Drama laden round the island

Start line prang claims two key boats in the Class 40 World Championship

Day 3 and the sunshine and light breezes had moved over to allow for a proper British summer southwesterly cold front, complete with cloud and rain to propel the Class 40 competitors around the Isle of Wight.

The race started at 0900, once again from Universal Marina buoy, with 15-18 knots of breeze from the southwest, giving the boat a beat to the Needles on the traditional anti-clockwise Round the Island Race course.

There was drama on the start line when Tanguy de Lamotte’s Initiative Saveurs-Novedia Group collided hard with Gery Trentesaux’s Courrier de L’Odet in a port-starboard incident.

De Lamotte recounted his side of what happened: "Basically, we were getting into the start. The wind was really far to the left, so no one could start on starboard - all the boats were getting their positions on port. And I was port, like many other people, and I think Gery was going down the line on starboard with the Chileans and there was a gap between Gery and the Chileans. We thought we would go behind Gery and in front of the Chileans and we kept talking about ‘going behind Gery’, ‘behind Gery’ all the time. And there was a call made ‘they tacked’, and I thought it was Gery who had tacked when in fact it was the Chileans." Up to weather on the helm, he was unable to see down to leeward.

"So I went up because I thought I could go to my normal course, but in fact it wasn’t Gery who tacked and I couldn’t see them and Nic who was on the jib trim said ‘no, bear away’. So the main was eased and I eased the traveler but it wasn’t enough and we just clipped the boat, maybe 2 or 3m from the stern. My bowsprit went along their deck and into their cockpit and my bobstay bent the bowsprit down and my bowsprit snapped downwards and then my bow hit the deck edge. I think the pressure of the bobstay and the bowsprit ripped their guard lines and it actually pulled the pulpit off their bow, because it pulled the wires. It was the first point that came and it bent a few stanchions.
"Basically their hull is damaged, my bow is damaged a little bit at the single skin at the front. There are no holes in either boats, it is just pushed in. It is not completely open. On their boat there is some damage on the foot rail. It was more scary than what the damage appears, because I was bearing away and we had quite a lot of speed. So it was a mis-commuincation on board my boat."

Both were forced to retire due to damage.

To keep out of the strongest part of the tide, the fleet split as they beat west up the Solent with some taking the island side, the others the main land. Among the latter group Andrew Dawson's Spliff, winner of the second race yesterday, went hard aground and had to wait for the tide to rise in order that they could float off.

According to Ned Collier-Wakefield, skipper on Tony Lawson's Concise, after a 'decentish' pin end start on port, they had chosen the island side which was looking favourable until a big right hand shift came through favouring the mainlander. And so the Chileans on the livid red Verdier design Desafio Cabo De Hornos came steaming across ahead of them and were first around Bridge buoy off the Needles at about midday. They then cracked off screaming downwind towards St Catherines Point.

"We started on the Solent and then peeled to the Code Zero and then to the fractional chute and we managed to sail over the top of them," recounted Collier-Wakefield. "So it was one gybe all the way to St Kaths on 130deg TWA, and roughly 30 knots of breeze, gusting to 33 knots, 27 constantly - so really good fun and a good sea round there."

Concise was able to hold the lead to the finish, making the lap of the Isle of Wight in around 6.5 hours, finishing 15 or so minutes ahead of the Chileans, who had been locked in a match race up to the finish with Hamble hero, Simon Clarke and his team.

Sadly while Simon Clarke’s team came home third, which would have put them into first place overall, a port-starboard incident during the race saw them penalised three places and this has dropped them to third overall.

With today's win Tony Lawson's team now tops leaderboard going in to the last day of racing. "It was a blinder and it was nice to sail around the island with a bit of breeze," concluded Collier-Wakefield. Concise has a young crew on board including Chernikeff navigator Ben Airens, Dan Gohl and sailmaker Tom Gall, who raced the boat in the 2007 Transat Jacques Vabre plus RYA Keelboat program sailor/49er sailor Tom Smedley and 2004 29er World Champion also turned 49er sailor, Tristan Jacques, who are helming.

With three races starting at 1000hrs tomorrow, the Class 40's first World Championship title is still up for grabs with less than five points separating the top five.

For the round the island race today the points were weighted. If all races are sailed then one discard is allowed, but not today's round the island. Competitors were also in the running to win a bean bag specifically designed for offshore racing and donated by Amanda Russell at Pigbags.

Results:

Pos	Helm	Boat	Nat	R1	R2	RTI (x1.2)	Tot	Net
1	Tony Lawson	Concise	GBR	10	2	1.2 RTI	13.2	13.2
2	Mike West	Keysource	GBR	3	4	8.4 RTI	15.4	15.4
3	Simon Clarke	Clarke Offshore	GBR	1	8	7.2 RTI	16.2	16.2
4	Felipe Cubillos	Desafio Cabo De Hornos	CHI	5	9	2.4 RTI	16.4	16.4
5	Gilles Dutoit	Techneau	FRA	6	7	4.8 RTI	17.8	17.8
6	Arnaud Aubry/ Gery Trentesaux	Courrier de L'Odet	ITA	4	5	15.0 DNS	24	24
7	Tom Hayhoe	Orca	GBR	9	6	9.6 RTI	24.6	24.6
8	Denis Lazat	Jumpa Lagi	FRA	11	3	10.8 RTI	24.8	24.8
9	Wilfrid Clerton	CGMER	FRA	8	14	3.6 RTI	25.6	25.6
10	Andrew Dawson	Spliff	GBR	14	1	15.0 DNF	30	30
11	Tanguy de Lamotte	Initiatives Saveurs - Novedia Group	GBR	2	13	15.0 DNS	30	30
12	Marc Lepesqueux	Les Conquérants de Normandie - Caen la m	FRA	12	11	7.2 RTI	30.2	30.2
13	Mathias Mueller Von Blumencron	Red	GER	7	12	12.0 RTI	31	31
14	Alexis Guillaume	Merena	BEL	13	10	13.2 RTI	36.2	36.2