15 September 2017 – Cowes, UK –

Coutts Quarterton Cup 15.09.2017

Winds ranging from 5 knots to 27 knots provided a thorough test of competitors at this year’s Coutts Quarter Ton Cup. Few teams were able to maintain consistent performance across such a wide range of conditions and for most it was a very high scoring series.

However, Sam Laidlaw’s Aguila dominated the front of the fleet throughout the championship and put up an impressively flawless performance today, winning all three races. Laidlaw’s team of Brett Aarons, Dan Gohl, Tom Forrester-Coles and Robbie Southwell, finished the series as overall winner, counting just nine points from seven races.

Speaking after racing Sam Laidlaw was delighted to have finally got his hands on the legendary Quarter Ton Cup, „I’m really excited, because we’ve had a number of attempts at this and been in the top three on several previous occasions. The crew have been fantastic. Brett has done a great job of looking after and preparing the boat and has been sailing with me for a long time now. With Dan on the bow, Tom on the jib and Robbie too we’ve got a very solid team.

„We couldn’t have had two more different days. It’s been a really well run regatta. It was a pity there was no racing on Wednesday, but I think it was the right call. The courses were very good and Rob Lamb did a great job, particularly in getting 4 races in on Thursday which was a real triumph.

„We haven’t really made any changes to the boat for this season. We lost our mast in Cowes last year so had to replace that, but otherwise we’ve just had a lot of time in the boat, working on our crew work and making small tweaks rather than anything major. It’s the crew who do all the work, I just sit at the back and steer!“

Apart from a shocker in the final race, Ian Southworth’s Whiskers also sailed a consistent regatta, counting predominately first and second places to finish in second overall on 14 points. Third overall was taken by Mark Richmond’s Cote on 29 points and fourth by Paul Gibbons‘ Anchor Challenge on 32 points.

Race detail

The first start today (for Race 5) was postponed at the last minute when it became clear, in the words of principal race officer Robert Lamb, that: „…there was way too much interest in the port end of the line.“ The pin was moved six lengths downwind for the next start, but the fleet was still very keen to approach the line, with a couple of mid-line boats over with 20 seconds still to go, and a big bunch of boats rapidly piling into the pin end. Now confident that the line was fair, Lamb called a general recall and a black flag for the next start.

This time the fleet was much more line shy, getting away cleanly, with Mark Richmond’s Cote winning the pin end, ahead of Whiskers. Richard Fleck’s Per Elisa was also well placed, on the windward hip of Whiskers, while Louise Morton’s Bullit looked good ahead of the other boats starting mid-line.

In the early part of the first beat Whiskers, Mike Daly’s Cobh Pirate, Blackfun and Peter Morton’s Innuendo all went well left. At the first windward mark, however, William McNeill’s Illegal came out with a commanding lead ahead of Cobh Pirate, with Aguila and Per Elisa rounding in unison in third and fourth places on the water. Aguila regained the lead on the second lap, while Whiskers crept up to second place both on the water and on corrected time on the run to the finish.

Further back in the fleet, two of the favourites for winning the Quarter Ton Cup – Tony Hayward’s Blackfun (who started the day second overall) and Peter Morton’s Innuendo – had a very disappointing start to the day, languishing in 16th and 17th places respectively.

Race 6 started cleanly, with the fleet much more spread along the line than in the first. Aguila led the fleet around the first mark, an impressive 40 seconds ahead of Whiskers.

While yesterday’s downwind legs were a high-adrenaline battle to stay in control, today’s were much more gentle tactical affairs in which gybing on the biggest windshifts, while staying in the favourable tide in the North Channel for as long as possible, was critical.

At the end of the second windward leg, Whiskers had narrowed Aguila’s lead to less than three lengths. The former gybed at the spreader mark, with Illegal following in her wake, while Aguila continued on starboard for 150 metres. The two leaders then closed each other, before Whiskers gybed onto starboard, and forcing her opponent to gybe almost simultaneously.

They crossed the finish overlapped, with Whiskers taking line honours, barely the length of the foredeck ahead of Aguila. However, with the latter rating three points less than Whiskers, Aguila won on corrected time by 10 seconds. Illegal took third place, her first podium result of the event, while Tom Hill’s newly restored Belinda showed excellent promise, finishing fourth.

Race 7 saw three premature starters, and a number of boats that returned unnecessarily. Aguila again showed excellent speed in the softening breeze, but behind her there was a major shake up in positions. At the end of the first leg, Per Elisa was second on the water, ahead of Cote and Cobh Pirate, positions they all held to the finish.

Whiskers and Blackfun, the top two boats at the end of yesterday’s racing, both had a shocking race, well buried in the fleet and with the former almost failing to weather the spreader mark having hoisted the spinnaker prematurely.

Multiple prize winners

As well as the main prize for the overall winner of the Quarter Ton Cup, the event also awards a raft of other prizes. The Roger Swinney trophy for boats other than the winners of the Open and Corinthian Divisions rating lower than 0.910 was won by Whiskers.

