The second day of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup delivered spectacular, though challenging, racing on a glorious day that saw three different race winners and six boats scoring at least one podium result. Sam Laidlaw's Aguila, which initially was scored with a perfect run of second places, appeared to be the most consistent boat on a day that saw many competitors yo-yoing up and down the leaderboard. Download results below.

However, a protest saw Aguila disqualified from the first race and therefore thrust well down the overall results until the discard kicks in. Ian Southworth's Whiskers therefore leads the fleet after the first four races with a score of 10 points, including two race wins, while Tony Hayward's Blackfun is second overall on 13 points. Behind them, Mark Richmond's Cote holds third place with 23 and Royal Cork's Paul Gibbons' Anchor Challenge fourth on 27 points.

The day started with a west north westerly wind of 17-20 knots, which decreased gradually through the afternoon, but there were significantly stronger gusts that produced plenty of the spectacular broaches for which the class is notorious. The class is also renowned for close racing and today proved to be no exception. In race three, for instance, a group of 12 boats crossed the finish in a period of only 65 seconds.

All starts today got away cleanly, with Terence Dinmore's Captain Moonlight and Tom Hill's Belinda looking best placed towards the pin end of the line in the first race. The fleet quickly split between those who continued on starboard tack and those who put in an early tack onto port to gain relief from the adverse tide in the shallow water close to the north shore of the Solent.

Having started in mid-line in clean air, Whiskers was first to round the windward mark, with a clear lead ahead of Blackfun. Given the advantage of being inshore on the beat, it seemed likely that there would be a tendency for boats to overstand the windward mark. However, the fleet consistently underestimated the strength of the tidal stream setting onto the buoy. Suffice to say, not all rounded successfully, including some very well known sailors.

On the first run Whiskers extended her lead over Blackfun, while further back in the fleet others were having fun dealing both with impressive broaches and the challenge of getting the headsail up and the spinnaker down before reaching the bottom mark. Whiskers held her lead to the finish and saved her time to win on corrected time. Blackfun looked as though she was going to be second on the water, but failed to hold off a challenge from Aguila at the end of the run into the finish line, with the latter crossing the line just one second ahead. After Aguila's disqualification in this race at an evening protest hearing, Blackfun rose to second and Anchor Challenge third.

By the fourth race most teams had their starting strategies worked out, but many had failed to take account of changing circumstances. As with the previous two starts the fleet strongly favoured the committee boat end of the line, followed by an early tack towards the tidal relief inshore. Blackfun, Aguila, William McNeil's Illegal and multiple Quarter Ton Cup Champion Peter Morton's Innuendo all favoured this strategy, even at the risk of starting late and moving slowly within a big bunch of boats.

However, race officer Robert Lamb had moved the pin end of the line upwind to encourage competitors away from the committee boat. This allowed others to take advantage of the favourable bias at the pin end, including one boat that crossed the fleet on port tack.

Mark Richmond's Cote, with Land Rover BAR America's Cup sailors Nick Hutton and Paul CJ Campbell-James on board, was best placed among the starboard tack boats and stayed mid-right before tacking onto port, as did Innuendo, who appeared to be tacking more frequently in the many windshifts than the boats that were still determined to make the shallow water. This paid for Innuendo and also for one of the Corinthian entries, Pierre Paris' Pinguin Playboy, which rounded the windward mark in second place behind Cote.

However, a brief squall that hit the fleet on the run with gusts in the upper 20s shook the order up. Boats at both the front and back of the fleet spiralled out of control, one of them appearing to complete a full tack with the spinnaker up. Paul Gibbon's Anchor Challenge was first across the line, 24 seconds ahead of Oliver Ophaus's Bullet. The lower rated Aguila finished 12 seconds later to take second place on corrected time, knocking Bullet down to third.

Four more frenetic 45-minute races are planned for the final day of racing tomorrow, with more gentle conditions of 8-10 knots promised.

The competitors in the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2016 found themselves sitting right in the centre of a very slow moving low on their final day of racing off Cowes and were forced to watch as the wind went frustratingly round and round in circles. Race Officer Rob Lamb and his team from Royal Yacht Squadron Racing managed to get the fleet underway once, but sadly had to abandon on the first beat as the wind shifted from a 7 knot northerly to a 2 knot southerly. The top Irish boat in the fleet was Royal Cork's Anchor Challenge in sixth. Ben Daly's Cobh Pirate was 13th and Ken Lawless in Cartoon 23rd. Full results downloadable below.

