RS Elites at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week Day 6
by Martin Wadhams 11 Aug 2011 19:01 BST
6-13 August 2011
Another master class in heavy weather racing by Paul Fisk and the Allen Sisters
An exciting spinnaker start saw the Elites head off on a 5 mile three sail broad reach to the first mark in some off the most challenging weather seen at Cowes this week. With wind over tide for the whole race and average wind speeds rising to 30knots towards the end of the race, conditions tested the whole fleet.
After leading the race at the start the Browns in Aeolus performed a spectacular capsize that saw Lyn Brown swept off the boat, only to find herself being dragged along through the water by her son who had managed to grab hold of her ankle. This left E'Tu to chase Paul Fisk in RSsailing.com, who by this time were hopping from wave to wave with the help of high-class spinnaker handling from Ruth and Tess Allan. On the upwind leg that followed Steve Powell’s E'Tu managed to close the gap on RSsailing.com, only to find that their spinnaker had ripped when they rounded the windward mark. This left RSsailing.com, to fly away to another exquisite victory and seal their overall Cowes week victory. The rest of the fleet will be battling hard for second place tomorrow.
Fisk, traditionally viewed as the 'eye-candy' aboard RSsailing.com, has proved that he is more than just a pretty face by handling the RS Elite helm majestically in such challenging conditions.
Elsewhere in the fleet, despite falling back early on in the race, the crew aboard Ciao Bella remained in a buoyant mood after discovering the flaw to wearing automatic self-inflating lifejackets in such wet conditions.
The RS Elites certainly stood out from the crowd today as the only fleet to not see a boat retire from the race. The resilience and superb design of the boat is all the more apparent when it is considered that one boat capsized and another broached heavily today, with each boat recovering and continuing the race in under a minute!
Results after Day 6: (best 5)
1st RSsailing.com, 7pts
2nd Aeolus Total, 12pts
3rd Matterhorn Jack, 14pts
4th E’Tu Total, 15pts