Cowes, UK - 2 July 2010 -
The third day of the
2010 Dragon Edinburgh Cup, supported by Aberdeen Asset Management, may have
featured only one championship race, but that race proved to be as eventful as
any. The Solent is always a
challenging place to sail and that was never truer than for this morning's
fifth race with a massive wind shift on the first beat and then a thrilling
second beat that shuffled the pack once again.
Man of the match was
Klaus Diederichs crewed by Andy Beadsworth and Simon Fry in NOR282. Diederichs led the race from start to
finish crossing the line with an impressive 200m lead. Going into the final day he takes the overall
lead by just one point from Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen, sailing GBR745 Danish Blue
with Theis Palm and Andrew Norden, who had his worst race of the regatta
finishing ninth and now carries 10 points overall. Lawrie Smith, sailing with Ossie Stewart and Bill Masterman
in GBR751 Alfie, has moved up into third place, ten points behind Hoj-Jensen
thanks to a fourth place in today's race. He
overtakes Simon Brien, sailing IRL212 Kin with Stephen Milne and David Gomes,
who drops down from third to fourth on 22 points having finished fourth on the
water.
Russia's Olga White
may have had a disastrous race finishing 26th but fortunately for
her Andrew Craig and Len Jones's had an even worse race enabling her to
leapfrog over them into fifth place overall on 24 points. Craig drops down from fourth to ninth having been called OCS
while Jones now lies tenth thanks to a 20th place, forcing
him to count a previous 20th.
In the Corinthian
Division for the all-amateur crews the leading Corinthian team going into
the final day is Simon Brien. Eric
Williams, sailing GBR682 Ecstatic with Joanna Richardson and Rory Patten, is
second Corinthian with Richard Cullen, sailing GBR559 Supremacy crewed by Alex
Dobson and Matthew Hill, third and GBR722 Avalance sailed by Mark and Mandy
Wade and Duncan Grindley fourth.
As the boats sailed
down to the start area off Hill Head in preparation for race five there had
been a nice 12-15 knots from the SW, but going into the sequence the wind
dropped off to 5-6 knots. With a
strong tide running down the course the boats struggled to cross the line and
once underway the fleet quickly split into two distinct groups with half going
left and half going right.
It was slow going, but
for a long time all looked pretty even until a massive right-hander shut the
door completely on those out to the left, which included Julia Bailey, Len
Jones, Andrew Craig, Jamie Lea and Louis Urvois. Up ahead Klaus Diederichs had got the measure of the shift
and came into the weather mark just ahead of Eric Williams with Lawrie Smith
third, Olga White fourth and Simon Brien fifth. Although the leaders got away cleanly the strong tide was
pushing the boats onto the mark and as the traffic level increased so did the
risk of being pushed down onto the mark. Among those who fell foul of this were Richard Cullen in Supremacy, who
had a nightmare of a rounding, and Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen and Japan's Bocci
Aoyama who ended up doing elegant synchronised penalty turns much to the
entertainment of the spectators. Hoj-Jensen didn't have a good day when it came to mark roundings as he
also lost out at the leeward mark when his kite fouled on the drop.
The first run was
something of a procession with little place changing at all, but it was on
the second beat that things got really interesting. Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, sailing GBR716 Jerboa with Mark Hart
and Henry Bagnall, who had managed to get a new rig in her boat after
yesterday's dismasting, rounded the first mark in sixth, pulled up into fifth
on the first run and then sailed an excellent second beat to round second behind
Deiderichs who had built up an impressive 150m lead. Williams rounded the second weather mark third with Smith
fourth.
Without doubt the most
impressive second beat came from Louis Urvois. He had rounded the first mark in 17th and gained
a single place on the first run. At the leeward gate everyone else took off for the right hand corner but
Louis bucked the trend and headed left. After racing he gave credit for this decision to his crew explaining
that they had spotted that without the big shift the left would have paid on the first beat and with the wind now settled back to the left it was the way to go. It was a
brave move but as he closed the second weather mark the decision paid off
handsomely as he rounded in fifth behind Smith. On the final run there was no place changing among the
leaders and the finish order was Diederichs, Wilkinson-Cox, Williams, Smith,
Urvois.
The Edinburgh Cup
Crews Race also took place today, but after the long and mentally grueling
championship race entry numbers were somewhat reduced and just nine boats came
to the line. That said the
competitors enjoyed a great five leg windward leeward race in a freshening sea
breeze. First to finish was Quentin Strauss aboard Gorgeous Worgeous, Rory
Patten sailing Ecstatic was second and third was Richard Bailey in Neride.
This evening the crews
will attend the Edinburgh Cup Gala Dinner, to be hosted by the Royal Yacht
Squadron. One single race remains
to be sailed tomorrow and all eyes will be on the battle between Klaus
Diederichs and Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen who are separated by just one point,
Diederichs currently discards a fourth and Hoj-Jensen a ninth. Equally tight will be the battle for
third place which remains wide open with Lawrie Smith, Simon Brien, Olga White,
Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, Mikhail Muratov and Louis Urvios technically all still
capable of claiming the final podium position.
Overall Top Eight After Four Races
1. NOR272 - Fever - Klaus Diederichs - 9 pts
2. GBR745 -
Danish Blue - Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen - 10 pts
3. GBR751 -
Alfie - Lawrie Smith - 20 pts
3. IRL212 - Kin - Simon Brien - 22 pts
4. RUS69 - Murka 7 - Olga White - 24 pts
6. GBR716 - Jerboa - Gavia Wilkinson-Cox - 28 pts
7. RUS96 - Murka 8 - Mikhail Muratov - 30 pts
8.FRA365 - Ar Prim - Louis Urvois - 31 pts
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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