Rolex Swan European Regatta - Day 2

PRE-FINISH RACE REPORT - DAY TWO, TUESDAY, 6 JULY
1400hrs

Any hopes of a Round the Island Race on day two of the Rolex Swan European Regatta were quashed as fog and lack of wind hampered the starts. Following a postponement of one hour the Royal Yacht Squadron started the 57 boat fleet in a light south-westerly breeze off Cowes. The two divisions were set the same 35.5 mile course westward towards Yarmouth.

In the smaller boat Division G, Swan 43 Cisne, owned by Keert Jansen, had a fantastic start at the RYS end of the line and short-tacked up the Green to keep out of the tide. Swan 44 Colombe of the Netherlands also had a good start and, not surprisingly, local-boat Menenes was at the front with Harry Evans on board Alvine.

The big boat fleet started 10 minutes later which saw a textbook start from Terry Robinson's Swan 48 Assuage obviously benefiting from the expertise of champion match racer Andy Beadsworth. Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy's Noonmark VI followed Sotto Voce over the line and quickly had to call for water forcing most of the fleet to tack.

Once again, light conditions and a foul tide put particular pressure on the Swan tacticians who desperately searched for lines of breeze whilst trying to keep out of the foul tide. Menenes and Alvine chose to cross the tide to the mainland shore to get into a more favourable tidal pattern and more pressure. This decision paid handsomely for these two boats who rounded Sconce buoy with the front-markers in the big boat fleet with only 20 seconds separating the two boats.

On board Sotto Voce Bouwe Bekking favoured the island shore with Swan 60 Fenix and Swan 56 Noonmark VI going in search of better pressure off-shore. By the time these two boats tacked back in-shore out of the tide it became apparent Bekking had made the right tidal choice as Sotto Voce continued to extend her lead. At the mark Sotto Voce rounded 2 minutes ahead of Fenix but Assuage managed to stay with the bigger boats the whole way rounding 9 minutes behind Fenix.

This long upwind leg took the leading boats over 2 hours to complete by which time the south-westerly breeze had freshened quite considerably to a good Force 3. The fleet hoisted their spinnakers to head back to Gurnard Ledge and with the tide underneath raced back in a quarter of

The consensus on shore today is that racing will favour the faster, racing boats who will spend less time on the water in foul tides. Positions at the first mark suggest that in Division F Swan 46 Crackerjack owned by Keith Miller, finishing fifth last year, is well placed along with Sotto Voce, Swan 56 Noonmark VI and the smaller Swan 48 Assuage. In Division G only minutes separate Swan 44MkII Alvine alongside Swan 441 Menenes but 30 year-old Swan 43 Cisne could steal the day.