Oyster Regatta – Cowes 2012 Brief

Oyster Regatta – Cowes 2012 Luxury Yacht Charter & Superyacht News

Oyster Regatta – Cowes 2012: Day 4 – Andrew and Ann Walters 56 yacht Asante first on corrected time

July 13, 2012

Following a big weather race up the Solent to dinner and sea shanties on Portsmouth’s HMS Warrior, the teams participating in this year’s Oyster Regatta in Cowes, organised by the prominent UK-based luxury yacht builder Oyster Yachts, woke up into sunny morning.

Oyster Regatta - Cowes 2012

Oyster Regatta - Cowes 2012

With the wind still in the west but very much lighter, the fleet, which entirely opted for white rather than downwind sails for the mostly upwind course (13 miles Class 2, 16 miles Class 1) ghosted around the Squadron’s committee boat and a 50-yard line gauging a tide approaching low water slack. Inshore around Gillkicker, or out left into the channel and likely more breeze?

Class 2 saw its tied-on-points leaders lock horns at the start with Bert Janssen’s Oyster SJ41 Prince de Petarcq squeezing Simon Timm’s Oyster 53 Nutcracker away from the line and under the committee boat, forcing a turn that in this slow wind cost considerable time. The two then parted, testing the theories. The Oyster SJ41 scurried off right to the island shore. Nutcracker took a hike out left for more wind in the just 0.3 knot tide. And the wind was there building to five, six and then a few more knots. The Morris family’s Oyster 49 Tenens Spirit also went left but then rolled back inshore while Nutcracker stayed out, pulled away and led around first mark Good Acre but only to be outpointed by Prince de Petarcq who then opened a gap. Up above, the gap between clouds closed and it was back to rain, which remained for the race.

Nutcracker needed to beat Prince de Petarcq on the water to win Class and with 17 knots apparent stayed out for boat speed hugging the banks, but on the final dog leg back to Cowes Prince de Petarcq, pointing a good 10 degrees higher, took the lift as the wind veered a little more south, and lee-bowed the tide the whole way into Prince Consort on a single tack, taking line honours and first on corrected. Nutcracker came in a good second with Tenens Spirit third and John Nelson’s and Phillip Riesco’s Oyster 42 Sundancer fourth, ahead of yesterday’s winner Nick Flower’s Oyster 45 Kite Runner and Mike Freeman’s Oyster 46 Can Do.

Luxury yacht Isis

Luxury yacht Isis

Of how the Belgians on Prince de Petarcq with no local knowledge have fared so well throughout, owner Bert Janssen says, “Simple, while you party, we read books… no, only joking, where we sail we have a lot of sandbanks too, and when tide and wind are against you, you stay by the bank, it’s easy… but we race a lot and we have a very good boat, and it is very different to the other Oysters here.”

With 20 minutes between Class 2 and 1 starts, the bigger Oysters had time to review the decisions of the smaller fleet but again this saw a divide. Richard Smith on the Oyster 655 Sotto Vento got a cracking start coming in from the port end taking advantage of the bias to get pole position going inshore, but they left it too late to tack back out and, compared with those who did, virtually parked.

The Oyster 82 Starry Night led the procession with fellow 82 Bare Necessities joining the fleet today after returning from the Pendennis Cup where, in strange contrast, she was the smallest in that fleet, the biggest being almost three times longer! But a heavier boat and without the sailing rock stars of Starry Night aboard, Bare Necessities followed in the on-water leader’s wake, with behind her Andrew and Ann Walters 56 Asante and Charles and Nicky Manby’s Isis, the main contenders. Isis had been fourth across the line and held Asante for much of the time but in the final legs the pair replayed the same Class 2 leader board wrangle. The result, Asante first corrected, Isis second, Starry Night third, Bare Necessities fourth.

They say you never know what might happen and today fate served up two ‘courses’. To turn the basic 13-mile course into a 16-miler for Class 1, the race team stitched on an extra bit of knitting at the front end, with one of those extra marks being the old favourite Mother Bank. It was fortunate it was not set for Class 2. At the time of their passing by but not needing, the vast steel buoy was raised high in the air on a working barge. Fortunately it was in position by the time Class 1 arrived! And as the boats went out on the dog leg to Mother Bank, the wind shifted significantly and the reach became a run with the big boats quite a spectacle all boomed out. It being 12.30 the Committee Boat declared this the ‘picnic run’ and lunch was duly served!

