Lady P – Overall Winner at Cowes Week… 13 Aug 2013
Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey went to the prizegiving at the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week to collect their trophy as winners of the Squib Class. This was not a new experience as they had been winners of this event before.
This was different, however…
With such a low score of just seven points for a total of six races, they wondered whether they might be in with a chance as winners of the White Group (all the one design classes)… To their delight, that is how it worked out and there was another trophy to receive. “Then,” said Malcolm, “it did just cross my mind…?”
He was right – once the numbers had all been crunched and the factors relating to the differences between the White Group and the Black Group (all the IRC Classes) had been considered, Lady Penelope was declared the overall winner of Cowes Week 2013 and the smiles on their faces say it all!
“Lady Penelope dominated the Squib Class and they achieved
their third consecutive overall win sewn up with a day to spare. However, the final race was needed to decide the outcome of the tight battle for second and third places between Duncan Grindley’s Surprise on 14 points and David Coombes, Martin Harrison and Jerry Westbrook’s Firecracker Too on 16 points.
With the tide now setting strongly to the west, one minute before the start there were a lot of boats pointing away from the line. Fred Warren-Smith’s Aquabat looked to be first to luff onto a close hauled course, a split second before the gun, a couple of boats including Duncan Grindley’s Surprise, both slightly to windward ofAquabat’s line. Richard Bailey’s Japp was also well placed at the start, a little to leeward of the leading trio.
By the finish of Saturday’s race Lady Penelope was two minutes ahead of Dick Batt’s Squib, with Warren-Smith crossing the line in third place 12 seconds later. Today’s result doesn’t change the top three, but it sees Lady Penelope taking overall victory in White Group. “We are overwhelmed. It is fantastic to have won White Group after three years of trying and we are particularly pleased to be taking the trophy back to the east coast,” said Malcolm Hutchings.”