UK IPOA

Cowes Rally 2010

Paul Bragg – June 2010

A select group of UK based Island Packet owners and friends gathered for the annual Cowes Rally and (Fun) Race over the weekend of June 5th and 6th 2010. For once the weather was good all weekend, warm and sunny with just enough but not too much wind.

The weekend started with a very short AGM of the IPOA hosted by Colin and Celia Ward at the Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club (CCYC). Colin and Celia were unanimously voted in again as Commodore and Secretary and all agreed that they had organised yet another great year of IPOA events. The AGM was followed by an excellent BBQ at the Cowes Corinthian (one of the least fussy and friendliest yacht clubs in Cowes) and much discussion took place of the voyages that had taken place last year and what was planned for this year.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny but with very little wind. Fortunately we hadn’t planned an early start and all the crews got together for a late breakfast of coffee and danish pastries on IP 45 Vivamus as we waited for the wind to pick up. Of course this gave us more opportunities to talk about Island Packets. The Rally is always a great event for seeing how other boats are set up, to get ideas for boat improvements and discuss what works and what doesn’t. It’s also a good time to get a group photo of everyone wearing the latest Island Packet Rendevous T-Shirts sent over from Island Packet Yachts in Florida. We were also joined for the rally by Mike and Carol Cook from Walton Marine who are the new UK Island Packet Dealers. They had come over from Swanwick in a rib which was quickly pressed into service as a committee boat for the race.

Eventually our race officers Tony Bedingfield (Acting Commodore of CCYC) patiently assisted by Nick Clarke told the assembled crews how the race was going to be run and where the course was planned to take us. As always the emphasis is on fun and not full blooded crash bang wallop racing. Judging by the radio traffic before the start I am not sure everyone paid as much attention to Tony and Nick as they thought. The Island Packets involved in the race ranged from Emily a venerable Island Packet 27 with her equally venerable skipper 82 years young Warwick Bowden with his brother Richard as crew up to Ailsa a new and pristine looking Island Packet 465 skippered by Richard Kennedy and crewed by Shelley Kennedy and Ray Bridges. We also had three Island Packet 370s, Amadeus, Andante and Castle Island and also former race winning Island Packet 45 Vivamus. The assembled boats eventually made their way out to a point in the Solent which we quickly discovered was also the starting or finishing point of a number of other yacht races. Cowes is the centre of yacht racing in the UK and it’s not unusual for there to be hundreds of yachts sailing and/or racing in the Solent on a summer weekend. After some quick recalculations Tony reset the course and after some confusion about the actual start eventually the race was underway. Ailsa (IP 465) had a great start closely followed by Emily (IP 27) and then Amadeus (IP 370). Soon all the fleet had crossed the start line and the race began in earnest as we all tacked towards the first racing mark. Of course in a race like this with such a range of boat sizes it’s usual that the bigger boats with the longer water line length and bigger sail area will finish before the smaller boats, however thanks to the wonder of yacht handicaps elapsed time is recalculated to corrected time so that all boats compete on a more even playing field. As expected Ailsa (IP 465) followed by Vivamus (IP 45) took line honours and were first to finish. The most closely fought race was between the IP 370s, our Commodore Colin Ward was very keen to ensure that his boat Amadeus was first in that fleet and as I was helming for him I tried to be very focused. The most exciting moment of the race happened at one of the last racing marks as the Island Packet fleet rounded a buoy to starboard we discovered that another and much more intense racing fleet was rounding the same buoy to port. Fortunately we all managed to avoid each other but it made for a good test of close quarters boat handling skills. We managed to keep Amadeus in front of the other IP 370s and crossed the finish line just minutes before Andante who were then followed in by Castle Island. After some confusion over directions Emily (IP 27) had headed back to Cowes for a bit of peace and quiet before the rest of the Island Packet fleet returned.

After the race and after a short delay, while the race results were calculated, all crews gathered on the aft deck of the Island Packet 465 Ailsa so that we could have more food and the official prize-giving. We were also joined by the crew of IP 485 Jessica Mai who happened to be sailing past and wondered what all those other Island Packets were doing. On corrected time Ailsa was the race winner and her owners Richard and Shelley Kennedy accompanied by their crew for the day Ray Bridges were proud recipients of Ye Olde Cup. Also on corrected time Island Packet 370 Amadeus came a very close second closely followed by Island Packet 45 Vivamus in third place. Bob and Carol Harris of Vivamus have won the Cup twice before and with the expert crewing of Bob and Caroline Stokes I thought they might win again but Ailsa got such a good start she was very hard to catch.

After all that excitement we spent the afternoon commiserating with each other on what could have been and congratulating the crew of Ailsa while consuming further liquid refreshments. I was able to talk about our sailing adventures in the West Coast of Scotland as my wife and I continue our very slow multi-year exploration of the coast of Britain and Ireland. Ray Bridges told us of his trip in his IP 460 Sonar from the UK across Biscay and on across the Altantic to Grenada. Our discussions continued as we went on to enjoy an excellent dinner once again organised by Celia Ward.

The evening was rounded off by a talk and a challenging quiz on lights and shapes given by George Girdis who has been helping many new Island Packet owners get to grips with their boats. As well prepared Island Packet owners we all scored well on the quiz. Everyone had a very convivial time over the weekend and Richard Bowden spoke for all of us when he thanked Colin and Celia Ward for all their hard work.