The only members of the assembled company seriously disappointed by that decision were Ian Southworth's Whiskers crew, who had just reached the weather mark a country mile ahead of their nearest rival, and Diarmid de Burgh-Milne in Lacydon Protis who was in second when the abandonment came. The Race Committee persevered shuffling marks around the Solent constantly as breeze sprang up from different directions, but eventually ran out of time at the 14.30 cut off.

With no racing the winner of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2016 was confirmed as Bullit, helmed by owner Louise Morton whose name will now be engraved on the trophy for the fourth time, a record equalled only by her husband Peter Morton. The podium for the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2016 is completed by second placed Blackfun, designed by Laurie Davidson for the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup in Auckland where she finished 8th, helmed this year by 2007 Etchells World Champion Oscar Strugstad who got a late call up to stand in for owner Tony Hayward; and Sam Laidlaw's Aquila, which was designed by Rolf Vrolick, in third. Despite their moral victory in today's aborted race eight Ian Southworth and the Whiskers crew had to be content with the leather medal in fourth place.

Louise was also fulsome in her praise for her all girl crew of Lucy Macgregor, Kate Macgregor, Colette Richmond, Bethan Carden and Annie Lush, most of whom have been sailing with her for some years. "They are a great gang and we have so much fun on the boat and ashore. Annie Lush joined us for the first time this week and has fitted into the crew superbly. Sailing such a great boat, with such a talented crew in a fleet as strong as this is an extraordinary privilege."

Also winning the right to engrave his name on a Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Trophy for the fourth time is Pierre Paris, who once again wins the Corinthian Trophy for amateur crews. Pierre and his crew of Basil Geron, Nicolas Guillou, Rodolphe Veschamp and Marc Le Clerq sail over from France each year to race in the event and are great supporters of the Quarter Ton Class. Penguin Playboy was designed by Tony Castro and is lovingly maintained by Pierre himself. Pierre was typically modest when asked for the secret of their success, giving all the credit to the boat. His crew were determined to point out that Pierre is the reason for their success though, and equally keen to know if they would finally get to keep the trophy now they have won it four times!

In 2015 the Quarter Ton Class lost one of its most ardent supporters, Roger Swinney, who was a founding member of the revival class owning both the David Thomas designed Ayanami and the 1986 McIlraith designed Innuendo. Roger was a true Corinthian sailor and a great friend to everyone in the fleet. In his memory the new Roger Swinney Trophy was presented to the winner of the Low Rating Division. The inaugural winner of the new trophy was Eric Reynolds Magnum Evolution, helmed this year by Piers Hugh Smith and crewed by Rob Gullan, Victoria Alkhurst, her designer Julian Everitt and Eric Reynolds. Runner up in this division was Eric Williams' delightful and diminutive Waarschip designed Love In A Mist, which was built to the first iteration of the Quarter Ton Rule. In third place was George Webb's Flashheart, which was designed by Ed Dubois, another terrific supporter of the class who crossed life's final finish line earlier this year.

As always the camaraderie surrounding the regatta was outstanding and whilst the fleet honoured their champions they also paid tribute to their historic little ships and all the fun they have in them.

"It's been a fantastic regatta and we're thrilled that we weren't last this year" said Lucy Wood of the Jack De Ridder designed Rum Bleu who first came to the event as complete novices and have improved their performance every year. "We just love the event and can't wait to be back next year."

Diarmid de Burgh-Milne of Lacydon Protis was equally effusive saying, "We were so disappointed not to get a race in today. We've only been together as a crew for three days and we've been on a vertical learning curve. It's a brilliant event and we just wanted it to go on for ever."

The regatta closed with the traditional Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Gala Dinner and Prize Giving held at the Royal Yacht Squadron, at which Admiral of the Class and yachting journalist extraordinaire Bob Fisher and double Olympic Gold Medallist and broadcaster Shirley Robertson were guests of honour. As always there were some very special prizes awarded alongside the major trophies.

The Oldest Crew was won by Phil Cook's David Thomas designed Purple Haze which was sailing just four up but had an average crew age of 58. Purple Haze qualifies for both the Corinthian and the Low Rating Divisions where she finished sixth and fifth respectively - not bad for a bunch of old boys!

