Regatta Report - North Sails Cowes Week (Bicentenary)
- Class Captain
- Aug 10
- 14 min read
Day 1 - Saturday
After waiting out the well-forecast sea breeze, the fleet gathered under the RYS cannons for the first start of the week. A building SW breeze met a storming ebb tide, starting just on high water. This pushed most boats toward the pin end—where a fast drift toward Gurnard put late-starters at serious risk of being OCS. Several boats fell foul of the line, though only a couple, including Derring-Do, returned to restart. More on that later!
Over the first leg, staying offshore proved fastest, save for a quick dip toward Egypt Point to catch the local wind bend. Four boats broke clear: Dauntless, Finesse, Doublet, and Dreamer.
Finesse rounded the first mark—a black inflatable off Gurnard Ledge—just ahead of Dauntless and Dreamer. The key tactic here was staying high and fast out of the turn, bee-lining for the shore with full sails rather than crabbing slowly inshore at deeper angles.
Inshore was key to dodging the tide. Dreamer stuck to the leaders' wind like a terrier on the run, while Doublet made the decisive move near Cowes. While others drifted offshore early—dragging each other up to protect clear air—Doublet hugged the coast out of the current, gained ground, and came in at a hotter angle to steal the lead.
The next beat took us into the far end of Thorness Bay. After a poor rounding outside of other boats, Finesse struggled to get into the groove upwind initially but picked an near-perfect layline from the middle of the channel. Meanwhile Doublet and Dauntless both over-stood to come in nearly together.
Finesse was therefore "lead scout" as they negotiated Quarry Ledge at the Eastern end of Thorness Bay approximately 1h after high water. Confidence was eroded, however, as the boat bumped gently although without the crashing halt and cursing normally associated with an encounter with this particular obstacle. Dauntless, behind and slightly inshore, also touched before turning away from shore, while Doublet and Dreamer proceeded serenely on just a little further out.
The final winning move came from Dauntless. On the run toward Left Bay, they realised the next beat to Gurnard Ledge would be too short to "spin the gear." Executing a clean windward drop from Port gybe, they positioned themselves perfectly for a fast bear-away set into the shore. In contrast, Finesse missed the trick, forcing a clumsy gybe-set and immediate gybe back to starboard.
Dauntless broke away to take the win by a minute. Dreamer and Doublet crossed next, 45 seconds clear of Finesse—though Doublet was later scored OCS, alongside Darling and Debutante.
The day had finished with the classic Cowes Week "parade of sail" along the green, with boats running home under spinnaker. Slightly less densely packed than last year, it must have made for quite the sight.
Day 2 - Sunday
Starting East in a F3 easterly breeze, the offshore end was heavily favored by both line bias and a flood tide. Dancer and Destroyer were among boats who made the best of the start, while Finesse was trapped mid-line.
The wind was due to veer SE, and it seemed as the fleet got away that this was starting to happen as inshore boats started looking better despite the reduced current. However, as the same feature was seen to a lesser extent on Monday, it may have been geographic.
After battling the choppy water around Prince Consort on the beat to Colette (in Osborne Bay). laylines proved critical for anyone staying offshore for tide. Dancer rounded first, followed by Dauntless. Dreamer and Dynamite came in on the port layline just ahead of Finesse on starboard; Dynamite took a penalty after forcing Finesse to head up to avoid.
On the NW run to Brambles Bank, Dreamer and Dynamite stayed high to cross the channel first, while Dauntless, Dancer, and Finesse stuck to the rhumb line. Farther back, Streak took a southerly route along Osborne Bay that appeared to lost ground in the softer breeze. On this and other light, deep legs, dropping the jib and using a fraculator to stabilize the rig forward paid clear dividends.
When the fleet converged, the northern group had lost ground to the lead three, while Dauntless had also overhauled Dancer for the lead. As Dancer rounded wide, Finesse slipped inside and tacked away early to avoid falling down onto them.
On the short beat to a mark on the Southern edge of the Brambles, Finesse passed Dancer and pulled level with, ahead and to the lee of, Dauntless, approaching the Starboard layline on Port. Opting for the lower and faster VMG, Finesse gained enough separation to tack and put Dauntless about, had Dauntless not tacked simultaneously. They rounded together, and set kites on Starboard.
Dauntless initially held a high course, as leeward boat, while Finesse was eager to go lower. We thought it was tactical - Dauntless later conceded that they had a navigational error! When the eventual course correction and gybe happened, Dauntless didn't manage to break the overlap in time for the mark. Finesse rounded first, while a messy drop-gybe-set cost Dauntless several places.
