Reflections-Vice Admiral's Cup

This was the third VAC, I have competed in and it was just as enjoyable as the last two.


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Flash Glove lights up the Solent


Colm Barrington’s Flash Glove is fresh out of the shed but what a mover,the TP52, formerly known as Pinta, was lightening quick. It just goes to show that the TP52s get so much quicker generation by generation. She is designed bu Judel Vrolijk and is a sistership to Cristabella. Barrington was driving the boat and his crew are a mixture of pros such as Rob and Pete Greenhalgh, Justin Slattery, Dave Lenz and Mike Broughton and good Irish amateurs. One thing though, ditch the lime green t-shirts! Well done to Flash Glove on an impressive performance.

Some might be wondering why Colm Barrington has bought a TP52 when he has a ker 50 already? I think it is a very smart move and these are my own personal thoughts. The Ker 50 Magic Glove is doing exceptionally well in the States and raising a few eyebrows,IRC racing is a new concept to American regattas and Magic Glove is an IRC weapon which is for sale in the States.It is also a good cruising or delivery boat something that is popular in the States, especially on the Eastern Seaboard where long deliveries between regattas are a fact of life.

TP52s in general rate very well under IRC and the old Pinta cost much less than the custom Magic Glove. In essence a TP52 optimised for the rule is a relatively cheap IRC weapon, the phrase “If you can’t beat them join them” springs to mind.

WHY OH WHY does a Farr 45 rate so badly under IRC when a TP52 doesn’t! (A Farr 45 has never won an IRC series, Wolf Scottish Series 2005 came close.)


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Werewolf win back old form

Werewolf had a great VAC after an unsually average start to the season, the young crew handled themselves well in a very competitive fleet and overalldeserved their class victory. Second by a WISC-er was Glyn Williams in Wolf in Sheeps Clothing. The Swan 45 sailed consistantly well bar a shocker in Race 2 and like Werewolf had a poor result in the last race. (I was not there on the Monday. Anybody care to explain the last race?). On Exabyte 4 we sailed pretty well but couldn’t seem to get off the start line well. Glynn Wlliams WISC won the battle of the Swan’s, it will be interesting to see how the British Swan 45s fair in the Rolex Swan Cup at the beginning of July.

A mention must also go to Fortis Excel which is a new Farr 45 on the scene. For the first two days she was giving Werewolf as good as she got at the top of the leaderboard and her owner Norwegian, Agne Nilsson, is a really nice guy. Welcome to the Farr 45 club!

I am afraid I didn’t see any of the 1/4 tonner racing but well done to Kevin George on Tom Bombadil!HAPPY TO ADD TO THIS REPORT FROM SOMEONE INVOLVED?

Official press release below…..




The final day of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club’s Vice Admiral’s Cup was another difficult one for the competitors who had to struggle with more light and shifty conditions as the wind ranged from zero to seventeen knots and came from just about every possible direction.

The Quarter Tonners in Class 4 got the best of the weather completing the final two of their eight scheduled races in sunshine and with light but relatively stable winds on the north shore off Hill Head. Overall Chris Frost and Kevin George on Tom Bombadil took the honours with Paul Kelsey’s Runaway Bus second and Tony Dodd’s Purple Haze third.

For the Quarter Tonners this event was the perfect warm up for the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup which takes place next weekend and is also being hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. “Despite the light winds we’ve had fantastic racing. It gave us the perfect opportunity to try out the new boat and we’re really looking forward to going head to head with 25+ quarter tonners next weekend.” Said Runaway Bus’s new owner Paul Kelsey.

Sadly for the big boats life wasn’t so easy although the race committee was able to complete races four to six despite the vagaries of the weather. At one point in race five the wind shut off completely and there were boats pointing in all directions with all sorts of sail combinations aloft, most of which where hanging like damp washing. Jamie Boag summed the situation up perfectly when he said “The shifts were more difficult to pick than a broken nose!” After two light airs races with the course located around East Bramble the Race Committee sent out boats to check depth and wind around the Solent and decided to move further north to Hill Head. Their decision was well judged and soon the wind was building into the teens and race six turned into a fun romp home round the cans finishing off Cowes.

In Class 0 Colm Barrington’s TP52 Flying Glove put in the most consistent performance of the day to win the class overall counting five firsts and discarding a second. Second and third overall was a very close run thing but in the end it was a delighted Benny Kelly and the TP52 Panthera crew that beat Charles Dunstone’s TP52 Red by just one point. “We really enjoyed the regatta. The competition was great!” Commented John Edwards of Panthera at the prize giving.

In Class One overnight leader Jerry Otter’s Werewolf started the day off confidently with a second but then had an abolute shocker in the light and shifty race five finally struggling across the line in 12th place. In race six they again struggled finishing 9th but a 3, 1, 1, 2, 9 scoreline was sufficient to give them the overall title. Second place was also hard fought in this class and this time it was Glynn Williams and his WISC crew that got the upper hand, beating Agne Nilsson and his Fortis Excel team by just one point. Agne Nilsson, who was has only recently purchased the boat and was helming her in his first major regatta, was delighted with the result and with the format of the weekend commenting “We’ll be back next year.”

Class 1 certainly demonstrated why the level racing formula is so popular with the crews. In the mixed fleet of Farr 45s, Swan 45s and a DK46 each of the classes shone at different times in the regatta and the racing was incredibly close and very exciting throughout the weekend. As Mark Richmond, helmsman aboard the victorious Werewolf put it as he accepted their prizes “It was one of the most competitive regattas we’ve race in!”

In the Cowes leg of the Swan 45 Northern European Championship series Glynn Williams and WISC were delighted to beat their close rivals Feva owned by Grant Gordon and Klaus Diederichs. The Swan 45s particularly enjoyed the opportunity the Vice Admiral’s Cup gave for racing practise on the Solent as they will be holding their Gold Cup event off Cowes in a couple of weeks time.