Initially it looked like there was going to be a dead heat for the Youngest Crew, with Sam Laidlaw's Aquila and Louise Morton's Bullit both declaring an average crew age of 34, but a last minute declaration from Willie McNeill's Illegal crew beat them to it with an average age of just 32.

The Quarter Ton Walking Stick is presented each year to the oldest bowman in the fleet and this year goes to 55-year-old Johan Stolpe, bowman on Rickard Melander's Alice II.

The Marineware Trophy for the Concours d'Elegance is one of the most coveted trophies of the event and this year was won by Sam Laidlaw's Aquila which is one of the prettiest boats in the fleet and is a most deserving winner of this special trophy.

Finally, the Kemp Plate, which is presented in memory of Stephen Kemp who brought Coutts to the Quarter Ton Cup as our title sponsor and is awarded to the boat which in the opinion of the Coutts team most truly represents that certain undefinable something that is the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, went to Ian Southworth and Led Pritchard of Whiskers who truly represent what the Quarter Tonners are all about as they laugh their way around the course.

Coutts celebrated their tenth year of sponsorship of the event this year and once again they have been the most supportive of sponsors. Each day they and their guests have been out on the water aboard the classic motor yacht Rum Jungle watching the racing and cheering on the sailors. They truly are a most remarkable partner and the entire fleet gratefully acknowledged their contribution in making the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup the huge success it is.

Louise Morton and Bullit retain their lead at the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup in Cowes by 1.5 points with Oscar Strugstad at the helm of Blackfun moving up into second and Aquila with Sam Laidlaw on the helm in third a further 0.5 points behind Blackfun. Ian Southworth’s Whiskers has dropped down into fourth. Royal Cork's Anchor Challenge stays sixth after seven races sailed and is leading Irish boat. Ben Daly's Cobh Pirate is 13th and Dublin Bay's Cartoon (Ken Lawless) is 23rd. Full results are downloadable below.

After the opening day's blustery conditions, day two of theCup produced a distinct change of pace. Racing was initially postponed for two hours to allow the breeze to fill in and when it did it was accompanied by regular bands of squally rain, plenty of wind shifts and a very strong flood tide. It was certainly a day that gave the navigators and tacticians plenty to think about, and with the breeze constantly up and down the trimmers were also on overtime changing gears.

Fortunately, even steely skies and rain can't dampen the spirits of the Quarter Ton fleet and the 26 boats put on a spectacular display of bow to bow racing over four windward leeward races, races four to seven of the nine race series. After racing Annie Lush, who is trimming aboard Louise Morton's Bullit, summed up the day perfectly saying "It was a great day's racing. With the increasingly strong tide, missing even the smallest shift could cost you places and as a result almost every boat in the fleet had a least one moment of glory. With three different race winners and some incredibly close finishes, including three corrected time dead heats, the regatta is still wide open going into the final day." Asked for the secret of Bullit's success Annie was unequivocal; "Tea and cake! The boys all head to the bar after racing, but we love nothing better than a decent cup of tea and some home-made cake. It was lemon drizzle today and it was delicious!"

In the overall standings Bullit continue to lead the regatta by just 1.5 points. After yesterday's ribbing for broaching five times, Etchells World Champion Oscar Strugstad at the helm of Blackfun clearly had something to prove, putting in the best performance of the day with two wins, a second and a joint fifth (with Richard Fleck's Per Elisa in race five), and jumping from fifth overall into second. Sam Laidlaw and his Aquila crew also sailed very solidly and although they have dropped from second to third overall, they are only half a point behind Blackfun. Ian Southworth's Whiskers found the lighter conditions a little less to their liking and drop down one place to fourth overall, 6.5 points behind Aquila. With two further races remaining to sail on the final day the regatta really will go down to the wire.

The Bullit girls may still be leading but they didn't have it all their own way today. Things got off to a tricky start thanks to an unforced error at the first mark of race four. They were on the final approach on starboard when Ben Daly helming Cobh Pirate pushed his luck just a little too far and barged into the layline on port. Louise was forced to avoid a collision and the strong foul tide dragged her back below the layline. By the time she had extricated herself she had lost five places and went on to finish tenth. Things looked up in races five and six where they finished second and first respectively, but disaster struck again in race seven. They opted to start at the pin end of the line, but ran out of runway and hooked the mark so had to release themselves before they could go round again. Later in the race their jib halyard broke meaning bare headed mark roundings which lost them more valuable time. They finished the race in eleventh place which now becomes their discard.

