Sigma 33 Class at Skandia Life Cowes Week

As ever, the Sigma 33s provided some of the tightest racing of the Cowes Week regatta. Richard Puddifoot and his crew in Whippa Snappa displayed impressive consistency to beat twenty other boats to win the Sigma 33 series. But the Wright family in Summation with three race wins and Tom Hayhoe and Natalie Jobling's Mithril with two wins and the consolation of the best Sigma 33 score within the overall Black Group ranking for the week also went home with plenty to be pleased about.

The first Saturday saw Mithril take the gun, from Richard Griffith's Cerefe and Whippa Snappa. Mithril were again on the pace on Sunday, and along with Summation had opened up a substantial lead. They had tacked for the final mark when the wind died and the race turned inside out favouring back markers to bring through David Crawforth's Sigress, Whippa Snappa, Steve Sault's Hooligan, Ian Bennett's Varuna, and Edwin Smith's Muskoka to fill the first five slots.

With no wind in the mid Solent for much of the day, there were no starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron line. This was especially critical for the Sigma 33 class since it is one of only two that does not allow a discard if one or more races are lost from the Cowes Week programme.

Mithril won again on Tuesday, ahead of Whippa Snappa, Hooligan and Michael Birmingham's Oxygen, after a rock-hopping fetch along to Island shore to the finish.

On Wednesday, John Godfrey's Stickleback was on form. In contrast to the earlier races which saw her fading after winning the starts, she held the lead as the fleet set off on a zig zag course down the West Solent and then ran back along the Hampshire shore to finish ahead of Oxygen, John Wright's Summation, Ian le Maitre's Guernsey-based Alexa and Julian Spencer Smith's Jupa. With Tom Hayhoe having to take a day out for work, John Bartle was recruited to steer Mithril in Thursday's race, which he did with characteristic passion and panache getting into the lead on the final beat. But after he opted to cover Whippa Snappa up the last beat, Summation escaped to take the first of her winning guns for the week, and Whippa Snappa squeaked through on the run between Gurnard and the finish line to take second by 5 seconds.

Going into Friday's race, Hooligan was ten points adrift of Whippa Snappa with Mithril, counting a sixteenth from Sunday's race, one point behind. Mithril went for a pre-race skirmish and forced Whippa Snappa about, leaving her wallowing at the gun in dirty air at the start and then becalmed in second last at Norris while her rivals escaped. Summation was on fine form and won by eight and half minutes, ahead of Alexa, Helen Woodland and Eddie Smith's Vela. Mithril secured fourth, securing second place in the series, but Whippa Snappa's luck held and, once again, she worked her way back from a seemingly impossible position to secure sixth place and win the series.