could remember.
Sunday was earmarked for the inaugural golf tournament between the clubs. It dawned with cloudless blue skies that stayed that way all day and the following night, with a light westerly breeze. Now what had the golfers been doing to deserve that! The remaining competitors took the opportunity of the weather window to head for home, before the next rain system came through to wipe out the bank holiday for most of Britain. As they made their way back to Hamble the wind went round to the northwest, giving them a fine reach and very pleasant sailing, flying an asymmetric spinnaker virtually all the way home.
At sunset, they were overtaken by a fleet of Class 40 boats on the first leg of their Normandy Channel race around the Isle of Wight, Tuskar and Fastnet rocks, Guernsey and back to Caen, providing some stunning photography.
A list of results is posted at www.royal-southern.co.uk/portals/0/results/2K14/AVEVA_Cowes_Deauville_Race_2014_IRC_Overall_Results.pdf and www.royal-southern.co.uk/portals/0/results/2K14/AVEVA_Cowes_Deauville_Race_2014_Sail-Power_Results.pdf