Press Releases of The British Classic Yacht Club Panerai Cowes Regatta 2010

Day three of the British Classic Yacht Club Panerai Cowes Regatta 2010 saw the fleet of classic yachts undertake a long distance race in simply glorious weather conditions. The complex thirty-five mile course took the competitors to some of the far reaches of the Solent and presented the navigators and tacticians, who had to plot their way through capricious tides and a multitude of hidden sandbanks, with numerous head scratching moments. Today’s race got under way this morning at ten o’clock sharp with the entire fifty-two fleet boat setting off together from a long committee boat start line off Cowes. Under clear blue skies and in around ten to twelve knots of breeze, the regatta fleet was a magnificent sight as the yachts initially beat westward for several miles before turning at Lymington for a long run back down the Solent under spinnaker.

Competition to be the first home was particularly keen amongst the bigger boats. The 1987 12 Metre, Italia, appeared to revel in today’s conditions and having made a good start close to the Island shore was quickly able to tack and cross the fleet. Italia led by several minutes at the first buoy from her fierce rival, the other 12 Metre competing this week, the 1937 built, Wings. Initially Italia looked comfortable in first place as she powered downwind, but soon after pulling off a slick spinnaker peel, realisation suddenly dawned amongst the Italia crew that they were heading for the wrong buoy. As both Wings and the 1911 built 19 Metre Gaff-Cutter, Mariquita, thundered past under full sail, Italia was forced into a scrambled spinnaker drop which saw them without a headsail for several minutes. Mariquita, using her enormous downwind sail plan to good use, overtook Win! gs and powered into a substantial lead at the front of the fleet. As the race progressed however, the crew aboard Italia dug deep and managed to use their superior upwind speed to claw their way back by the finish, to take a well deserved, on the water at least, Class 1 and overall fleet victory. Wings finished next, taking line honours in Class 2 ahead of Mariquita who came home third on the water.

The competition was equally feverish throughout the rest of the fleet with tight boat-on-boat skirmishes going on for the whole race. In particular, the three International 8 Metres in Class 2, If, Athena and Ilderim were rarely far from each other all the way around the course. The International 30 Square Metre, Gluckauf, made much of the front running in Class 3 and at the head of Class 4 the Shoreham 10 Tonner Cereste clearly found the steadily freshening wind very much to her liking.

After over seven hours on the water, the tired but smiling competitors returned to the Cowes Yacht Haven to enjoy a drink in the early evening sunshine, chat about their day out on the racecourse and eagerly await the official results. Stephen O’Flaherty who had been racing aboard his Spirit 54 Sloop, Soufriere, in Class 1, summed up the day’s experience, ‘A simply fantastic day out and one of the best races I think we have ever had in this boat. Glorious conditions and what it is amazing is that after thirty odd miles of racing we think there will be just seconds in it on handicap.’ Richard Matthews told of a ‘superb day’ aboard his beautifully restored 1898 Gaff Cutter, Kismet, despite having lost and retrieved two crew members on separate gybes. ‘Retrieving them was straightforward: just go head to wind and drag them back aboard. T! hey do learn to hang on eventually.’ said Matthews dryly.

Racing at the British Classic Yacht Club Panerai Cowes Regatta 2010 continues tomorrow with two races schedules for all classes.

Media Information:
Daily results and press releases will be posted on the official regatta website at: www.britishclassicyachtclub.org/regatta

Daily press releases along with editorial free low-resolution images will be issued by email each evening.

High-resolution editorial free images via the official regatta photographer Mark Lloyd’s website: http://lloydimagesgallery.photoshelter.com/gallery/British-Classic-Yacht-Club-Panerai-Cowes-Regatta-2010

Daily VNR’s will be available on request. Please contact the Regatta Press Officer Justin Chisholm.

In addition, daily video roundups will be posted on www.sail.tv each evening.

Other media enquiries should be directed to:
Justin Chisholm
Regatta Press Officer
justin@justinchisholmsolutions.com

Martha Williamson
Sidhu & Simon Communications (For Panerai)
martha@sidhuandsimon.com
0207 491 9934

ABOUT THE BRITISH CLASSIC YACHT CLUB

The British Classic Yacht Club was formed in 2001 to provide a congenial environment for owners and other classic yacht enthusiasts to share experiences and enjoy each other's company. Affiliated to the RYA, the BCYC strives to represent the interests of classic yacht owners and has developed good relationships with many leading yacht clubs in the UK and abroad. The officers of the BCYC are actively involved in both national and international discussions about the future development of classic yachting.

The membership of the BCYC now consists of more than eighty boats. In addition to the Club’s flagship annual regatta held in Cowes each July, the Club also organises a full programme of other racing, cruising and social activities in the Solent and on the East Coast, including the popular East Coast Classic Regatta in early June. BCYC yachts also participate in many important sailing events, including classic regattas in the Channel, Mediterranean and West Indies.

ABOUT OFFICINE PANERAI
Founded in Florence in 1860, Officine Panerai was for many years the official supplier of precision instruments for the Italian Navy. Purchased by the Richemont Group in 1997 and subsequently launched on the international market, Officine Panerai is now Italy’s only fine watch making company. Developing and producing its own movements and watches, Officine Panerai uniquely blends Italian history and design with renowned Swiss craftsmanship.

ABOUT THE PANERAI CLASSIC YACHTS CHALLENGE
2010 sees the first inclusion of the British Classic Yacht Club Cowes Regatta in the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge Series. Sponsored by Panerai since 2005, this high profile series features some of the world’s leading classic yacht regattas, including the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and the Regates Royale, Cannes.