A rather subdued Cowes Week after a gruelling Fastnet
by J-Boats 13 Aug 10:29 BST
29 July - 4 August 2023
Day 3 of Cowes Week 2023 © Ingrid Abery /
www.ingridabery.com
The 2023 edition of Cowes Week was a rather subdued affair after it follows the largest, nastiest, 50th Rolex Fastnet Race ever. After such a gruelling event, the entry list was already "light" and with many boats suffering equipment casualties, the entry list simply diminished further for the eponymous week-long event off Cowes, Isle of Wight.
Nevertheless, the sailors enjoyed the usual 5+ days of challenging racing on the capricious Solent waters. And, as has been the tradition since the early 1990s, J/Teams faired very well in all of their divisions, collecting a significant amount of silverware for their hard-won efforts.
In the IRC 2 Division, David Franks's J/112E LEON was in full-on battle with Adam Gosling's YES. After posting a 2-2-3-1-1 tally for 9 pts, they still ended up taking the silver medal!
The IRC 3 Division had five J/109s sailing. Not surprisingly, John Smart's JUKEBOX dominated the class with a 2-2-1-1-1 tally for 7 pts total! Nick Burns's J/109 WITCHCRAFT took 4th, while the top J/99 was Brian Denney & Hannah Le Prevost's JALAPENO 3 in fifth place.
In the J/109 Division, Smart's JUKEBOX won, followed by Burns's WITCHCRAFT in second and Rosie Berry's JENIE in third place.
IRC 4 Division again saw David Greenhalgh's family on their J/92 GERONIMO hop onto the podium, taking the bronze medal. Ross Bowdler's J/80 JUSTIFY took 6th and Bob & Jon Baker's J/97 JAYWALKER ended up 7th.
J/70 Class
With thirty entries, the J/70 one-design class again had one of the most competitive and dynamic fleets at Cowes Week. The teams have a choice to sail the "short series" for three days, or the overall series for the entire week.
J/70 Overall Series
Winning was William Edwards & Ian Dobson's SARDONYX XI with 23 pts. They were followed by John Greenland's WOOF in second, and Tim Simpson & Ole Bettum's DADS'N'LADS in third place.
J/70 Short Series
Winning the seven-race short series was past J/70 World Champion Paul Ward's EAT SLEEP J REPEAT team with a blistering record of three 1sts, three 2nds, and a 3rd for 9 pts. Sailing almost as consistently was Martin Dent's JELVIS crew with two 1sts, three 2nds, and 8-5 for 13 pts. A distant third was the duo on SARDONYX XI- William Edwards & Ian Dobson- with 22 pts total.
More Cowes Week sailing information here.