Please select your home edition
Edition
Crewsaver 2021 Safetyline LEADERBOARD

Cowes Etchells David Franks Cup at the Royal Yacht Squadron

by Jan Ford 16 Sep 2024 12:28 BST 14-15 September 2024

The Royal Yacht Squadron were set and ready to host the very first edition of the David Franks Cup, to commemorate all the fantastic work achieved by David Franks for the Cowes Etchells Fleet, and it was great to see David present at the regatta to celebrate this great work. The lineup consisted of 16 boats with an even mix of corinthian, youth, and professional teams, the stage was set for a great weekend of racing!

Day 1 of the regatta had the forecast set for delayed start to the regatta, the PRO Rob Brown making the call to delay the first warning signal for 2 hours. After a short postponement, the wind filled in from the South West at around 8-12 knots, and the fleet headed towards Bramble's Bank for three races.

Race 1 saw consistent season performers Louise Racing, skippered by Tommy Hough, take an early advantage to win the first race, followed by No Dramas in second, led by Andrew Lawson and with stand-in helm Michael Beckett, fresh back from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and an impressive 3rd from youth team Mano, led by Harry Blythe.

The second race of the day saw a small increase of breeze and another mix up in results. Ted Blowers' team on Audrey took the win after Shaun Frohlich's Exabyte crossed the line first, but unfortunately was already OCS at the start. Youth team, Ziggy, picked up a great 2nd place, followed by class captain David Maclean in 3rd.

The last race of the first day was finished with a WA3 course to finish at the top of the third upwind to get the most out of racing as possible, so another great job by the Royal Yacht Squadron. Tommy Hough bagged his second win of the day to lead overnight with a 1, 8, 1, followed by David Franks in 2nd to sit 3rd overall after day 1, Ted Blowers' Audrey finished 3rd in the final race of the day to sit 2nd at the end of day 1, just 1 point behind Louise Racing and Tommy Hough.

The evening social was held at the host club that was the Royal Yacht Squadron for a jacket and tie dinner, with a few key members of the fleet showing some excellent memories and sharing the great work that David Franks has achieved over his long standing commitment to the Etchells class. The evening was a great reminder, and the perfect occasion to celebrate this.

Day 2 of racing had an identical forecast to Saturday, with a short 1 hour postponement before the fleet was called to the starting area. There was slightly more breeze of around 12-14 knots for most of the day from the South West. Race 1 saw the Greig City Academy in Palaver dominate the fleet to take the win, followed by Audrey, and Exabyte, who were looking to bounce back after a tricky first day.

The second race of the Sunday initially was called for a general recall, after the fleet pushed the line with teams eager to get as much as an advantage as possible towards the end of the regatta. A U-flag was then raised, and after the re-start, Jolly Roger and Audrey were called over the line, leaving Exabyte, No Dramas, and Astrid to fill the top 3 respectively. Going into the last race, the points were close with Audrey and Louise Racing on joint points at the top, but with the fleet clipping at their heels.

With a clean start in race 3, PRO Rob Brown did well to get the third race of the day under way before the 2pm cut off time. Shaun Frohlich bagged his second win of the day to finish with a 3, 1, 1 scoreline on day 2, an amazing improvement from day 1 to climb up the leaderboard. No Dramas also had an impressive day to finish 2nd in the last race, followed by Ada in 3rd. The battle of first was too close to call, with Audrey getting the better start towards the pin end and leading Louise Racing round the course. Tommy Hough and Louise didn't have the best of starts, but were picking their way through the fleet extremely well to pull through straight behind Audrey.

The final upwind to the finish between the two turned into a match racing, with Audrey having to match Louise tack for tack, Audrey kept their heads and just managed to pip Louise Racing at the line to win overall.

The prize-giving was held at the Royal Yacht Squadron on the platform, with first corinthian overall going to Rob Goddard, with his team of Tom Blowers, and Jack Muldoon, who finished 7th overall. The top 3 at the International David Franks Cup were made up of No Dramas, made up of Andrew Lawson, Michael Beckett, and Billy Russel in 3rd place. 2nd were Louise Racing, with Tommy Hough on the podium again, with his team of Alex Barone, Anna Watkins, and Tom Ballantine.

1st overall was Audrey, made up of Ted Blowers, Oli Aldridge, and kite foiling Olympic gold medalist from Paris 2024, Ellie Aldridge, and Paris 2024 Olympic and 470 helm, Vita Heathcote, who steered the team to the win, and also the overall youth title.

In the Champions of Champions series, Tango and Exbayte were leap frogged by Louise Racing to take the overall season win only by count back to Exabyte and Shaun Frohlich! The prize-giving for the Champions of Champions series will take place at the European Championships, which is on the 11th-13th of October, the next event in the calendar.

Thank you to the Royal Yacht Squadron for hosting a great regatta, with some World Class race courses and race management, to the Pontoon View for this post-racing socials as always, and also to David Franks for his endless contributions to the class, the first edition of the trophy was one to remember, and the fleet looks forwards to many editions of the competition moving forwards!

