The 31 boat international fleet competing at the 2011 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup were treated to three excellent races sailed in moderate northerly winds on the third and final day of the regatta. The shifty breeze, combined with strongish tides running across the racecourse for most of the day, made for challenging conditions for the tacticians and skippers alike.

The (almost) all female crew aboard Louise Morton's 'Espada' took an 11 point lead into the final day and with the tactical assistance of Stuart Childerley the girls never looked likely to relinquish the stranglehold they established on this regatta from the very first day.

Cork's Tiger won the Corinthian division in Cowes. Photo: Bob Bateman

A third in the first race today, followed up by a first and a second in the last two races, put their comprehensive overall victory beyond any doubt. A win in the first race of the day along with second and third places in the subsequent races, elevated the winners of last year's Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, Darren Marston & Olly Ophaus on 'Cote', into second place overall. A 4,4,1 performance on the final day saw Day 1 regatta leader Rob Gray on 'Aguila', take the final overall podium place. Rickard Melander's Swedish team on 'Alice II' finished the regatta in fourth place with Eamonn Rohan's Irish crew aboard 'Anchor Challenge in fifth.

In the strictly amateur only Corinthian Division George Kenefick's Irish entry 'Tiger' confirmed overall victory with a 2,1,2 Corinthian scoreline on the final day, by a margin of 23 points. Impressively "Tiger' also finished in sixth place in the overall standings. After a putting on a good final day performance, Paul Kelsey on 'Runaway Bus' moved up to take second place in the Corinthian Division, 5 points ahead of Willy McNeil & Mike Pascall on 'Illegal Immigrant' in third.

A packed and at times slightly raucous prizegiving ceremony was held at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club soon after racing concluded. The prize for the youngest crew competing went to 'Panic' owned by Paul & Mark Lees, with a combined age of just 142. Contrastingly, Tony Dodd's crew on 'Diamond' swept the board in the oldest crew category, totting up to 296 years between them. Diamond's George Webb also collected a beautiful wooden walking stick trophy as the regatta's oldest Bowman. 'Diamond' was also the recipient of one further tongue in cheek prize - a small tin of lubricating oil to help silence their spectacularly noisy spinnaker halliard sheave which had deafened the fleet at every leeward gate during the regatta. The Concourse D'Elegance Marineware Trophy for the smartest boat and crew, as voted for by the Race Committee, was awarded to Dmitri Borodin's Russian entry 'Bullit' - primarily for their stylish matching blue waterproofs. Having been overheard earlier in the week enthusiastically wondering if there would be a prize for the boat to finish in last place in the regatta, Richard Johnson & Sarah Lyle's on 'Hanah J' were duly awarded a specially purchased Wooden Spoon for their spirit and perseverance over the 9 race series. The trophy donated by Quarter Ton Class patron Bob Fisher and awarded to the oldest competing boat went to Paul Treliving's 'Odd Job'. Designed by Stephen Jones and built in 1973, 'Odd Job' was originally owned by Jack Knights who ironically sailed her with Bob Fisher himself in the Quarter Ton Cup that year. A new trophy donated by class stalwart Peter Morton for the first boat with her original keel went to Rickard Melander's 'Alice II' and the prize for the first production boat went to Laurent Beaurin's Farr 727 '45 South'. The Coutts Quarter Ton Trophy, awarded to the boat with the most first places in the regatta, went to 'Espada'.

Despite having owner and skipper Louise Morton sidelined due to a leg injury just prior to the regatta, the 'Espada' crew proved to be slicker in their boat handling and more astute on their tactical calls throughout the event. With a string of 5 race wins and able to discard a fourth place, it was the 'Espada' crew's sheer consistency that ultimately enabled them to dominate this regatta. Speaking immediately after the prizegiving this afternoon, replacement helmsman Colette Blair, had this to say "We are very pleased as a team to have won. I don't think it was something we expected. Coming into the regatta I think we were shooting for a top three result, so coming away with a win is a great success." Despite taking an 11 point lead into the final day Blair confessed to some last day nerves creeping in during today's 3 races. "We were still nervous going out there this morning and the first race first beat we definitely were showing signs of the jitters. We made a couple of mistakes early on, but once we had got them out of our system for the rest of the day there were no real problems." Asked about the importance of the contribution of Stuart Childerley - Espada's token male for the regatta - Blair had this to say: "Stuart's experience was something that really helped us, but also having him there really challenged us a lot too. There was no let up with him onboard. We had to be constantly on the ball, working hard all the time. We all felt that we needed to be 100 percent the whole time to keep up with what Stuart demanded of us."

