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Don't criticise Cowes Week...

Posted 9 months, 9 days ago

Don't criticise Cowes Week...
I get the monster hump when people criticise Cowes Week because first and foremost I believe that Stuart Quarrie (Cowes Week Director) is totally beyond reproach and has steered the regatta to the very top. I've been a journalist there for years as well as a competitor since before I can remember (alcohol abuse) and I can say, hand on heart, that last year I had the time of my life sailing in lowly Class 9 IRC. So it's with a lot of dismay that I read the following two emails regarding canting keel buffoons who seem to want the world to revolve around them in a Corinthian regatta...Stuart, this blogsite is all yours awaiting a response to these clowns: Firstly from a joker who I have chosen to give anonymity to: One for you to get on your high horse about Magnus!(see forwarded email below, from Gerr O'Rourke, owner of Chieftain). How can your beloved Cowes Combined Clubs hamstring the likes of Chieftain, Alfa, etc using the "don't get much call for them round these parts" excuse?!! Another example of the echelons of British yachting trying to keep sailing in the dark ages. These boats were designed to the IRC rule, and their sail plans are designed to be balanced by the enhanced leverage of their canting keels... For an organisation so vocally focussed on safety, instructing Grand Prix canting-keel boats to fix them is asking for trouble... Besides, surely we should be encouraging the spread of canting keels? Having done a transat aboard the Chief last year, I can testify to the performance benefits! And apart from anything else, don't they realise that if they had canting keels on their H-boats, Sigmas, Sunfast's and Benesleaus, they'd be far less likely to spill their pink gins? Increased stability is not just a performance enhancement, it is a very definite safety feature, allowing a boat to cope with adverse conditions better than a fixed-keel boat could ever hope to. It may not be a foiling Moth, but surely still needs encouraging, to allow the technology to filter down to all levels? Any thoughts? . And this from Ger O'Rourke who I thought had a bit more class (apologies for the formatting) . Fellow Sailors, RORC, IRC, Cowes Race week. . Cowes Week advertise (below) IRC a “fully international rating system” on its web site, Yet canting keel yachts above 14m will have to pin their keels on the centreline (if this wasn’t a safety hazard, it would be a joke). This shows a complete lack of understanding of canters; their sail area would be overly canvassed in more than 10 knots of TWS using the same rig & sails with their keels pinned, to ask a canting keel yacht to do so is a serious breach of safety, a total IRC joke – why have an IRC cert at all? Put Canters in our own class as was done last year and let us develop a class. If one wants to pin their keel, shorten their sail area, rig and put more weight or extend their draft let IRC re-handicap them and let IRC bands be the class band for all.    I strongly suggest you ask your club committees to reconsider, as not to do so will be the death of an exciting form of sailing that the southern hemisphere has let grow to a class.  This, if let go will be the fall of the Northern young sailor experience & enjoying this exciting form of multi hull sailing in a mono hull before its allowed get to build a class, while the NZ & Aussies build experience, it will be our loss. What is the point of having an IRC cert if you cant race – I suggest IRC will be the loser even for the majority of the fleet (who benefit from improvements in this type of IRC yacht) if this trend is let go un checked. Cowes web site is making a joke out of IRC banning the IRC paid up certified canters.The press, media & event sponsors should be advised the Maxis will not be there, the event will be the less for not having the maxi’s, the V70’s, the open 60’s, 50’s & 40’s and thus driving IRC backwards. I suggest Cork week is better bang for you buck as they are all IRC inclusive & the global media will be there at the expensive of Cowes.   

IRC A fully international rating system that is used by many thousands of boats worldwide. Skandia Cowes Week has 10 classes racing under this system, ensuring tight rating bands and close racing in fleets between 30 and 60. Again, ratings can be obtained from  www.rorcrating.com  and in 2008 a new rating costs £8.60 per metre LOA. Canting Keels With only a small number of large boats with canting keels expected in 2008, it has been decided that to give them their own class is not justified but at the same time, racing canting keel boats against those with fixed keels is never satisfactory. It has therefore been decided that any boat over 14metres overall with a canting keel will have to fix their keel amidships for entry to Skandia Cowes Week. They will then be eligible to apply for a new, lower IRC rating.

    If you agree email you thoughts in the strongest possible manner before its too late to the following: (and he lists the emails of a load of Cowes week dignitaries)   regards Ger O' Rourke Skipper owner Chieftain (15M Canting Keel)   Full Story »

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