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ROLEX COMMODORES’ CUP

Hard work for crews but France Red still leads

mardi 13 août 2002 – Redaction SSS [Source RP]

It was a day of two halves - very different conditions for the two inshore races of the Rolex Commodores‚ Cup on the second day of the competition with the bigger boats dominating in the morning and the more moderate 40 footers coming into their own in the afternoon. And it was the strong current of a Spring tide that was the separating factor. In the morning, it was right on the nose for the windward legs, while in the afternoon, when it had begun to ebb, the current helped the boats to windward.


The Spring tide was also responsible for the delay to the start of the morning’s race since several of the boats were unable to get out of the West Cowes marina, the tips of their keels stuck in the mud. The Race Committee waited until all were out and had motored down as far as the West Lepe buoy before they began the starting sequence almost an hour after it had been scheduled.

It was the day of the France Red team, led by Gery Trentesaux in the IMX-40, Courrier Nord who now is the individual series leader, that leads the teams after four races by 13.75 points. The only surprise was in how easily France Red moved into the lead from second place to the Commonwealth team after the morning, but when Jean-Yves le Goff’s 42 foot Clin d‚Oeil corrected out in first place while Trentesaux took second and Eric Fries‚ 40 foot Fastwave 3 was eighth, the matter was settled. No other team could match that consistency.

The morning race was a matter of timing the start to perfection and heading for the mainland shore to shelter from the tidal current. Anthony Richards‚ Ker 11.3, Minnie the Moocher (Wales), and his team-mate, Nick Hewson’s Farr 52, Team Tonic, hit the line at the port end, on port tack, at the gun, and crossed the entire fleet. Team Tonic went on to establish a huge lead to win the race by almost a minute on corrected time from Nick Harrison‚s Natti Vee (Commonwealth).

The three Farr 52s, Team Tonic, Bear of Britain (England Red) and Chernikeeff 2 (Commonwealth), together with Peter Morton s 50 foot, Mandrake (Ireland Orange) made a showy sight as they led the other 29 boats by a big margin, but there were good performances by other consistently good boats, Courrier Nord among them in fourth place behind Kit Hobday and Tim Louis’s Bear of Britain, while Minnie the Moocher took fifth place.

In the afternoon, the westerly breeze had risen from 12 to 16 knots and the fleet charged at the line with the tide slack, but that didn t stop a small bunch of identified premature starters who returned and started correctly, but meanwhile Chernikeeff 2 went into a twelve second lead at the first mark from Team Tonic with Bear of Britain another 28 seconds behind. The battle between the two leaders was always close and there were constant attempts by Chernikeeff 2 to go ahead, but each one was repulsed and Team Tonic led across the finishing line of the five-leg windward/leeward course by just six seconds.

It was, however, a race in which the smaller boats would shine and while Team Tonic and Chernikeeff 2 were respectively third and sixth on corrected time, the cruiser/racers were filling the top spots. Clin d’Oeil is an X-442 and she was the race winner by 18 seconds from Courrier Nord, an IMX-40. Salty Dog, of the Dutch Team, in fourth place, is another IMX-40, while fifth placed Fandango (England Red) is a Beneteau 40.7.

France Red leads after four races with 49.75 points, ahead of the Commonwealth on 63.5, while England Red, at third, has 71.5, as does Ireland Orange.

OVERALL TEAM POINTS AFTER 4 RACES

– France Red/49.75/ 1
– Commonwealth/63.5/2
– England Red/71.5/3
– Ireland Orange/71.5/3
– Wales/78.5/5
– Netherlands/109.5/6
– Spain/122.25/7
– England Blue/129.25/8
– France Blue/137.5/9
– Ireland Green/152/10
– Belgium/158.5/11

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