Top Cork youth sailor George Kenefick at the helm of Chimp has tightened the strangle hold on the lead of the Half Ton Classic Cup and now has a 14-point margin over  nearest rivals off Cowes. One time series leader Howth's King One, skippered by Dave Cullen, did not complete any of yesterday's races, dropping to 14th overall.

The old adage that things become better with age has never been more apt than in Cowes this week, where a 38 strong fleet of historic little yachts racing in the 2011 Half Ton Classic Cup supported by South Boats has been enjoying a wonderful fifth edition of this revival event.  The boats may be old but their hearts are still strong and it's great to see not only superbly close racing on the water, but also the wonderful camaraderie of the crews ashore.

Today's fourth day of competition in the five-day regatta featured three more races, bringing the total number sailed to ten.  With rain and no wind greeting the bleary eyed crews as they pulled back the curtains first thing Race Officer Rob Lamb made the judicious decision to hold everyone ashore until conditions improved.  At 11.15 the fleet was sent afloat and by the time they came to the line for race eight in the series they had around 13 knots from the southwest and the sun was breaking through.  Again the Race Committee was able to complete three races, the first two of which were windward leeward's and the third a round the cans race.

Once more it was cut and thrust on every leg of every race, both on the water and in the corrected time results.  In the two windward leeward races Michael Kershaw's Chimp and Jean-Philippe Cau's Sibelius virtually match raced around the course.  Chimp went on to win both races with Sibelius claiming second in both.  In race eight David Evans' Hullabaloo XV just pipped Robbie Tregear's Per Elisa for third by 6 seconds.  In race nine it was the turn of Philippe Pilate aboard reigning Half Ton Classic Cup champion General Tapioca to fill the final podium slot.  In the tenth race Francis Marshall's Concorde, General Tapioca, Hullabaloo XV and Chimp were locked in battle and the final beat, right across the central Solent to finish on the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's line in front of the spectators on the Parade, was a delight to watch.  On the line the boats were so close that the competitors couldn't be certain of the corrected time positions and there was a frantic rush back to the club house to find out the results, which revealed that Concorde had won with General Tapioca second, Hullabaloo XV third and Chimp fourth.

In the overall standings Chimp has tightened her strangle hold on the lead and now has a 14-point margin over her nearest rival.  Michael Kershaw has put together a strong young crew for Chimp at this event.  On the helm is Ireland's George Kennefick,  one of Ireland's top young sailors.  For Geroge IOR sailing is in his blood (his father is the legendary Neil Kennefick of Quarter Ton Cup winner Manzanita fame) and he's been sailing Quarter Tonners and Half Tonners for several seasons.  Also on the crew is Roger Merino, well known as one of the top Etchells crews and a regular member of the Chimp team. Graham Love and Ed Fitzerald who both have previous Half Ton Classic Cup experience and Ian Brown of Quantum complete the crew.

General Tapioca continues to hold second place and is now 18.3 points ahead of  Concorde.  Tim and David Cunliffe's Insatiable has dropped down into fourth place and are now tied on points with Per Elisa.

Two final races remain to be sailed and the regatta concludes tomorrow, Friday 26 August.  The forecast is for more rain overnight and tomorrow morning with light winds during the first part of the day so the fleet has its fingers crossed that they can achieve two races before the 14.30 final start time cut off.

Ireland's only representative in the Half Ton Cup has opened his account with a third placing, David Cullen's King One from Howth Yacht Club was vying for the lead in the first race yesterday and with an early start this morning in a race around the Isle of Wight Cullen is again in the hunt in the offshore race that counts for double points.

For the 38 strong fleet assembled in Cowes for the 2011 Half Ton Classic Cup, supported by South Boats, today's opening three races were confirmation that the Half Ton Class continues to go from strength to strength. Throughout each of the day's three races the fleet was tightly packed with plenty of close quarters drama keeping both the sailors and the spectators on the edge of their seats.

The entry list represents a true cross section of the original Half Ton fleet with the oldest boat being the 1977 Davidson designed Waverider, owned by A Delvaus of Belgium, a double winner of the Half Ton Cup in 1978 and 1979 when skippered by Laurie Davidson himself.  The newest boat in the fleet is the 1992 Caccerelli designed Per Elisa, owned by Britain's Robbie Tregear, which was the last of the grand prix Half Tonners ever built, launching in 1992.

Racing was initially postponed for two and a half hours whilst the fleet waited for wind but the wait was worth it with a nice 10-12 knots from 135 degrees filling in around lunchtime.  The Race Committee, led by Race Officer Rob Lamb, was able to set up shop on the Hill Head Plateau and with judicious use of a relatively short windward leeward course they achieved three races that tested the teams to the full.

In the opening race Half Ton Class Chairman and defending champion Philippe Pilate's General Tapioca took an early lead on the water and on corrected time and despite the many attempts by Francois Michelin's Chani and Cullen's King One they held their lead through until the finish.  On corrected time General Tapioca won by 34 seconds from Chani with King One taking third by just three seconds.

Race two went to Sibelius, owned by Jean-Philippe Cau who also took control of the race early on and then refused to relinquish their lead.   Michael Kershaw's Chimp finished 57 seconds behind them with Tim and David Cunliffe's Insatiable three seconds behind that in third place.  General Tapioca had to settle for fourth, just nine seconds behind Insatiable.

In race three General Tapioca came to the fore again, this time winning by ten seconds from Chimp with Denzil Williams' Santa Evita third and Robbie Tregear's Per Elisa fourth.

In the overall standings General Tapioca now leads the fleet by two points from Chimp who counts 8 points, with Sibelius third on 14 points, Chia fourth on 22 points and Insatiable fifth on 24 points.

The event also features a special division for Production Boats, which this year features two Hustler SJ30s, two MG HS 30s, a Golden Shamrock, an Albin Ballad, an X95 and a Hustler SJ32.  Today's top performer in the Production Division was Francois Michelin's Golden Shamrock Chiani, which won the first two races and finished second in race three.  Richard Hollis's X95 Crakajax now lies in second place thanks to a 3, 3, 1 score line with Frederic Denis' Fletcher Lynd, a Hustler SJ30 two points behind in third.

After racing Mike Relling, who is sailing aboard Insatiable with David and Tim Cunliffe, commented on the incredible quality of the racing.  "It was very close and I think the good thing is that among the top ten boats there are only seconds between each place so mark roundings, boat handling, all of the little details are very, very important.  I think that says a lot about the Half Ton Class, the success of the class and the success of IRC.  The ratings seem to be pretty fair, and like any good regatta if you sail well you will do well, if you sail badly you will do badly and there's nowhere to hide.  I think that makes it a fantastic event."

Today the fleet will be racing around the Isle of Wight.  The start is scheduled for 07.30 from the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club start line off Cowes and the fleet will round the Island anti-clockwise.  With a forecast for moderate to fresh winds, a double points weighting and a no discard on the score for the race we can anticipate another exciting day.  The regatta continues until Friday 26 August with up to twelve races scheduled.