Overall Results:

PosBow NoSail NoBoat NameSkipper / CrewR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
151GBR 1351Audrey (Youth)Ted Blowers / Vita Heathcote / Ellie Aldridge / Oli Aldridge713217/UFD417
295GBR 1495Louise RacingTom Hough / Alex Barone / Anna Watkins / Tom Ballantine18174518
390GBR 1490No DramasAndrew Lawson / Micky Beckett / Billy Russell2101042220
424GBR 1459ExabyteShaun Frohlich / Duncan Truswell / Ed Wright1017/OCS631121
5GBR 1517AdaDavid Maclean / Harry Blowers / Rhos Hawes63986326
614GBR 1014PalaverCorneille LePrince / Max Belcher / Matt Reid / Shyne Wabara97419728
739GBR 1439Rocketman (Corinthian)Rob Goddard / Tom Blowers / Jack Muldoon451295629
831GBR 1431Strait DealerDavid Franks / Graham Sunderland / Ben Cassford / Tom Callan8421081132
971GBR 1271Ziggy (Corinthian) (Youth)David Bromilow / William Martin / Haydn Sewell / Hannah Carruthers1225137834
107GBR 1407AstridBen Cooper / Mark Nicholls / Ben Clothier1197531235
1194GBR 1194Mano (Corinthian) (Youth)Harry Blythe / Harry Palmer / Jake Hardman / Archie Penn3681210936
1292GBR 927Shamal (Corinthian) (Youth)Max Bradley / Charlie Cooper / Andrew Sturt / Connie Stevens512166121045
1352Gbr 1352Jolly Roger (Corinthian)Tom Abrey / Harry Kennedy / Dan Harris1313111117/UFD1563
1482GBR 782Pulse (Corinthian) (Youth)Maisie Harkess / Lia Horne / AJ Luxton/Sophie Doyles / Alicia Biggs15151314111366
1520GBR 1020SUMO (Corinthian) (Youth)Cameron Yates / Will Wilkinson / Paddy Moriarty / Tom Squires14111415141467
1648GBR 1148Ariel (Corinthian) (Youth)Naomi Richards / Mathias Potter / Will Brown / Bailey Coulson-Bland16141516131674

Champions of Champions Overall Standings at https://etchellsukfleet.co.uk/champion-of-champions/

Related Articles

Scottish Series champions will be back to defend
Jura Scottish Series on Loch Fyne starts soon Last year's overall winners of the Jura Scottish Series, Allan Manuel's Etchells 22 Bounce Back, are returning to Tarbert, Loch Fyne over the coming days looking to defend the class title which they won with a convincing scoreline. Posted on 20 May
Etchells North American Championship overall
Luke Lawrence and team win at San Diego Yacht Club The competitors for the Etchells North American Championship in San Diego left the dock Sunday morning for the final two races of the regatta with a lot of work still in front of them to determine the winner. Posted on 19 May
Etchells North American Championship day 2
Three more races held on Saturday The 2025 Etchells North American Championship continued with 3 more races on Saturday. Conditions were more favorable for racing today with wind in the 8 - 12 kt range. Posted on 18 May
Etchells North American Championship day 1
A strong day for Masfen, Cooke and Wilkinson give the NZL team top position Day one of the Etchells North American Championship started off under an AP flag with mostly cloudy skies. After an almost 90 minute delay, Race 1 got under way at 12:55 with a course bearing of 235 with 1.2 nm legs. Posted on 17 May
2025 Etchells North American Championship Preview
Racing set to Kick Off Friday May 16th in San Diego San Diego Yacht Club welcomes 39 teams competing in the 2025 Etchells North American Championships - a 3-day regatta May 16-18. Posted on 15 May
BMW Spring Regatta 2025 at RHKYC
Attracting 88 boats - a lucky number in Chinese culture The BMW Spring Regatta attracted 88 boats - a lucky number in Chinese culture - across four Big Boat divisions & eight one-design classes including Dragons, Etchells, Flying Fifteens, Impalas, J/80s, Pandoras, Ruffians, and Sportsboats. Posted on 13 May
Tomes Cup 2025 at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
Sixty-seven boats enjoyed fair wind in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour The finale of the Top Dog Trophy Series 2024-2025 took place in Hong Kong on Saturday 3 May, completing the series of four pursuit races to determine the top-performing boat for the season. Posted on 6 May
Jesberg Wins Etchells Orca Bowl
Busch/Madden Win Etchells West Coast Spring Series The Orca Bowl wrapped up the 2025 Etchells West Coast Spring Series on April 26-27 with a 5-race regatta sailed by 33 teams on the ocean course off of Point Loma in San Diego, CA. Posted on 29 Apr
It's So Easy to Shop for Winning Sails Online
Shop North One Design sails online anytime for fast delivery Shop North One Design sails online anytime for fast delivery, in-stock availability, and podium-ready results. Don't wait, your next win starts here. Posted on 28 Apr
2025 Etchells Midwinters West in San Diego
Chris Busch wins tight battle after a dynamic three days of racing The 2025 Etchells Midwinters West, hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club and sailed on the Coronado Roads, delivered a dynamic three days of racing, concluding the third leg of the West Coast Spring Series with a hard-fought victory by Chris Busch Posted on 1 Apr