Westward Cup Regatta at the Royal Yacht Squadron - Lay Day
by Peta Stuart-Hunt 8 Jul 2010 23:28 BST
5-11 July 2010
A word with Mr Zak, owner of Eleonora
The owner of Eleonora has been very busy providing hospitality to guests aboard his yacht during the Westward Cup Regatta Lay Day today. The other owners and their guests have also been soaking up the atmosphere in Cowes whilst the large crew complement (Eleonora has a racing crew of up to 40) have rested up or gone sightseeing. The crew of Tuiga meanwhile were being given a guided tour of the Royal Yacht Squadron Platform – the area on the Castle battlements where the racing is run from – whilst crews from Mariette and Mariquita chartered a couple of Lasers and enjoyed some competitive match-racing this afternoon.
The Westward Cup Regatta schedule has been been very hectic with two days’ of racing and nightly social engagements but Mr Zak and his wife have been enjoying every minute of it. They love being in Cowes commenting that it’s a good spot with a lot more privacy than many ports in the Mediterranean.
When asked about the racing programme and courses arranged by the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Race Committee, and Eleonora’s results thus far, Mr Zak is full of praise and philosophical about racing without a full sail plan after losing his two top masts last Sunday, saying that the motivation of the crew despite this significant handicap is to be applauded. “It’s been tough for us, especially in the light winds but coming in second over the line yesterday is evidence of the special efforts of the crew in conditions favourable to big schooners – but then all the owners are highly motivated to race here in Cowes under any conditions! We are here to sail and we will sail with whatever we have available.”
Mr Zak went to praise the team at the Royal Yacht Squadron who have so warmly welcomed all the owners, guests and crews throughout this week. “Given our very difficult situation on Sunday, we have been so impressed and touched by the heartfelt sympathies shown to us by all the staff at the Squadron,” said Mr Zak.
“Furthermore, I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Cowes who have welcomed us all and been so very helpful and accommodating. What a charming town and we certainly look forward to returning.”
The Westward Cup has been initiated to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the launch of the racing schooner Westward in 1910. She was designed and built by one of the most successful yacht designers, Nathanael G. Herreshoff, in Bristol, RI, USA. Westward was one of the fastest and most famous of the Big Class racing yachts, regularly competing in Cowes and most successfully against King George V’s yacht Britannia, and other Big Class yachts.
Built in Holland at Van der Graaf Shipyard in steel, Eleonora was launched 90 years to the day of Westward’s launch, on 31 March 2000. Since then, she has been a regular and successful competitor on the Classic yacht circuit. Superbly fitted out in mahogany, with period details, she has two doubles and one twin stateroom and a full-beam owner’s stateroom aft.
Eleonora’s vital statistics:
LOA 49.5m (160ft)
LWL 29.3m (96ft 1in)
Beam 8.2m (27ft 1in)
Draught 5.2m (17ft 1in)
Sail area 1,115m2 (12,000ft2)
Displacement 214 tons
Racing in the Westward Cup Regatta recommences tomorrow and finishes on Saturday. The course for the day will be posted on the Royal Yacht Squadron website as soon as it has been confirmed. Further details about the Westward Cup Regatta and Results to date are also vailable on the Royal Yacht Squadron’s website at http://www.rys.org.uk.
The Westward Cup Regatta has been organised by three of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world, the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) and two partner Clubs, the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) and Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) and in collaboration with Boat International Media.