Cowes, UK - 1 July 2010 -
Irish eyes were
smiling on day two of the 2010 Dragon Edinburgh Cup, supported by Aberdeen
Asset Management, as Simon Brien, sailing IRL212 Kin with Stephen Milne and
David Gomes, won race three and Andrew Craig, sailing IRL192 Chimaera with Mark
Pettitt and Brian Matthews, won race four of the six race series. It was a very challenging day with the
wind constantly flicking around between 200 and 225 degrees and varying from lows of 6-8
knots to highs of circa 17 knots. If there was ever a day of yachting
snakes and ladders this was it. The
Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's Race Committee headed by PRO Robert Lamb, had their
work cut out to keep the courses as fair as possible and at every mark rounding
there were significant position changes throughout the fleet.
After his
all-conquering open day, Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen, sailing GBR745 with Theis
Palm and Andrew Norden, found himself under considerably more pressure
today. He had moments of absolute
brilliance and led race four by a significant margin at one point, but
ultimately he finished the day by adding a fifth and a third to yesterday's two
wins. That was sufficient to keep
him in the overall lead, but with the discard coming into play after race four
that lead is now reduced to three points from Germany's Klaus Diederichs*
sailing NOR282 Fever with Andy Beadsworth and Simon Fry. Beadsworth and Fry both call the Solent
home and have won multiple championships in these waters between them. Their combined experience and local
knowledge added to Diederichs' undoubted abilities as a helm made them boat of
the day with a 4, 2 score line.
Simon Brien's
impressive win in the third race, where he led almost from start to finish
despite constant challenges, combined with an 11th in race four
takes him from sixth to third overall, seven points behind Diederichs. Meanwhile fourth race winner Andrew
Craig, who had finished eighth in race three, moves on to equal points with
Brien but takes fourth on count back.
Lawrie Smith, Ossie
Stewart and Bill Masterman, sailing GBR751 Alfie, had a tricky opening race
finishing fourteenth, but things looked even worse in race four when they found themselves rounding the first mark well into the 20s. Things didn't look much better down the first run, but on the second beat they banged the right corner hard, found a nice little patch of stronger breeze and simply sailed round the fleet and up into sixth place. Overall that
drops them down from third to fifth where they are tied on points with sixth
placed Len Jones, sailing GBR708 Rumours with Pedro Andrade and Philip
Catmur. Jones had finished ninth
in race three and at one point in race four was running neck and neck with
Hoj-Jensen ahead of the entire fleet, but a missed shift saw him holding on as
Hoj-Jensen gybed off and he'd lost half a dozen places in a matter of minutes before fighting his way
back to fourth on the final beat.
Thirteen may be a
lucky number for some, but sadly not for Jamie Lea, sailing for Quentin Strauss
aboard GBR723 Gorgeous Worgeous with Lars Wegener. They went into the day in fifth place, but their neatly
matched pair of thirteenth places means they move down into 11th
overall. Olga White was all sixes
and sevens as well (well sixth in race three and seventh in race four) meaning
that she has dropped down from fourth place into seventh.
There was high drama
during race four when Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, sailing GBR716 Jerboa with Mark Hart
and Henry Bagnall, and Mikahil Muratov, sailing RUS96 Murka 8 with Vladimir
Krutskikh and V Uvarkin, who had gone into the day lying in 9th and
10th respectively, came together on the second beat. Wilkinson-Cox was on starboard and
Muratov on port, and initially it looked as if Muratov was going to pass ahead,
but an apparent miscommunication resulted in the two boats coming together and
their rigs became fatally entwined. After several terrifying pirouettes during which Jerboa came close to
being towed under, the rig of Murka 8 finally collapsed, missing Henry Bagnall
by a whisker on the way down, and the two boats were able to extricate
themselves. Fortunately support
RIBs were immediately on hand to assist and no one was injured in the
incident. Back ashore the protest
committee found fault on both sides and disqualified both boats from the race.
We apologise for not
being able to bring you the results of the Corinthian Division in today's report,
but an administrative problem has meant that the list of those eligible to race
as Corinthians is incomplete and at the time of going to press we await updated
results.
After racing
the crews joined their sponsor Aberdeen Asset Management and their guests for a
delightful drinks party at the Sir Max Aitken Museum housed in The Prospect, a
converted 18th century waterside sail loft. A newspaper magnate, world war two
fighter pilot, racing yachtsman, powerboat pioneer and founder of the London
Boatshow, Sir Max created the museum in his former Cowes home in 1979 and it
houses a fascinating collection of marine artifacts. The Mayor of Cowes Councillor Alan Wells and his wife Jenny
attended the event and Mrs Wells kindly presented the prizes at the daily
awards ceremony.
Tomorrow there
will be one championship race followed by the traditional Edinburgh Cup crew's
race - and with a crew list that includes the likes of Andy Beadsworth, Ossie
Stewart, Graham Bailey and Martin Payne that crew's race is likely to be as cut
and thrust as any other this week. The regatta concludes on Saturday.
Overall Top Six After Four Races
1. GBR745 - Danish Blue - Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen - 5 pts
2. NOR272 - Fever - Klaus Diederichs - 8 pts
3. IRL212 - Kin - Simon Brien - 15 pts
4. IRL192 - Chimaera - Andrew Craig - 15 pts
5. GBR751 - Alfie - Lawrie Smith - 16 pts
6. GBR708 - Rumours - Len Jones - 16 pts
Our thanks to photographer Mike Austen for the photographs of Murka 8 and Jerboa's rigs and of the Sir Max Aitken Museum Reception.
Full Results
Photo Gallery
IDA Blog
British Dragons YouTube Channel
Further
details about the Edinburgh Cup are
available from www.britishdragons.org and www.rcyc.co.uk. You will also be able to follow the
Edinburgh Cup on the International Dragon Association Blog.
Members of the media wishing to
attend either event or requiring additional information should contact BDA Press Officer Fiona Brown on
E-mail fiona.brown@fionabrown.com or Mobile +44 (0)7711
718470.
For further information about the British Dragon Association please visit www.britishdragons.org or contact BDA Press Officer Fiona Brown on e-mail fiona.brown@fionabrown.com, Skype fpbrown, Mobile +44 (0)7711 718470.
For further information about Aberdeen Asset Management please contact Jill Maxwell, PR Manager - WSM Sponsorship, Tel +44 (0)207 590 7520, e-mail Jill.maxwell@wsmsponsorship.com or visit www.aberdeen-asset.co.uk
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For further information about the British Dragon Association please contact:-
BDA Chairman
Patrick Gifford
E-mail Patrick Gifford
Mobile 07930 558737
BDA Vice Chairman
Martin Makey
E-mail Martin Makey
Mobile 07860 729804
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