The penultimate leg was a heavily right-sided beat back to Osborne Bay, tacking only to clear air from other classes. Finesse found a turn of speed to pull comfortably ahead while Dreamer and Destroyer also did well on the right of the track. Rounding, bearing away and hoisting for the finish, helped by the eddy now starting, Finesse led by a couple of minutes from Destroyer (who dropped to third after a penalty). Dancer, Dreamer and then Dauntless completed the top five.
Day 3 - Monday
Courtesy of David Tydeman, Darling
The morning update from the race team set out that we should expect very similar conditions to Sunday and we’d be once again focused on the Eastern Solent. As we shaped up for the start it was clear we’d enjoy a bit more wind and the day looked promising.
The ODM was on course side so caution prevailed although with more wind than Sunday the fleet gathered further East, closer to the line and closer to the Castle. At one minute to go a group of yachts were bearing away, pushing out towards the ODM trying to avoid being OCS. From my vantage point, stuck 100m west in a wind shadow on Darling, Mike Greville and I & team had a lovely view of a procession of Daring transoms heading north along the line.
The gun goes with no recalls. With Darling so far back and firmly last over the line, Mike - who had kindly let me helm the day - commented that it was the worst start he’d ever seen me make!
Many will know I am part of the Dynamite Syndicate, however having enjoyed 2 decades of racing inshore & offshore with Mike in his larger yachts, this Cowes week is a lovely opportunity for us to race together again on Darling.
The view perhaps might have been worth it but once we’d re-engaged with the fleet powering East to the South Ryde Middle buoy, the outhaul blew apart on Darling and we enjoyed "tail-end charlie' all the way to the first mark. My lasting memory is therefore not of other yachts or the course, but rather watching Mike lying along the boom trying (successfully) to sort out the ripped clew and outhaul!
A long run North with a difficult cross-tide leg split the fleet, some trying to sail deep some tracking higher for better angles. We had gybes into Andy Cassell, North of the Brambles, and then a short upwind leg, before back down to Andy Cassell, circumnavigating the shallow water of the bank before gybing onto a tight reach to West Bramble.
We then went back upwind in shifty conditions to the Ryde Middle bank, before the last leg to the RYS line. One-by-one, Darling managed to claw back positions on all of these legs. By the final run West, Dauntless & Doublet had stamped their mark on the day, comfortably in the lead and securing first & second. Dancer also sailed a really solid race throughout 3 minutes behind Doublet in 3rd.
For Darling, Finesse and Dynamite the closing 1/2 mile was a close-run race fighting for 4/5/6th - Finesse to the south, Darling trapped in the middle and Dynamite just north, the three of us sailed on Port Gybe heading just south of the breakwater line ODM - which had to be left to port. With all three of us having to gybe to pass north of the ODM, Dynamite made an early call perhaps 150m before the mark. This opened the ‘compression middle position space' for Darling and we just crept ahead of Finesse and inside of Dynamite at the ODM, gybing back onto port for the last few hundred metres to the finish.
4th for Darling was a treat after such a dreadful start and reflecting on Destroyer moving from nearly last to 3rd on Sunday, it's clear the conditions are very variable and challenging - and we’re enjoying good close and competitive racing.
Ed: Monday saw the Cowes Week debut of Perdy Light and her team on Defender
Day 4 - Tuesday
Courtesy of Josh Voller, Doublet
Day 4 of Cowes Week started with a different feeling with overcast skies and a southwesterly breeze driven by the low pressure to the northwest. With a start at 11:10 on the RYS line the fleet made their way out the harbour with lifejackets, courtesy of the Y flag, and significantly more waterporoofs on show than previous days.
The committee set a course around the central and eastern Solent, but with high water Portsmouth at 16:05 and a start to the west the first leg was to be against the tide. As a result most boats gathered towards the squadron end, with crews hoping to position for the back eddy along the green while also staying in the pressure. On the short beat to CHS, Dolphin was able to balance these two factors the best reaching the mark in first. They were followed by Doublet who started closest to the shore and then a tight bunch behind including Dreamer and Destroyer.
A long port tack run followed down to Jane, off Calshot, with the Southampton channel the key feature due to a favourable tide. A beat back to RORC over the Brambles Bank was made trickier by the presence of the Etchells fleet who were on a similar course. Doublet was able to find their way past Dolphin towards the end of the beat, catching some good shifts. After a run to Lee-on-Solent, the subsequent beat to West Ryde Middle was characterised once again by the tide with boats trying to find the optimal balance between the tidal advantage to the north and the shortest distance across the channel.