Dinner and sea shanties aboard Portsmouth’s HMS Warrior

Dinner and sea shanties aboard Portsmouth’s HMS Warrior

The second incident raised a special mention for Paul Fletcher of 56 Dreams Come True at the prize giving for the day’s Raymarine sponsored race, at a cocktail party hosted by Panerai, thankfully in their fine marquee as the heavens simply opened up again.

Oyster CEO David Tydeman, passing out the generously Raymarine-donated prizes, made a special mention of Paul Fletcher who came to the regatta to test his Oyster 56 Dreams Come True for his family’s entry in the inaugural Oyster World Rally, but who today went one step further, going straight overboard when in a tack a genoa sheet snapped bar taut and upwards flipping him over the rail. Fortunately Paul was uninjured and his crew were quick in making the recovery. All was back to normal and none of the edge had been lost, clearly. While Paul was in the water, Brendan McNutt’s Oyster 56 Purusha  diverted to offer assistance. Their reward?  The Dreams team later creamed Purusha by two seconds on the line… but conceded when corrected!

So today’s been a day of difference again, and Friday, the final day of racing, will be exciting in both classes with the discard now perhaps dictating who will take the top prizes. In Class 1 it could be any one of three boats, and perhaps four in Class 2. The course tomorrow will start to the West for the first time this week, and discard or no, on the last of the falling tide it’s the fair tide beat that’ll decide the day’s winner and point to the podium at the last night’s prize giving at the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Oyster Regatta – Cowes 2012: Day 3 – The brand new Oyster 575 sailing yacht Isis first in Class 1

July 13, 2012

After chasing a course woven back and forth through the eastern end of the Solent, Day 3 of the Oyster Regatta 2012 in Cowes saw the 18 competing yachts, from the Oyster 41 to the Oyster 82, cross the finish off Portsmouth’s Spit Sand Fort in preparation for an amazing post-race supper aboard HMS Warrior. The Oyster 56 sailing yacht Asante perfectly described an English summer’s day as The Tempest!

Oyster Regatta - Cowes 2012

Oyster Regatta - Cowes 2012 Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline

That sentiment was not unique. “I’ve never sailed in anything like this before,” says newcomer to British sailing Richard Smith of 655 Sotto Vento, with a grin a mile wide. Even ocean racer Campbell Field, skippering the Oyster 82 superyacht Starry Night of the Caribbean, commented, “I’ve never seen this in a July Solent before”. There was a little damage but only slight, a handful of halyards, sheets and a couple of bits of hardware, but that the fleet worked the course in such conditions so well shows the sure footing and safe seakeeping in-built in these Oyster yachts.

Before the fleet knew what was coming their way, the tactical choice today was very different to the day before. The course was much more downwind, which ironically caused more to choose white sails than downwind so they could goose wing and cover more distance running square rather than three-quarters. In Class 2 eight of the ten yachts took this route, but in Class 1 most opted for downwind sails. Some just wanting to test their colour sail carrying capabilities. And it was certainly challenging with big wind shifts in a drenching black cloud and squally breeze gusting anywhere between 15 and upper mid-30 knots. The results in these tough conditions were really interesting.

After nearly three hours racing, on corrected time, five boats came in within five minutes of each other and there were only 14 minutes between the ten Oysters in Class 2. Nick and Dee Flower’s 45 Kite Runner, taking first, Aidan Millerick’s 46 Astraeus of Mersea, second, Peter Morris’s 49 Tenens Spirit third, and Simon Timm’s 53 Nutcracker, 4th.

Oyster 82 superyacht Starry Night

Oyster 82 superyacht Starry Night Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline

Nick Flower described his team’s race on Kite Runner, his first keel boat bought just three years ago as, “All good… just wet!” Before carving their own way they got a good second over the line behind Peter Martin’s 45 Little Morton which he always sails the regattas with his soon to be 84-year-old mother Elisa on board, today’s ‘Tempest’ being no exception. And as Nick on Kite Runner recounted while they headed back into another wild beat, they passed Little Morton with tea being served in the cockpit just prior to the gybe mark!