Ireland's challenge at the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup is living up to expectation with Tiger (George Kenefick) fourth and Eamon Rohan fifth in Anchor Challenge as the event enters the final phase today.  Ireland's interest in the event increases with the news that three members of the crew of Anthony O'Leary's Antix from Royal Cork Yacht Club are sailing on Alice II; Nicholas O'Leary, James Hynes and Richie Watkin.

Anchor Challenge finding her form with a win in race five yesterday. Photo: Bob Bateman

Day 2 of the 2011 Cup delivered decidedly less sun but happily plenty more wind. With a solid twelve knot north-easterly blowing from early morning, the competitors were released from the marina at 09.00 and racing started bang on time at 10.30. After a couple of general recalls caused by the fleet's collective over-enthusiasm, Race 4 of the series eventually got away at the third time of asking. From the very first beat Louise Morton's 'Espada' helmed by Colette Blair, Rob Gray on 'Aguila' and 'Cote' owned by Darren Marston and Olly Ophaus, were all engaged in a nip and tuck battle at the front of the fleet. There was nothing between all three of these boats for the entire race with each of them taking the lead at various points. In the end 'Aguila' crossed the line overlapped with 'Espada' to take the line honours victory, with 'Cote' just two boatlengths back in third place on the water. On handicap however 'Espada' squeaked to victory by just a single second ahead of 'Aguila' in second place. 'Cote' had to concede third place to Ian Southworth's 'Whiskers' by 5 seconds on corrected time, pushing 'Cote' down to fourth, ahead of Paul Treliving's 'Odd Job' in fifth.

The breeze had reduced by a couple of knots by the time the fleet lined up for the start of Race 4. However the startline enthusiasm of the fleet remained undiminished, forcing another General Recall before the race could eventually get away. Rickard Melander on 'Alice II' won the committee boat end of the line and took an early lead going up the first beat. By the top mark though it was 'Espada' and 'Cote' who were fighting it out for the lead once again. These two boats continued to play a cat and mouse game with each other for the rest of the race, with 'Espada' eventually gaining control to take the win on the water by 10 seconds. This was good enough to give the 'Espada' crew their second corrected time race win of the day, ahead of 'Cote' in second and 'Whiskers' in third.  Fourth was 'Alice II' with 'Panic' owned by Paul & Mark Lees taking fifth.

With conditions moderating a little more and just the hint of rain in the air, Race 5 got away under a Black Flag. With two wins under their belts, the 'Espada' crew were now on a roll and saw off sustained challenges from 'Kote', 'Alice II', Eamonn Rohan's 'Anchor Challenge', as well as George Kenefick's 'Tiger' to take another first both on the water and on corrected time. 'Tiger' corrected out into second, with 'Cote' third, 'Alice II' fourth and 'Anchor Challenge' fifth.

The various attempts to start the final race of the day involved a variety of penalty flags and resulted in 5 boats receiving Z-Flag penalties and a further 5 disqualified under the Black Flag rule. The Irish crew on 'Anchor Challenge' finally found their true form to take a line honours and corrected time win, ahead of 'Whiskers' in second and the ever present 'Espada' in third. John Welch on 'Phoenix' took fourth with Jamie McDowell & Brett Linton's New Zealand entry 'Blackfun' awarded fifth place after incurring a Z-Flag penalty.

With all of the scheduled 6 races completed and the regatta now back on track, the results show a new overall leader in the shape of Louise Morton's 'Espada'. Their impressive 1,1,1,3 scoreline for the day sees them hold a 16 point lead going into the final three races tomorrow over Ian Southworth's second placed 'Whiskers'. Yesterday's overnight leader, Rob Gray on 'Aguila', has dropped down to third tonight, just 1 point behind 'Whiskers' and 6 points ahead of George Kenefick's 'Tiger' in fourth. Rounding out the top 5 at the end of Day 2 is Eamonn Rohan's 'Anchor Challenge'.

In the newly introduced and hotly contested all ISAF certified amateur Corinthian Division, George Kenefick's 'Tiger' tops the leaderboard from Laurent Beaurin's '45 South' in second and 'Lancelot' owned by Matt Clark & Tony Thackray.

On the eve of the final day of racing the fleet assembled at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club for the regatta gala dinner and enjoyed a fantastic after dinner speech from British singlehanded yachtswoman Sam Davies about her exploits in the Vendee Globe around the world race.

Racing at the 2011 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup concludes today with three more races scheduled.

The Quarter ton fleet is sailing back to the Sovereigns Cup in 2011. The event runs in Kinsale from June 22-25th.