Building clouds and rain over the island shore led the wind to drop and become much shiftier which made the layline to West Ryde Middle, and the final two legs, tricky. After a run back down to a laid mark near Lee-on-Solent again, all that was left was a long beat back to the Breakwater finish line. With plenty of other classes on the same leg managing the traffic, keeping the boat moving in the varying pressure and balancing the shifts with the weakening tide were the key considerations as boats fought for every position through the rain. By the finish Doublet just managed to hold on for the win, closely followed by Dolphin. After a gap of a couple of minutes Finesse came out on top of a close battle with Darling and Dreamer.
Day 5 - Wednesday
Courtesy of Duncan Byatt, Dreamer
An earlier Committee Vessel (CV) start at 1035—brought forward due to stronger forecast SW winds—had the fleet scrambling over to Hill Head. With a flood tide running east all day toward a 1650 high water, the course was largely Windward-Leeward on the Hill Head plateau: Andy Cassell, Haven Knox Johnston, Ben F Wood, Ancasta, and a finish on the breakwater.
At the line, the CV’s inner distance mark (IDM) caused early challenges. Debutante sat stationary at the IDM, having been held up by others below, and then trapping at least Dreamer and Defiant with them into passing between the IDM and CV, forcing them all to return and restart.
On the first beat, going right and getting the tidal relief proved more important overall than playing wind shifts, though both paid off. Dauntless, Finesse (recovering from a disastrous start with disintegrated jib sheets), Doublet, and early on, Dynamite, led the pack. At the first weather mark, the strong foul tide punished boats only just on the layline as soon as another boat joined the queue in front of them, forcing several boats to dip transoms in a crowded rounding.
The run to Haven Knox Johnstone was straightforward, but the next rounding was messy. Dancer and Finesse were close together going round the leeward mark, with Finesse being squeezed up very hard by Dancer. In order to gain room to tack off, Finesse somehow managed to convince Streak, above them, to tack away. However, in the process, Streak then had to be avoided by Dreamer on Starboard! All a bit of a mess but sorted out amicably afterwards with no harm done.
The beat to Ben F Wood seemed to be again a balance between potentially better wind going South and, on the other hand, trying to stay on the edge of the bank to stay out of the tide. On the deep run down to Ancasta, building winds and waves caused a few exciting rolling moments. Dreamer rounded tight, inside and ahead of Dolphin, having made an earlier drop.
By Ancasta, the order before the final beat home was Dauntless, Doublet, Finesse, Darius, and Dreamer. A solid ridge of breeze carried the leaders toward the Island shore, crabbing sideways against the strong easterly tide. Tactical choices split the group: Dauntless hugged the shore for tide relief, while Dreamer tacked out into the current to avoid the Norris Nadgers and heavy traffic.
We on Dreamer got ahead of Darius and Finesse, who very generously said they were anyway taking an earlier penalty and so allowed us through when we were close to the Shrape Stake.
Ed: we just didn't want Dreamer to end up giving us a tight cover!
Dauntless took a clear victory, while Dreamer (3rd) reeled in and pushed Doublet (2nd) right to the line. A fantastic day on the water, with credit to the Race Committee for bringing the start forward to deliver exceptional racing.
Race 6 - Thursday
aka Snakes & Ladders
Courtesy of Giles Peckham, Dauntless
In a very fickle N/NW wind and a flood tide, a day of snakes and ladders was in store for all of us. Starting in Osborne Bay, leg 1 took us to West Knoll, the other side of the Brambles Bank at low tide.
Right from the start we had a difficult decision to make – tack up through the slacker current in the Bay before heading north, or head immediately for the Brambles. Dauntless, Finesse, Doublet and a wealth of other Solent experience chose the bay, largely following the classes ahead and using the grounded Etchells as markers. However, the smart money crossed to the Brambles earlier and benefited from a strong breeze on the right hand side of the course, leading them to the north of the shallows and around the mark well ahead of those on the left. On the left, Finesse found the shallows and parked temporarily, and lost several minutes, slipping behind her competitors. For others, the risk was worth it as those further south had less wind and more foul current.
Audax led away from the mark, although was held up by a boat from another fleet intent on going South. Once she had extracted herself, Diamond, Dynamite, Dolphin and Destroyer chased her on the run to Ben F Wood.
Dynamite, unfortunately, chose to sail right over the shallowest part of the Brambles and was stuck. Fortunately the tide was rising, so she eventually broke free (once the fleet had passed her by), unlike an occasion many years ago when she went for a sleepover in the same place.
