Red Funnel Cowes Keelboat Championship 2007 - Weekend 6
by Steve Sleight 8 Oct 2007 08:57 BST
6-7 October 2007
Light winds for final weekend
The final round of the Red Funnel Cowes Keelboat Championship was run by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club on 6-7 October.
Racing on Saturday was in a light east northeasterly with the first race being sailed in the last of the ebb on a short windward leeward course to the east of the Bramble Bank.
The 6 Metres were first away with a five boat fleet, although Wildcat II was late for the start. The fleet chose the left of the beat on both rounds and by the windward mark the second time it was Ante Razmilovic's Berta which led from Nick Morgan's Valhalla with Bluebird in third and Tempest fourth. Berta held her lead to the finish but although Valhalla finished second she was scored DNF because she hadn't gone through the line at the end of the first round. So Avia Willment's Tempest took second, having pulled ahead of Bluebird, which took third.
The Darings were next away with eleven boats. The committee boat end was favoured and Dynamite had the best start at this end while Darling was well over in the middle of the line. Daring 1 was also judged to be over. Dynamite was the first to tack to port while most of the fleet stayed on starboard. Left proved to be the correct choice and those, like Defiant, who picked this option enjoyed better pressure and a left hand shift.
At the first mark it was Defiant leading, ahead of Darling with Defender third. Finesse was next with Audax in fifth. At the spreader mark Defiant chose a gybe set as did Audax while the other leaders held out to the right.
Going left on the run seemed to pay, as did heading right on the next beat. Audax made the best of the tactical decisions on both legs to move from fifth into the lead. Audax led to the finish ahead of Defiant with Finesse taking third.
Only three Dragons raced on Saturday and at the first windward mark on the first race Owen and Josy Pay's Njord had a big lead from Supremacy with Kedron trailing in third. The distances between the boats varied but the places didn't change and Njord led across the line - only to hear a deafening silence. Supremacy crossed in second and received a gun, but Kedron was also greeted by silence. It turned out that both Kedron and Njord were scored DNF for failing to cross the finish line at the end of the first lap.
After a short wait for the line to be adjusted the second race got underway with the wind starting to ease and the tide starting to flood.
At the 6 Metre start Valhalla and Berta were both over early and had to return while the other three boats headed off up the beat. Halfway up the beat, Tempest had the lead but she was furthest left. Valhalla and Berta had both headed hard right after their restarts and the right hand side proved to be the correct choice.
On the run, Bluebird had a good lead but behind her Valhalla had already pulled up to second while Berta was overhauling Tempest. The wind was dropping now and the run against the tide was slow, despite the size of the 6s' spinnakers. Bluebird led Valhalla around the leeward mark while Berta had passed Tempest, who then hit the mark with her boom as she rounded.
By the leeward mark for the final time Valhalla had pulled alongside Bluebird and rounded on the inside. Although Valhalla made a bad rounding with her jib only half up, Bluebird did no better so couldn't capitalize on the leader's error to retake the lead. Valhalla held on to the finish with Bluebird second and Berta taking third.
The second start of the day for the Darings saw Audax and Derring Do pushing too early and being caught OCS. At the end of the first beat and run Darling had a good lead from the series leader
Defender with Destroyer holding third. Defender made a mess of its spinnaker drop and Destroyer was able to overtake to leeward after the mark.
Having been scored DNF in the first race, Darling wasn't about to let this one go and she held her comfortable lead down the run while behind her a gaggle of boats fought over the minor places. The group included Audax which had recovered well from her premature start. Darling led across the line with Daring 1 taking second ahead of Defiant. Finesse and Audax crossed the line overlapped with Finesse just taking fourth place.
The start of the Dragons' second race saw the 6 Metres running through the line at the time of the start but Supremacy got the best start at the committee boat end with Njord in the middle of the line and Kedron to leeward.
At their first leeward mark Supremacy led by two lengths from Njord with Kedron trailing in third. With the wind easing further, their final run against a building tide was a slow and nailbiting affair. Supremacy and Njord swapped gybes on the final stages of the run while behind them Kedron made up ground by sailing direct for the mark.
The lead seemed to change a couple of times but at the mark it was Supremacy which led by two lengths from Njord with Kedron another three lengths back. Once round the mark the tide swept them to the finish with the order unchanged.
The promise of a great end to the Championship on Sunday was dashed when the morning saw a flat calm in the Solent. The race committee postponed for an hour or so in the hope of wind but it was not to be and by lunchtime racing was abandoned.
So, after a series which saw 18 of the scheduled 24 races completed, the winner of the Daring series was Defender with Audax second and Decoy third.
Results of the other classes are unconfirmed as they await those classes deciding on the number of discards for their series.
The Championship prize giving will be held at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club on Saturday, 20 October.
Results: (top three)
Saturday
Race 1
International 6 Metres
1. Berta
2. Tempest
3. Bluebird
Darings
1. Audax
2. Defiant
3. Finesse
International Dragons
1. Supremacy
Race 2
International 6 Metres
1. Valhalla
2. Bluebird
3. Berta
Darings
1. Darling
2. Daring 1
3. Defiant
International Dragons
1. Supremacy
2. Njord
3. Kedron
For race results and provisional series results visit cowes.result.vg/public/regattaindex