Kite Runner was one who popped a sheet, forcing a tack off the island shore, which actually proved beneficial, gaining them ground on a cluster including the 49 Tenens Spirit. The two kite flyers (SJ41, Prince de Petarcq and 53 Spirit of Epsilon) were still way ahead but with a bit of a tidal gate at the next windward mark, Kite Runner closed on Astraeus but after that Astraeus took off, however giving time, finished second to Kite Runner’s first on corrected.

In Class 1, there was a bigger spread with 19 minutes separating boats, and a couple of retirements. There was a real teeth-bared duel going on out front though between yachts 82 Starry Night and 655 Sotto Vento after Starry Night, unhappy with depth, tacked early out of the mainland shore back to Norris, losing to the tide and also being headed. Sotto Vento held on, enjoyed the lift and pulled a lead out after the bank, which she held almost to the very end with Starry Night only just taking her out with 10 seconds between them, crossing the line as a 28-knot squall came through, the pair boldly hanging on to their spinnakers. A brave call, particularly as fast approaching the fort they were quickly running out of water!

Starry Night superyacht - rear view

Starry Night superyacht - rear view Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline

But on corrected time, it was Charles and Nicky Manby’s brand new Oyster 575 Isis first, and Andrew and Ann Walters’ 56 Asante second, Sotto Vento third, and Starry Night fourth.

Aboard fifth-placed 56 Dreams Come True, owners Paul and Sue Fletcher were joined by fellow Dragon sailors Gavia Wilkinson-Cox and Mark Hart who, with Paul, were fresh back from the Worlds in Ireland. “Three differences between Dragons and Oysters?” Gavia proposed in a champagne toast at the race’s conclusion all tied up in Haslar, “Hot coffee thrust in your hand on arrival, hot soup downwind, and clothes in the tumble drier as soon as you’re docked!”

For some there’s no going back! And with the reconstitution of the House of Lords in the air as we write, a new title was also proclaimed for valiant crew member Tim who in the repeated squalls selflessly stood sheltering his host at the helm from the onslaught of stinging rain such that he could see and steer the course. He is from this time on to be known as Protector of the Helm!

Oyster 655 yacht Sotto Vento

Oyster 655 yacht Sotto Vento Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline

With everyone showered and tumble dried back into partying mode, and the sun finally shining for a glittering evening, the regatta crews slid out into Portsmouth harbour on a sixpenny-slicker, chartered by Oyster for the occasion, and ferried across to the splendid HMS Warrior for an evening of eclectic old naval entertainment and excellent food in what must be one of the best living museums around. And for some there were fine trophies, too, with Oyster CEO David Tydeman presenting mid-regatta prizes.

The final prize giving will be in the Royal Yacht Squadron after the final race on Friday, but to date with two races and a tied first place in Class 2 between Nutcracker (53) and Prince de Petarcq (SJ41), and the first four boats split by only 1.75 and only six points separate nine boats, the win could be anyone’s. Class 1 is slightly more open though with three boats separated by just one point. The Manby’s 575 Isis being 0.25 ahead of the Walters’ 56 Asante, which is in turn 0.75 ahead of Starry Night.

Oyster Regatta – Cowes 2012: Day 2 – Oyster 82 superyacht Starry Night currently leading in her class

July 12, 2012

The teams competing on Day 2 of this year’s Oyster Regatta – Cowes, organised by the prestigious UK-based luxury yacht builder Oyster Yachts, were accompanied by a good British wind and more than a few buckets of rain. Both Classes 1 and 2 provided a fantastic performance with excellent tactics.

Oyster Regatta - Cowes 2012 Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline

Oyster Regatta - Cowes 2012 Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline

Much of the fleet is familiar with these home waters but the day was not without its surprises. While the flagship Oyster 82 superyacht Starry Night of the Caribbean romped home to a polished first on the water and corrected time with circuit star Campbell Field as race captain and navigation by top charts man Rodney Barton, Andrew and Ann Walter’s 56 Asante sailed a blinder too, coming in an impressive three minutes and one second behind on corrected time, with Charles and Nicky Manby’s brand new Oyster 575 Isis just a little under a further four minutes back.