The Quarter ton fleet made its debut at the 2009 event where a total of seventeen boats competed for the 'Keane's Jewellers perpetual Quarter Ton trophy'. Boats travelled from all over Ireland for the event with seven boats making the journey from the UK.

The four-day regatta was sailed on windward leeward courses, with one coastal race along the beautiful West Cork coastline. The coastal race proved memorable as the fleet short tacked their way along the shore to gain tidal relief in twenty knots of breeze and blazing sunshine with the race culminating in a long planning run back towards the mouth of the harbour.

After eight races the Cowes based yachtsman Peter Morton on 'Anchor Challenge' won the event on count back from Rob Gray's beautifully presented 'Aquilla' which was testimony to the close racing experienced within the fleet. The Ron Holland prize for best production boat was awarded to Kinsales' Ian Travers on his Bolero 'Bandit'.

The inclusion of the class in the 2009 regatta developed a lot of interest both during and after the event. Since then the Irish Quarter ton fleet has developed with the addition of some new boats with others currently undergoing refit for next season. With the recent announcement by the Quarter ton class in the UK to yet again include this event on their calendar for next year, it is highly likely that even in these recessionary times, the class numbers will grow for this truly enjoyable event. (See www.quartertonclass.org )

If you are interested in bringing your quarter tonner to Sovereigns Cup 2011 please contact Ian Travers @ +35387 9481576 or [email protected] or see HERE for further details.

Details of the 2011 Sovereign's Cup were announced at a reception at Kinsale Yacht Club, hosted by Regatta Director, Gary Horgan. The Sovereign's Cup takes place from 22nd-25th June 2011 in the outer harbour of Kinsale which prides itself with excellent sailing conditions, as well as an extensive social programme ashore.
The Sovereign's Cup was established in 1995 as a biennial event and has been a very successful and hugely popular cruiser regatta, with over 140 boats from all over Ireland and the UK competing for the prestigious Sovereign's Cup for best all round score in IRC and The Portcullis Trophy for best progressive handicap.
There are many Classes for entry; including Class 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and two White Sails classes. Also, the Quarter Ton Class Championships will be taking place during the Sovereign's Cup, bringing many new visitors to Kinsale from the South of England and Wales in particular.
Eamonn Rohan in Blondie IV a Mills Design King 40, claimed the 2009 Sovereign's Cup as the 2009 Portcullis Trophy was awarded to Chapman / Reilly's Crazy Horse. Anchor Challenge captured Class 3-IRC and the Quarter Ton Class and was awarded the Keane's Jewellers Quarter Ton Perpetual Trophy.

The Kinsale Yacht Club committee behind the 2011 Sovereigns Cup

"We have already received a number of entries for The 2011 Sovereign's Cup in June and we will be stepping up our sponsorship and communications programme as the months advance," said Gary Horgan, Race Director. "We are very grateful to Kinsale Yacht Club, the Race Management team and all the volunteers who get involved with the organisation of the Sovereign's Cup as we are working hard to organise an excellent programme both on and off the water. We are encouraging people to start thinking about their travel and accommodation plans and are delighted that the Cork Swansea ferry will enable more sailors to access Kinsale easily from the UK," he added.

Two boats are travelling from Ireland to take part in the UK's Coutts Quarter Ton Cup hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes, from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 June 2010. The event is expected to attract a record entry along with some exciting new members of the fleet. Boats will be based in Cowes Yacht Haven for the event, writes Fiona Brown.

Having got a first taste of the fleet aboard his father Neil's Manzanita last year, young George Kenefick will be back again sailing the Kenefick family's newly purchased ASAP know known as TIGER.

 

This stunning all black 1989 Fauroux design has achieved some great results on the UK circuit for the past two seasons and with the very talented George at the helm plus a crew that includes some of Corks finest young sailors including George Kingston, a Laser European champion, and Donagh Good a Laser Junior National Champion,we can certainly look forward to a good performance from this team.

Tiger has just returned from the Liebherr Cruiser Nationals in Dublin and succesfully won Class 3.

They have begun training for the event and if you look out on Cork harbour this week you will be able to see this immacuately re-stored Quarter tonner.

Also making the trip across the Irish Sea, this time from Dublin, will be Ken Lawless who purchased the immaculately restored Super Nova from Ollie Ophaus and who is looking forward to his first Quarter Ton Cup and just recently finished in third overall in the Liebherr Cruiser Nationals.

 

For the fifth year running the organisers are delighted to be partnering with Coutts & Co, the UK private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

 

For further information, Notice of Race and Entry Form for the 2010 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup please visit: www.rcyc.co.uk

 

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