RACE1 KER 11.3

"Skandia Life Cowes Week 2001"
- David Pelly & Bob Fisher. (Yachts & Yachting) Late August, 2001.

Just in case you hadn't heard - it was a windy Cowes Week! Cowes has a way of serving up one or two breezy days in a generally quiet week but this time, apart from the opening weekend, it was breezy right through from Monday to Saturday. On Monday and Tuesday the wind just topped 30 knots and for the rest of the time there was 20+ knots for at least part of every day.

Depending on your outlook this either made it one of the best weeks of sailing for years, or the most exhausting; certainly no-one got through without blistered hands and aching shoulders. For the owners of the three Portsmouth Victories, the Daring and the Sonar that sank it was unfortunate, while for the owners of innumerable boats that broke spars and gear or shredded sails it was merely expensive. There was certainly enough high-adrenalin sailing to keep everyone wide-eyed for weeks!

It was the biggest Cowes Week ever, with over 1,000 entries and since the one-designs produce roughly the same number of boats year after year, this meant that the handicap fleet was huge. Robbie Cameron-Davies' new Ker 11.3 'I-Site', of which more in a moment, came in free as entry number one thousand.

CLASS 1 IRC
(TCC 1. 100-1.220) 52 entries
The very large Class 1 was swelled by the addition of a dozen Farr 40s which sailed a series within a series that began with their own private set of windward-leeward races for the first three days. This made it impossible for them to look good on overall points even though the top Farr 40 'Barking Mad' popped in a second and a third after joining up with the main fleet.

As usual, this class resolved itself into a battle between big, heavy low-rated boats such as the Swan 65 'Desperado' and the various smaller, lighter and generally higher-rated modern boats. The new kids on the block were the four Ker 11.3s which seem to be formidable performers which go to windward with the Farr 40s and then zoom away downwind like an overgrown Melges 24.'On a High', sailed by Phil Crebbin and the 'Race1' team was extremely fast and won the Queen's Cup on the opening Saturday. Robbie Cameron-Davies, whose existing crew from his previous yacht 'Xnantor' was augmented by David Lenz and Mark Rushall of Hyde Sails, was also remarkably quick, especially in Friday's race which concluded with a long, fast run against the tide.

But both these boats missed a day due to breakages whereas Charles Dunstone's Corby 41.5 'Nokia' sailed an immaculate series which saw her counting nothing but twos, threes and fours after the discard. But, surprise, surprise, it was none of the trendy new boats but the old reliable Swan 65 'Desperado!' which had easily the best overall result. In any long, hard beat against the tide - and there were plenty it is dispiriting to the smaller boats to see the big ketch go trucking steadily away into the distance, knowing that they almost all give her time! Of course she is not just any old Swan 65; her rig and rating have been carefully optimised, she has top-class sails and is very well handled. For two days she was sailed by Johnny Caulcutt whose IACC was temporarily 'hors de combat' and won both times.

One production boat that showed up extremely well in Class 1 was the Beneteau 47.7. Nick Hewson's 'Team Tonic' was fourth overall while Tony Mack's 'McFly' was sixth.




		COWES WEEK 2001 REVIEW. "Skandia Life Cowes Week 2001" - David Pelly & Bob Fisher. (Yachts & Yachting) Late August, 2001. Just in case you hadn't heard - it was a windy Cowes Week! Cowes has a way of serving up one or two breezy days in a generally quiet week but this time, apart from the opening weekend, it was breezy right through from Monday to Saturday. On Monday and Tuesday the wind just topped 30 knots and for the rest of the time there was 20+ knots for at least part of every day. Depending on your outlook this either made it one of the best weeks of sailing for years, or the most exhausting; certainly no-one got through without blistered hands and aching shoulders. For the owners of the three Portsmouth Victories, the Daring and the Sonar that sank it was unfortunate, while for the owners of innumerable boats that broke spars and gear or shredded sails it was merely expensive. There was certainly enough high-adrenalin sailing to keep everyone wide-eyed for weeks! It was the biggest Cowes Week ever, with over 1,000 entries and since the one-designs produce roughly the same number of boats year after year, this meant that the handicap fleet was huge. Robbie Cameron-Davies' new Ker 11.3 'I-Site', of which more in a moment, came in free as entry number one thousand. CLASS 1 IRC (TCC 1. 100-1.220) 52 entries The very large Class 1 was swelled by the addition of a dozen Farr 40s which sailed a series within a series that began with their own private set of windward-leeward races for the first three days. This made it impossible for them to look good on overall points even though the top Farr 40 'Barking Mad' popped in a second and a third after joining up with the main fleet. As usual, this class resolved itself into a battle between big, heavy low-rated boats such as the Swan 65 'Desperado' and the various smaller, lighter and generally higher-rated modern boats. The new kids on the block were the four Ker 11.3s which seem to be formidable performers which go to windward with the Farr 40s and then zoom away downwind like an overgrown Melges 24.'On a High', sailed by Phil Crebbin and the 'Race1' team was extremely fast and won the Queen's Cup on the opening Saturday. Robbie Cameron-Davies, whose existing crew from his previous yacht 'Xnantor' was augmented by David Lenz and Mark Rushall of Hyde Sails, was also remarkably quick, especially in Friday's race which concluded with a long, fast run against the tide. But both these boats missed a day due to breakages whereas Charles Dunstone's Corby 41.5 'Nokia' sailed an immaculate series which saw her counting nothing but twos, threes and fours after the discard. But, surprise, surprise, it was none of the trendy new boats but the old reliable Swan 65 'Desperado!' which had easily the best overall result. In any long, hard beat against the tide - and there were plenty it is dispiriting to the smaller boats to see the big ketch go trucking steadily away into the distance, knowing that they almost all give her time! Of course she is not just any old Swan 65; her rig and rating have been carefully optimised, she has top-class sails and is very well handled. For two days she was sailed by Johnny Caulcutt whose IACC was temporarily 'hors de combat' and won both times. One production boat that showed up extremely well in Class 1 was the Beneteau 47.7. Nick Hewson's 'Team Tonic' was fourth overall while Tony Mack's 'McFly' was sixth.