The latest “drama” from the waiting fleet in the race area is that in an audacious outbreak of piracy A+ has kidnapped a crew member from Waverider and is holding her to ransom. Ransom terms (being measured in bottles!) are currently being negotiated but A+ has reassured Waverider that the hostage is currently unharmed…..so far!!!
11.55 – RO Rob Lamb just radioed the competitors to update them on the weather situation, which is that there still isn’t enough wind for racing but that they are continuing to hope for the best that wind will arrive but that if there is no sign of wind by 13.00 they will make the decision to abandon racing and send the boats in to begin hauling out and packing up.
11.45 – I’m not quite sure who won the round of Belgian Beer from Bert, but now they’ve officially declared the Bucket Wars open so the media team is retreating to a safe distance!
11.20 – Never ones to sit around feeling sorry for themselves, the Half Ton fleet are keeping themselves entertained on the water while they wait for the wind to arrive so they can go racing. Having sailed away from the fleet a little Bert Jansen aboard Envol has just radioed to the rest of the Half Tonners to tell them that the first boat to sail to them will win a round of Belgian Beers! The flurry of activity and the attempts to make the most of the tiny zephyrs of wind to claim those beers are highly entertaining to watch. Go Half Tonners!
10.10 – The Race Committee and the boats are now down at the Hill Head start area and the wind is obviously trying to fill in but its not quite there yet. The tide is now ebbing and the boats still sailing down to the race course are only just making it over the tide so I suspect that we may see a postponement at 10.30. Stand by for more shortly.
During the reception for last night’s Gala dinner we caught up with Clive Jefferies of title sponsor South Boats to find out more about the company and their links to Cowes and the Half Ton Classic Cup:-
Good morning and welcome to the final day of the 2011 Half Ton Classic Cup supported by South Boats in Cowes. From the safety of the Royal Corinthian terrace I can tell you that its grey, windless and a little bit wet this morning. The good news is that its not as wet as it was yesterday morning and we do have a forecast for some wind late morning so the committee boat and fleet are heading afloat to await developments. We have a 14.30 latest start time today and two potential races to sail so the pressure is on.
Last night the crews enjoyed a wonderful Gala Dinner and dancing with everyone really getting into the spirit. Certainly there must be some very sore heads this morning as they were still going strong at 2am. Below are a few photos of the evening.
Comme les bons vins, certains halftonners se bonifient avec les annees. Durant cette semaine, une flotte de 38 bateaux, supporte par South Boats, s’est retrouve, decouvert et surpasse tant sur l’eau que sur terre.
Trois manches au programme pour cette quatrieme journee de la Half Ton Classic Cup 2011. A nouveau la lutte e ete rude sur l’eau tant les ecarts etaient reduits. La course a debut avec un vent de sud ouest de 13 noeuds qui s’est renforce au fur et a mesure de la journee. Apres une matinee pluvieuse, le soleil a fait son apparition rendant le Solent plus beau. Chimp, Hullabaloo et Sibelius etant de serieux concurants pour General Tapioca, celui ci doit se battre pour conserver sa position en tete de la flotte en temps reel.
Finalement, Chimp s’impose en temps compense pour cette quatrieme journee, suivi de pres par General Tapioca. A bord de Chimp on retrouve de nombreux talents comme George Kennefick (jeune espoir de la voile irlandaise)ainsi que de Roger Merino (une des etoiles montantes de la classe Etchells), l’equipage est complete par Ian Brown de la voilerie Quantum .En troisieme position on retrouve Sibelius, qui progresse a chaques regates. La ligne d’arrivee mouillee devant le Royal Yacht Club Corinthian a procure un spectacle palpitant tant pour les spectateurs et les navigateurs. En resume, une nouvelle journee pleine de rebondissements.
Deux regattes sont prevues demain pour cloture la semaine. La flotte croise les doigts pour terminer en beaute cette serie de regatte exceptionnelle.
Chimp Tightens Her Grip On The 2011 Half Ton Classic Cup Supported By South Boats
The old adage that things become better with age has never been more apt than in Cowes this week, where a 38 strong fleet of historic little yachts racing in the 2011 Half Ton Classic Cup supported by South Boats has been enjoying a wonderful fifth edition of this revival event. The boats may be old but their hearts are still strong and it’s great to see not only superbly close racing on the water, but also the wonderful camaraderie of the crews ashore.
Today’s fourth day of competition in the five-day regatta featured three more races, bringing the total number sailed to ten. With rain and no wind greeting the bleary eyed crews as they pulled back the curtains first thing Race Officer Rob Lamb made the judicious decision to hold everyone ashore until conditions improved. At 11.15 the fleet was sent afloat and by the time they came to the line for race eight in the series they had around 13 knots from the southwest and the sun was breaking through. Again the Race Committee was able to complete three races, the first two of which were windward leeward’s and the third a round the cans race.
Once more it was cut and thrust on every leg of every race, both on the water and in the corrected time results. In the two windward leeward races Michael Kershaw’s Chimp and Jean-Philippe Cau’s Sibelius virtually match raced around the course. Chimp went on to win both races with Sibelius claiming second in both. In race eight David Evans’ Hullabaloo XV just pipped Robbie Tregear’s Per Elisa for third by 6 seconds. In race nine it was the turn of Philippe Pilate aboard reigning Half Ton Classic Cup champion General Tapioca to fill the final podium slot. In the tenth race Francis Marshall’s Concorde, General Tapioca, Hullabaloo XV and Chimp were locked in battle and the final beat, right across the central Solent to finish on the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club’s line in front of the spectators on the Parade, was a delight to watch. On the line the boats were so close that the competitors couldn’t be certain of the corrected time positions and there was a frantic rush back to the club house to find out the results, which revealed that Concorde had won with General Tapioca second, Hullabaloo XV third and Chimp fourth.
In the overall standings Chimp has tightened her strangle hold on the lead and now has a 14-point margin over her nearest rival. Michael Kershaw has put together a strong young crew for Chimp at this event. On the helm is Ireland’s George Kennefick, winner of a gold medal at the World Youth Games and one of Ireland’s top young sailors. For Geroge IOR sailing is in his blood (his father is the legendary Neil Kennefick of Quarter Ton Cup winner Manzanita fame) and he’s been sailing Quarter Tonners and Half Tonners for several seasons. Also on the crew is Roger Merino, well known as one of the top Etchells crews and a regular member of the Chimp team. Graham Love and Ed Fitzerald who both have previous Half Ton Classic Cup experience and Ian Brown of Quantum complete the crew.
General Tapioca continues to hold second place and is now 18.3 points ahead of Concorde. Tim and David Cunliffe’s Insatiable has dropped down into fourth place and are now tied on points with Per Elisa.
Two final races remain to be sailed and the regatta concludes tomorrow, Friday 26 August. The forecast is for more rain overnight and tomorrow morning with light winds during the first part of the day so the fleet has its fingers crossed that they can achieve two races before the 14.30 final start time cut off.
Here are some photos from today’s sailing action.