As familiarity builds, there may be a little more over the shoulder monitoring. From Asante’s foredeck, Vladan Jovanovic, was positively beaming, “A great race, last leg just unbelievable. The course was really beautiful, very challenging, tide, wind variation, everything… incredible.”

Richard Smith, owner of Oyster 655 sailing yacht Sotto Vento, fourth after Isis, and a veteran of 15 Oyster regattas, is here sailing in tides for the first time and in weather a little less clement than their usual Caribbean sailing. “It’s not sunshine is it,” he quips, “but the wind’s been great, we don’t often get it like this in the other regattas. It’s good. We’ve also learned we don’t have to do things too quickly, and my new skipper Matt says Sotto Vento performs like a dinghy. Today we just did too many things too late and too many too soon!”

Class 2 saw a battle too, not just for corrected time but also with very close matching on the water. The two Oyster 53s, Clifford and Sally Sturt’s Spirit of Epsilon and Simon Timm’s Nutcracker rattled not just each other but also the flush-decked Oyster SJ41 Prince de Petarcq owned by Bert Janssen from Belgium, who none would have judged by his calls to be a stranger to these waters.

It was only in the final stages of the 2½-hour, 16 mile course that the pack split and two tactical decisions, East or West of Bramble Bank back to Prince Consort, and then, when across, whether to put another tack in or head to the soft tide inshore settled the ranking. A real star call came from elsewhere in the class, but more later. Prince de Petarcq took line honours but second overall, while Spirit of Epsilon piled in second but took first on corrected time. And an extraordinary coincidence should not go un-noted, first and second in Class 2 were parted by the exact same three minutes and one second as Class 1. How tidy!

With the Solent busy with the 83-strong Panerai British Classic Week fleet plus 40 Sunsails out course bashing, marks are in big demand, but the Royal Yacht Squadron’s race team of around 20 headed by Simon Van der Byl set managed courses well. As Simon says, “We set some shaped courses with 2½ extra miles for Class 1, and we were very pleased with that last beat across the tide, everyone had to think about that, as they had to for the first long reach, too.”

Starting the classes 20 minutes apart, the later Class 1 benefitted from a more southerly swing in the wind, which helped those who in the pre-start roll call had nominated downwind rather than white sail handicapping. Class 2 suffered through a finer reach than had been anticipated with a turn in the breeze but Spirit of Epsilon, further out in the channel saw the advantage. “We could see around Norris Point and boats there weren’t running, so the right call was white sails.”

That proved wise and the first boats through with Epsilon with kites suffered a fine reach to ‘Peters & May’ and then fell low below ‘Good Acre Yacht Repairs’ under the mainland except Prince de Petarcq, which gybed back and forth with the perfect line. The three continued to challenge and in the closing stages, as Epsilon owner Clifford Sturt explains, “Nutcracker was leading along the North channel, we had to do something and as Nutcracker continued west we decided to go east of Bramble Bank and then get close inshore to the island… and it worked!” First corrected was theirs.

Another to seek the island shore, but even earlier, was the Oyster 435 Parton with a race and regatta novice crew who played a blinding hand to finish fourth, sneaking quite a few places up the fleet. The two husbands and wives crew, owners David and Linda Pedley and Linda’s sister Ali with husband Julian Wright had their first ever pole practice at 9am that morning, before this, Linda and Ali having never raced at all.

“We tend to cruise with our children mostly,” says David, “but based in Port Solent we spend a lot of time out here. We’d been trying to guess where we might come, but we didn’t think we’d be just three and a bit minutes behind the winner. Mind you, it could have gone the other way!” Yes, but actually the start was rather good, too, trumping as they did Nutcracker. Simon Timm on Nutcracker will be looking to change that, and the finish tomorrow.

Another that Parton snuck through was the aft cockpit 42 Sundancer sailed smartly by owners John Nelson and Phillip Riesco, who despite the shortest waterline length in class held the middle well between the clearly defined front and back of fleet pulling distance continually until the bigger winds of the final beat overpowered a little and laid her lower on the breeze. An excellent sail though, in a superbly kept boat now 14 years old with still everything original, excluding of course modern addendum but including the same upholstery as when launched. You wouldn’t know it. But that’s the secret of Oyster.

