JOG Hamble Estate Agency Cowes - Yarmouth - Cowes races

JOG Cowes - Yarmouth - Cowes races © Paul Cook

An impressive total of 52 yachts came to the start line for a double headed weekend in the JOG Cowes - Yarmouth - Cowes races over the weekend of 13th - 14th May 2017, ranging from First 40s down to a Scampi 29.

Cowes – Yarmouth

Given a favourable forecast, the race officers decided to extend the course and the fleet initially headed east under spinnakers to North Sturbridge buoy, followed by a tight reach to Hillhead and a long beat up to Yarmouth interrupted by a brief dogleg north at Salt Mead that was too tight for spinnakers to re-emerge. The sun came out around Lepe spit and stayed out for the rest of the race, and the wind picked up to provide a typical, lively Solent afternoon. Class 6 were first to finish, with Giovanni Belgrano's elegant Laurent Giles designed Whooper taking line honours and handicap honours. Ed Holton's J110 Shades of Blue was first across the line in Class 5, but was beaten into second place on corrected time by Peter Rutter's newly restored half-tonner Quokka 9. Class 4 was won by John Howell's Dehler 36, Alaris and Class 3 was dominated by a tussle between the two First 40s Minx 3 and Richard Patrick's Dusty P, the latter eventually winning the race.

• Class 3 - Wilde & Partners Trophy, Dusty P, Richard Patrick
• Class 4 - Finlandia Trophy, Alaris, John Howell
• Class 5 - Channel West Trophy, Quokka, Peter Rutter
• Class 6 - Wildfire Trophy, Whooper, Giovani Belgrano

Yarmouth – Cowes

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, shorts and suncream were the order of the day and gentle breezes prompted a shorter course back to Cowes, via a detour around the Bramble Bank. The first leg was almost directly downwind prompting tricky decisions about where and when to gybe, with boats equipped with conventional spinnakers ploughing a straighter furrow than those with asymmetric kites and bowsprits. As the wind picked up the fleet experienced some pleasantly fast running with a fast, white sail, beam reach down to East Bramble. The final beat against the tide to the finish put many a navigators nerves to the test as they dared get to get as close to the Bramble Bank as possible and also had to decide when to tack across the tide to the finishing line off Cowes. Going early seemed to be the winning tactic, with a good lift and a back eddy along The Green. Boats from all classes crossed the line in rapid succession, causing the finishing team to get very busy with their hooter and the results were very similar to Saturday's race with only Shades of Blue and Quokka reversing their positions to provide some variety in Class 5.

• Class 3 - Georgian Trophy, Dusty P, Richard Patrick
• Class 4 - Gareth Roberts Memorial Trophy, Alaris, John Howell
• Class 5 - Western Approaches Salver, Shades of Blue, Ed Holton
• Class 6 - Corsair Clock, Whooper, Giovani Belgrano

Next JOG Race: Saturday 27th May The next race is an amendment to the published programme and will be a day race around the Isle of Wight with a start and finish in Cowes. Discounted mooring has been negotiated at East Cowes Marina and a JOG social is planned in the Lifeboat on the Saturday evening. Entries are open until 00:00 on Monday 22nd May - why not come along?

Entry Forms, full race programme & crew available/boats looking for crew information all now available online at www.jog.org.uk