Four in a row for Ran

Day four of Skandia Cowes Week

While the Artemis Challenge for the seven IMOCA Open 60s stole the show on the fifth day of racing at Skandia Cowes, decidedly mixed conditions and building southwesterly winds provided competitors with another challenging day on the Solent.

There was no stopping Niklas Zennstrom's TP52 Ran which for the fourth consecutive day took honours in IRC Class Zero, though on corrected time it was unbearably close with just 36 secs separating the top three boats.

Stuart Robinson's Stay Calm was runner up to Ran while Benny Kelly's Panthera took third, just 14 secs behind to go second overall with four races remaining.

It was the closest race so far, said Robinson and although Ran led all the way round, there was just half a boat length between them. "Things were really close up by the Forts and we were within half a boat length from Ran and Panthera were half a boat length behind. The four boats were within three boat lengths. In the lighter winds, it is always going to be close but their programme is a very professional one while I have mates from work on board. But it was great fun."

In the Victory class, John Tremlett made a Lazarus-style comeback in Zinnia to post a two minute win to maintain his undefeated form, despite his disastrous start where he careered straight into Alpha buoy on the RYS line.

Opposition of Clyde, formerly Morning Cloud II which was built for Sir Edward Heath in 1971, has enjoyed mixed fortunes in her first Cowes Week regatta since being restored by original builders Clare Lallow in Cowes earlier this year.

New owner Jamie Matheson, an investment banker whose company Brewin Dolphin recently took on sponsorship of the Jersey Regatta in September, posted a third on Monday and was sixth today but lies in 14th overall in IRC Class 6, after collecting maximum points on Saturday for not declaring followed by a 17th on Sunday.

Ian Braham's MG 346 Dean & Dyball Enigma, IRC 6 winners in 2006, is enjoying faultless consistency recording four wins in four days to give them an overall lead that barring disasters, could soon become unassailable.

Geoff Carveth stormed home to his first win of Skandia Cowes Week on Team Earl's Court to go top of the Laser SB3 leaderboard, though it was not until his girlfriend called her parents after the finish that he learned they had won.

"The tide has been ripping three knots taking us all over the line," he explained. "But you have to be on the line to be first at the mark so it is really touch and go as to whether you are over or not. We actually thought we were over and were sweating the whole race thinking that it might not count."

For much of the Laser SB3 it was a two horse race between the Ian Williams-steered Team Pindar and Team Earl's Court but the last marker saw the Italian boat Vita Spericolata and the South African City of Cape Town come into the reckoning.

"On the last beat we stuck it into turbo and got lucky, winning by about ten boat
lengths," Carveth said.

The youngest skipper at Skandia Cowes Week, the pocket-sized Fred Warren-Smith, who is 12 and from the Isle of Wight, posted his best result of the week with an excellent third place in the Squib class.

His boat, Aquabat is now in fifth place overall and has every chance of catching the leaders Mike Probert's Panu Munta and Penny and Mike Fenwick's Ghost Hunter if he can maintain his splendid form.