The day rounded off on a distinctly Caribbean note, with crews from the Oyster Regatta joining crews from the Panerai Classics Regatta fleet for a superb barbecue and dancing at Cowes Yacht Haven.

Wednesday – Race 2 to Portsmouth and dinner on board HMS Warrior, there’s fighting talk!

Oyster Regatta – Cowes 2012, July 9 – 13: Day 1

July 10, 2012

Hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron and based out of Cowes Yacht Haven, Monday 9 July in the Solent saw the arrival of the Oyster fleet participating in the amazing British yacht manufacturer Oyster Yachts‘ 29th class regatta.

Oyster 82 sailing yacht Starry Night Photo Credit PhotoAction

The biggest luxury vessel to compete in the Oyster Regatta: Oyster 82 sailing yacht Starry Night Photo Credit: Tim Wright/PhotoAction

With four days of racing ahead, and it has to be admitted four days’ of partying, this is after all a very convivial regatta, the 20 entrants spilled through the Haven’s narrow, cross-tide entrance, with a particularly deft display by the biggest of all, the flagship Oyster 82 superyacht Starry Night of the Caribbean, piloting into the most awkward of berths with apparent absolute ease. Over the sea wall more mast tops showed and by mid-afternoon the fleet was in and the preparation for the Concours d’Elegance began. A voluntary, light hearted affair with as much joshing as judging, the Oyster shore team set to work, jumping from boat to boat, avoiding the bribes from beers to, well, Oyster will leave it at that!

And it’s interesting to see how well the fleet looks. Fresh launches such as Charles and Nicky Manby’s brand new, perfect pale-grey hulled Oyster 575 Isis of course shone. “She’s done just 300 miles and only about 50 under sail so far,” said Charles, “but she’s already shown she can handle a Force 8 in comfort in the Channel, so she’s doing all right.”

Elsewhere, 11 years of age, the Oyster 49 yacht Tenens Spirit sailed by the extended Morris family, headed by brothers Peter and Bill, is in good form too. At first thinking they might duck out of the Concours, “I think we’ve a bit too much to do,” laughs Peter, “she is an old lady, you know.” Minutes later she was ready. Pro rata length she perhaps has the biggest crew pool. “16 in the house from three-years-old up,” says Peter, “this is just such a great family event, we bring as many as we can!” Eight on board is the likely daily order, though.

On opposite inner and outer pontoons lie the two yachts most likely to claim furthest passage to the event.

On the outward limit, Oyster 55 yacht Boysterous of Inverness, bought last year by Jon Suller who has given her a new berth on the Clyde. “We sailed down with three on board, took a week in just about every kind of condition through to Force 7.” And is he pleased with his new purchase? “It’s a life’s dream. I’ve had other boasts but I always dreamt of an Oyster. And here I am now with an Oyster at an Oyster regatta. It couldn’t get any better!” With more crew coming on board for the racing, who knows, there’s always the possibility of a trophy!

In the skipper’s briefing Oyster CEO David Tydeman, who earlier arrived in Cowes in true corporate fashion aboard the Oyster 54 yacht Legend, welcomed the fleet with a special mention of the other challenger for furthest travelled contender, the splendid two tonner Oyster 41 sailing yacht Prince de Petarcq, drawn by Stephen Jones and an elegant reminder of Oyster’s more race oriented days in the late 1970′s/early 1980′s. 30 years old, Prince de Petarcq has been sailed across from Belgium by Bert Janssen and crew to compete and is clearly one to watch. Arriving early, she enjoyed a warm-up in the shape of the J P Morgan Round the Island race, coming in a healthy ninth in class in blistering conditions. We’ll maybe see her first home some days in this event, but the two tier handicapping system of electing white or downwind sails day by day according to bias means with corrected time the racing is open to all comers.

But back to the conviviality of the first evening, at a pleasant cocktail party in the Squadron’s marvellous pavilion followed by buffet supper for all the 150 owners and crews, family, friends and officers of the club, whose Commodore, Michael Campbell, warmly welcomed the Oyster fleet back for the fourth hosting of this fine Oyster Regatta.