After an otherwise slightly lacklustre day, including their penalty turns in race four after the incident with Bullit, Cobh Pirate sailed an absolute blinder to win race seven. They spotted a big shift on the second beat and took full advantage, leapfrogging over the main pack and sailing beautifully consistently to hold their corrected time lead all the way to the finish.

In the Corinthian Division Pierre Paris and his team of Frenchmen aboard Pinguin Playboy added three more first places to their score card, making six out of seven wins so far. Their only slip up was in race four where they had to be content with a fourth place. They now lead the Corinthian Division by an impressive 14 points from Simon Smith at the helm of Robbie Stewart's Hellaby. Whilst Pinguin Playboy must be feeling fairly confident of victory in the division the battle for the remaining Corinthian podium places will be fierce. Both on 21 points and just a single point behind Hellaby lie George Webb's Flashheart and Duke Darge in Phoenix with Rob Mclean's Spider Pig one further point back in fifith. This group have enjoyed some fantastic battles already this regatta and so can expect a really good fight for the Corinthian podium too.

Piers Hugh Smith and his crew aboard Magnum Evolution are still leading the Low Rating Division and now have a four point lead over Eric William's Love In A Mist with Flashheart a further eight points back in third. Spider Pig, the lowest rated boat in the regatta, is fourth with Phil Cook's Purple Haze fifth.

The forecast for tomorrow's final day is currently hard to predict. There will be even stronger foul tide and with the possibility of another late start and very light winds all fingers are crossed that Rob Lamb and his Royal Yacht Squadron Racing team can finish the excellent job they started by delivering the two remaining races.

2016 Marks the tenth anniversary of Coutts' title sponsorship of the revival Quarter Ton Cup Irish boats have been to the fore winning the Corinthian division of the Cup twice in the past five years.

In 2012, George Kenefick's Tiger (1989 Fauroux design) was the winner and in 2014 Cove Sailing Club's 1983 Fauroux Illes Pitiuses sailed by Dominic and Jason Losty also took the Cup. Scroll down for the full list of winners below.

Since it was first run in 2005 the event has gone from strength to strength and Coutts' support since 2007 has been vital in helping to achieve that success.

The Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2016 will be hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, from Wednesday 15 to Friday 17 June. As always the event will combine some of the closest and most exciting inshore racing anywhere in the world with a fun social programme and great class camaraderie.

Another new development for this year's event i s the introduction of an additional class. Class Chairman Peter "Morty" Morton explains the reasoning behind this. "What has occurred over the past few years is that the prototypes and past class winners have been upgraded considerably and in an attempt to encourage the production and older boats back to the event the organisers intend to run a second class provided sufficient numbers enter, known as the cruiser racer class. This will be for boats of a rating of 0.89 and below and for boats such as a GK24, Bolero, Quarto, Farr 727's, Eygthene 24's, Trapper 300. We know there are literally hundreds of those around and hopefully enough of them want to enjoy the regatta. They will be racing for the Roger Swinney Quarter Ton Trophy and it is intended that a round the buoys course will be set for them."

The Quarter Tonners have suffered two sad losses in the past year. Roger Swinney, a founding member of the revived Quarter Ton Class, first with the 1979 David Thomas designed Tsunami, which he renamed Ayanami, and then later with the 1986 McIlraith designed Innuendo, sadly passed away in November. His joie de vivre and love of the Quarter Tonners made him a hugely popular figure with his fellow sailors and he will be much missed.

Another much loved member of the class lost recently is the legendary Espada, a 1980 Bruce Farr design and winner of no less than three Coutts Quarter Ton Cups, which was destroyed in a boatyard fire in January. Morty is working closely with Espada's owner Julian Metherell to find him a replacement in time for the season.