Terence Dinmore’s Captain Moonlight won the prize for the oldest crew, with a combined age of 334 years, and Willie McNeill’s Illegal the youngest (167 years). The oldest bowman, winning the walking stick, is 59-year old Led Pritchard of Whiskers. The concours d’elegance for the best-presented boat went to Lincoln Redding’s Lacydon Protis.

Further information about the event and full results are available from www.quartertoncup.org or by contacting Quarter Ton Class Secretary Louise Morton on louisemorton@me.com and +44 (0)7769 972979 or Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Press Officer Rupert Holmes on Email rupert@rupertholmes.co.uk and +44 (0)7760 713600.

13 September 2017 – Cowes, UK –

The opening day of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup

dawned with blue skies and a brisk 20-25 knot westerly breeze. However, with the wind forecast to increase during the morning, the fleet was held ashore while two mark laying RIBs ventured out at 1100 to check on conditions first hand, which led to a decision to abandon racing for the day.

„We’ve been out on the Hill Head Plateau, where there’s 22-25 knots of wind, with a sharp Solent chop and broken water,“ explained Principal Race Officer, Robert Lamb of the Royal Southampton YC, „…and there’s no prospect of the wind dropping before the tide turns to the west later this afternoon, when the wind against tide will kick up an even worse sea state.“

With the two Quarter Tonners that broke rigs during this year’s Lendy Cowes Week serving as a fresh reminder of the relatively fragile nature of these boats, there was overwhelming support for the decision from owners and sailors. „I think everyone will be pleased, especially at this stage of the regatta, where you don’t want to risk damage,“ said Tom Hill, owner of the newly restored Belinda.

Hill is a long-standing Quarter Ton owner, having sailed Runaway Bus for several years, before buying and refitting Belinda. „The standard is very high in the fleet,“ Hill says, „so you have to keep improving and you learn a lot by sailing against the strongest teams. Belinda is a fairer shape than Runaway Bus and is a much better boat in stronger breezes. John [Corby] did a fantastic job – the boat is now very rigid and feels really solid in a way that’s lacking in some older boats.“

An irresistible challenge

While the class is renowned for attracting some of the world’s most successful sailors, including Olympic medallists, winners of the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup sailors, it’s also one that appeals to Corinthian teams who relish the challenge of attempting to beat the best in the world. While there are only half a dozen entries this year with an all-amateur crew, the Corinthian trophy is a highly coveted prize that several teams have in their sights in the longer term.

For some the Quarter Ton Cup is also a family affair. The White family’s Joker is racing with a full complement of family members this week, including John White, his brother Nick, son Ed, and daughter in law Jo. They bought the boat in Holland 4/5 years ago and sailed her back to the Solent on her own keel. „The Quarter Ton Cup is tremendous competition – probably the most competitive IRC championship of all,“ says John. „The race management is tremendous and there’s always good communication on the water.“ For Joker’s team, today was one of tweaking and calibration, under the watchful eye of the team’s coach, Etchells world champion Paul Blowers.

Another newcomer to the fleet this year is Jim Prower’s Theseus, one of five Fauroux designs at the event. He’s a former International Moth sailor who co-owned a Quarter Tonner in the 1970s and has been attracted back into the class, again with the longer-term ambition of winning the event’s Corinthian trophy.

Tomorrow the forecast is for a west-north-westerly breeze averaging 15 knots, but with significantly strong gusts. The intention is to complete four 45-minute races, with the first warning signal for the 23-strong fleet at 1100.

Further information about the event is available from www.quartertoncup.org, or from Quarter Ton Class Secretary Louise Morton on louisemorton@me.com or +44 (0)7769 972979 and from Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Press Officer Rupert Holmes on Email rupert@rupertholmes.co.uk or +44 (0)7760 713600.

Revived Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Winners

2005 – Purple Haze (1977 David Thomas design) – Tony Dodd

2006 – Enigma – (1977 Ed Dubois design) – Ed Dubois

2007 – Espada – (1980 Bruce Farr design) – Peter Morton

2008 – Tom Bombadil (1982 Doug Peterson design) – Chris Frost & Kevin George

2009 – Anchor Challenge (1978 Bruce Farr design) – Peter Morton

2010 – Cote (1990 Gonzalez design) – Darren Marston & Olly Ophaus

2011 – Overall – Espada (1980 Bruce Farr design) – Louise Morton

Corinthian – Tiger (1989 Fauroux design) – George Kenefick

2012 – Overall – Bullit – (1978 Fauroux design) – Peter Morton

Corinthian – Tiger (1989 Fauroux design) – George Kenefick

2013 – Overall – Espada – (1980 Bruce Farr design) – Louise Morton

Corinthian – Pinguin Playboy (1979 Fauroux design) – Pierre Paris

2014 – Overall – Bullit (1978 Fauroux design) – Peter Morton

Corinthain – Illes Pitiuses (1983 Fauroux) – Dominic and Jason Losty

2015 – Overall – Bullit (1978 Fauroux design) – Louise Morton

Corinthian – Pinguin Playboy (1979 Fauroux design) Pierre Paris

2016 – Overall – Bullit (1978 Fauroux design) – Louise Morton
Corinthian – Pinguin Playboy (1979 Fauroux design) Pierre Paris