Solent Sunbeams are beaming at Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week

Solent Sunbeams at Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week © Tim Jeffreys Photography

Jo and Cathy Burnie had lost none of last year's winning ways when they came back to the Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week last week to triumph again in the 5-day event, enabling them to keep the Cowes Classics Week Cup for another year.

A fleet of Nineteen Solent Sunbeams headed across from their base in Itchenor to Cowes last Sunday (20th July) for the start of a vintage week of mid-Solent racing as part of the 150-strong Cowes Classics Week fleet.

Jo and Cathy's yacht Fleury scored three firsts along with consistent high scores in the other four out of seven races, in a week characterised by light winds, big shifts, shortened courses and abandoned races.

Like all the other yachts in the fleet the Solent Sunbeams qualified by being designed before 1970. In fact the Sunbeam class holds the honour of boasting their year of design as 1922, with only the XOD class, which was also taking part, being older.

The Burnies had to keep a watchful eye on Roger Wickens, also a former Cowes Classics Week winner, who was never far behind, sailing Danny into second place. He scored two firsts, a second and two thirds amongst his results, sharing the helming on the final day with Mark and Jo Downer.

The first day of racing on Monday (21 July) opened as a one off race for the Trinity Cup in the continuing heatwave that the south has been enjoying, offering just enough breeze to provide stable sailing conditions.

The Sunbeams were sailing alongside other veteran classes including the majestic 8 metre class, the Flying Fifteens, Darings, National Swallows, Loch Longs, XODs, and Old Gaffers. The Solent Sunbeams were able to take advantage of what Chief Race Officer Derek Hodd described as "using as much of the mid-Solent as possible, to take in a variety of conditions".

The Itchenor class showed their well-rehearsed experience as a cohesive entity as the fleet was possibly the tightest off Monday's start. Fleury's owners lost no time in opening their defence of their 2013 reputation. "We only moved into first position on the final leg," said Joe. "It was a very challenging last leg, working the wind, tide and Cowes Breakwater Exclusion Zone hard!"

Tuesday's racing saw the beginning of a 4-day series which counted towards overall positions. The Solent Sunbeams were racing from one of several committee boats, over fixed windward leeward courses, whose first leg took the yachts to the north shore close to Hill Head, in the light but changeable north westerly breeze. Similar race courses were run throughout the rest of the week,

Wednesday was a very frustrating day of starts and stops, and a wind direction which moved through 180 degrees and up and down from zero to 15 knots. The class suffered from an abandoned first start on their line where Race Officer Rod Nicholls described the wind as "going round in circles." But they went on to complete a windward leeward course,

The race committee had to manage a day squeezing every bit out of the wind on the Thursday but a reasonable breeze enabled two races to be held. Despite another day of soft winds and frustrating conditions results came in from all classes on Friday. The event was a triumph for the Royal London Yacht Club which, along with help from the other Cowes Clubs, had managed the event, and achieved a series of seven races, while other regattas around the south had been abandoned.

Despite the light winds, which gave little respite to the hot sun this week, the competition was second to none on the tight committee boat courses. Anthony Robinson, sailing Symphony shared the honours on Wednesday taking a first place, as did Peter Nicholson on Briony on the Friday. The front of the fleet saw some tight action. Danny was placed first overall leading into the final day, having to eventually settle for a second when she was beaten by Fleury.

The Solent Sunbeam class is nearly 100 years old but new yachts continue to be built. The class is enjoying its phenomenal resurgence as a result of the availability of new cost-effective GRP hulls. The next two new GRP hulled boats, named Sky and Minty, are currently being fitted out by Haines Boatyard. Refitted boats are also keeping the class on the leading edge of high performance sailing. Emily a 1925 wooden boat, just restored, gained a 2nd and 3rd place during the Cowes Classics, while another 1925 hull Argosy, was also relaunched in immaculate condition last week.

Overall Results:

1st Fleury, Jo and Cathy Burnie
2nd Danny, Roger Wickens
3rd Query, Tim Hill
4th Harmony, Duncan O'Kelly
5th Little Lady, Gayle Palmer
6th Symphony, Anthony Robinson
7th Mystery, Viv Wiliams
8th Spray, Alan Stannah
9th Emily, Malcolm Glaister
10th Firefly, Stewart Reed

For more information, results, and images visit www.cowesclassicsweek.org.