Catch on top

Fiona Brown reports from the opening day of the Royal Corinthian YC's Coutts Quarter Ton Cup

The Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes, got under way today with three very challenging light airs races in the central Solent. The wind ranged from zero to eight knots and it was snakes and ladders all over the course as everyone battled to get the better of the conditions.

Darren Marston's Catch, designed by Philip Briand, was the top performer of the day winning race one, coming second in race two and then winning again in a controversial race three. Catch has recently been re-optimised including a new rig and it's clear that the work has paid off. Fleet newcomer Paul Kelsey, sailing the Paul Whiting designed, Mark Mills optimised Runaway Bus with Peter Williams at the helm, started off the day with a sixth place but won race two and took second in race three leaving them lying equal second overall with Chris Frost and Kevin George's Tom Bombadil, designed by Doug Peterson, who achieved a three, four, two score line.

The first two races, although light, went off fairly smoothly, but race three proved to be highly controversial. The race started in the best wind of the day with 6-8 knots from the southeast but sadly the conditions did not last. The boats got round the first weather mark in good order with Peter Morton's Espada comfortably in the lead from ASAP, owned by the Christie/Layton/Crawford/Paul syndicate, with Catch in third and Graydon Dawson's Diamond fourth.

The leading boats set off on starboard gybe but as they approached the halfway point the wind began to head and fade. First spinnakers were doused and before long the boats were all but becalmed on the right hand side of the run. With no sign of the wind returning the Race Committee signalled shorten course at the leeward mark and with a strong tide running towards the finish the urgent need was to get back to the middle of the course before the tide carried you past the committee boat. Sadly for several of the leaders they were not able to make it and could do nothing but watch as the committee boat drifted past on the wrong side. Catch, Tom Bombadil and Runaway Bus were among the few boats to tack early enough and they reaped the rewards finishing in that order. For those fighting their way back towards the line insult was heaped on injury when a light zephyr appeared from the west to carry much of the fleet over the line before they could get there. Espada eventually finished 21st with ASAP 22nd.

Speaking after racing Race Officer Bob Milner commented: "Today's racing conditions were some of the most frustrating that the Solent can present in that each of the three races had completely different wind directions. Worst of all in the last race the wind disappeared to nothing on the penultimate leg forcing us to shorten. We were in the difficult position of needing to shorten but only having the one option to run to the next mark of the course and shorten there. Sadly the wind did not hold and the leading boats found they were unable to make it across the tide to the line and drifted past the committee boat. We can only hope for better conditions tomorrow."

One man who was very happy with his day was Ollie Ophaus of the Ed Dubois designed Supernova, now lying fourth overall. Having acquired the boat in a "very tired" state last year boatbuilder Ollie and his young crew spent the winter giving her a major overhaul and with a little bit of help from their friends she is now in excellent order.

Speaking after racing Ollie said: "The first time we went sailing since we completed the refit was Tuesday when we popped a bulkhead so it was straight back to the dock for repairs. Today was our first day's proper sailing and our first race. We've straightened up the rudder and the keel, we've got new deck hardwear and running rigging and we've pieced the rest together with the help of other Quarter Ton owners. Our mast is Espada's old rig, we've got Runaway Bus's old boom and Catch's old mainsail and jib and to top it all off we're using Super Q's old spinnaker. To add the finishing touches we picked up a couple of aging rock stars off the pontoon!" [the legendary Tom Richardson and Jonty Sherwill...]

It is great to see so many new faces racing in the fleet this year and amongst them today was local Dragon star Gavia Wilkinson-Cox guest staring in the pit of Louise Morton's Super Q. "It was my first sail on a Quarter Tonner and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Sitting on the rail was a bit uncomfortable when the breeze was up but I got to have a nice kip down below during the last race when some indoor yachting was called for so that made up for it," she said. "The competition was good and it was great fun sailing with an all girl crew. I just hope I get asked back to sail again on a windy day!"

Last night the crews enjoyed a welcome reception hosted by event sponsor Coutts and tonight they are gathering on the Royal Corinthian's terrace overlooking the Solent for an informal pig roast. Tomorrow three further races are scheduled but the forecast is for more light winds so we can expect another challenging day. The Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Gala Dinner will be held tomorrow evening and the regatta continues until Sunday.

Top Ten

1. GBR502 Catch, Darren Marston, 1,2, 1 - 4 points
=2. GBR7055 Runaway Bus, Paul Kelsey, 6,1,3 - 10 points
=2. GBR7278 Tom Bombadil, Chris Frost/Kevin George, 4, 4, 2 - 10 points
4. K7500 Supernova, Ollie Ophaus, 5,9,7 - 21 points
5. GBR50 Espada, Peter Morton, 2, 3, 21 - 26 points
6. GBR6498 Diamond, Graydon Dawson, 7, 17, 4 - 28 points
7. GBR7072 Super Q, Louise Morton, 16, 10, 6 - 32 points
8. GBR9999 ASAP, Christie/Layton/Crawford/Paul, 3, 8, 22 - 33 points
9. GBR7555 Ayanami, Roger Swinney, 10, 15, 9 - 34 points
10. GBR7775 Bullet, Howard Sellers/Mike Till, 13, 6, 17 - 36 points

Full results here...

More photos on the following pages...