The next beat, to East Knoll, was just as tricky as the first. We were all in the same patch of water this time but the wind direction and strength varied enormously across it. Big snakes and ladders! Should we play the shifts, or try to predict where the pressure would be best? Pressure paid, and Dauntless made up for going left on the first leg to arrive in 4th place.
She converted quite quickly into 3rd on the run to Contessa 32 (near East Bramble), as Dolphin tried a novel “spreader hoist” for their spinnaker, which sadly didn’t work. Audax still had a commanding lead, with Diamond in 2nd place as they headed inshore, via a reach to HYS, for a long beat against the North Channel current to Jane. Diamond tried to put the squeeze on Dauntless, but getting inshore was paramount and Dauntless slipped through. On a shore that none of us really know (or have forgotten!), most of us tried not to be too greedy and watched the Dragons ahead carefully. Audax risked more and then paid the price, although she got off quite quickly and her lead was still over 100m. Meanwhile, Dancer pushed her chances even more and grounded twice, sending her to the back of the fleet.
Finding Jane (no, not that one!) was the next challenge. As Dauntless passed Darling (the buoy, not the boat!), the bearing for the mark appeared to be 20 degrees lower than they were heading. Instead of cracking off though, they held on until Audax was past the mark before bearing away for Jane and the next mark, Williams Shipping (near West Bramble). Dauntless was followed by Audax, Diamond and Destroyer on a leg which was borderline spinnaker.
Eventually, all the leading pack flew spinnakers and just about held them to the mark. With a run to RLYC and a short beat to the Shrape finish, the wind gods had more up their sleeves. A calm patch enveloped the course and places changed. Dauntless parked at RLYC, plugging the current and going nowhere as the fleet caught up. Everyone seemed to have light patches and shifts on the last leg too, with the final place-changes happening right up to the finish.
Dauntless managed to hold on to the lead, while Dolphin recovered to 2nd. Audax scored a worthy 3rd, having led for most of the race. Notably further down the fleet was a dead heat between Doublet and Debutante after nearly 4h of racing. Wow, what a challenging day.
Race 7 - Friday
The forecast for Friday initially looked dispiriting, with the sea breeze arriving perhaps too late in the day to allow for the scheduled racing before the regatta had to close. However, after a couple of hours of postponements, the race committee sent CVs westwards, into the breeze, for those with engines and amalgamated dayboat classes on the RYS line to accelerate the sequence.
Racing got underway at 1415, with the Darings starting alongside the Etchells for a combined fleet of 32 boats short-tacking in foul tide all the way to Thorness Bay. This was going to be challenging stuff!
Predictably, the fleet wasn't incident-free. Shortly after the start, Dauntless had an incident with Dancer which went to the protest room, which resulted in Dancer suffering a DSQ. Finesse, unable to bear away fast enough, collided with Darius and flew yellow for the rest of the race.
Many of the front-runners were caught in early traffic and never quite got fully free. Dauntless seemed to find a few bad lanes and dropped back, while by the end of Gurnard bay it was Dreamer and Defiant leading the pack with Finesse and Darling close behind. Over Gurnard ledge and then around Quarry Ledge, Finesse put her earlier reconnaissance to good use and picked a good line to pop out in front, tight around the rocks and out into Thorness Bay with Darling also having slipped through into second.
After most boats overstood the mark at the Western end of the bay, the remainder of the race was a little processional therein for Finesse and Darling. There was a short run to a laid mark at the other end of Thorness Bay, which came up quickly in the tide, before a second beat up to Salt Mead. Finesse was now watching the clock, and trying to gain enough to overcome her 1% time penalty for the earlier collision.
Spinnakers were set for the final run home, and after gybing onto Starboard near Gurnard cardinal Finesse laid into the biased pin end for a 94-second win, which was enough. She kept her first place, with Darling second and Dreamer third.
Final Results
After Thursday's race, Dauntless had sewn up first overall, with Finesse comfortably in second. However, the battle for third overall went down to the wire with a strong last day by Dreamer allowing her to overhaul Dolphin for the final podium position.
In the "newcomers division", Peter Cunningham had an excellent week on Finesse while Charles Hewitt and Charlie Platt's Division Belle managed a some good races, with their overall results somewhat marred by an OCS on the final day and a DNC on Wednesday to take 17th overall. Perdy Light on Defender had mixed results having helmed Monday-Friday, with her best result being a 10th on Wednesday. Robin Bromley-Martin sailed well on Friday to take fifth on the water, although all to naught having also been called OCS from the start. Jo Manser's Decoy had some good moments too, with his best also coming on Wednesday with a 12th place.
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