In happier news Robbie Stewart has tracked down and bought Hellaby, the Laurie Davidson design that came second to Bullit in the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup in Auckland. Our photo (courtesy Erle Williams) shows Hellaby on her way to second place at the 1979 Quarter Ton Cup with Johnny Lasher helming, Tony Bouzaid navigating, Erle Williams trimming and Joey Allen on bow

Protis, Bruno Trouble's 1981 Fauroux design which won the QTC in Marseille that year, was found by Morty in Italy and has been bought by Diarmid de Burgh-Milne. She is currently undergoing a full refit at Casse Tete Marine ready for the 2016 season.

Fauroux is very much the designer of the moment when it comes to boats changing hands. Tiger, his design from 1989, has been bought by Tom Daniel. Thomas Prower joins the fleet with his purchase of the 1981 Lancelot. Olly Ophaus has bought Howard Sellars and Mike Till's 1977 Bullet and Jo Roberts has acquired the delightful Menace, designed by Fauroux in 1981.

The fleet is also very much looking forward to welcoming back Dutchman Berry Aarts with a restored Wings, which was built to a Stephen Jones design for the 1978 QTC in Japan.

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

#quarterton – Three Irish entries are among the line up for this week's Coutts Quarter Ton Cup at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, in Cowes. IRL 8164 Enigma R Stewart, (N Young & S Smith), IRL 3087 Anchor Challenge (Paul Gibbons) and the renamed 2014 Corinthian champion Illes Pitiuses IRL 1392 Cobh Pirate (Ben Daly) will be in action this morning after yesterday's first races were scrubbed.

Sadly strong winds and big seas stopped racing on the opening day yesterday. The event, which runs from 8 to 11 July, has attracted an entry of 21 boats from across the UK, Ireland and France. At the opening skipper's briefing Race Officer Rob Lamb warned the competitors of the impending strong winds, but declared his intention to run racing if at all possible with a first planned start time of 11.00.

The race committee went afloat at 09.00 and headed straight to the planned race area off Hill Head. Sadly conditions there were extremely rough with strong gusty winds making sailing for the historic and relatively fragile Quarter Tonners impossible. The committee then moved in towards Osborne Bay in the hope of achieving some shelter from the Island, but even there conditions were already marginal. Rob Lamb initially announced a postponement, but after an hour's wait, with gusts well up into the high 30s and the forecasting promising even more wind, the decision was made to hoist AP over A and call off racing for the day.

Whilst disappointed not the sail, the fleet were in agreement with the decision and made the most of the unexpected free day ashore. Whilst some took the opportunity to catch up on work, others created impromptu adventures including the crew of Alice II, whose owner Rickard Melander celebrated his birthday today with a delicious seafood lunch with his team at legendary Island eatery The Hut.

Four teams who perhaps were not disappointed to stay ashore were the four newest crews in the fleet, who had all be presented with a welcome bottle of Mount Gay Rum at last night's welcome reception. Julian Wetherell, new owner of Espada, Ben and Mike Daley who now own Cobh Pirate (the former Illes Pitiuses, winner of last year's Corinthian Quarter Ton Cup), Rob Mclean of Spider Pig and Paul Gibbons, new owner of Anchor Challenge, were all warmly welcomed by the assembled fleet who explained that tradition demand they drink their bottle of Mount Gay there and then.

One team that sadly cannot be here this year is Ian Southworth's Whiskers. The Whiskers crew is as famed for their sailing talent as they are notorious for their lack of organisational and planning skills. Typically they enter the event at the eleventh hour and finish preparing the boat on their way to the first start. So disappointed are they not to be here this year that Whiskers' navigator Lincoln Reading has been in contact to announce they are donating a very special prize for presentation at the final dinner. The prize will be presented to the team who in the opinion of the race committee is the most organised and prepared for the regatta - in other words a boat that is the complete antithesis of Whiskers!

This evening the crews are enjoying a BBQ at the RORC/RCYC's waterside clubhouse where the sailors remain enthusiastic to get racing underway tomorrow. "There's a very nice camaraderie around the event, but equally it's a very competitive fleet. There are probably more than half a dozen boats capable of winning this year." Noted Quarter Ton Class Secretary and past Coutts Quarter Ton Cup champion Louise Morton, who this year is racing FRA7891 Bullit, in which her husband Peter won last year's event.

Race Officer Rob Lamb has confirmed that he intends to run up to four races tomorrow and with lighter winds expected this should be achievable. The forecast anticipates a light North Westerly in the morning,which will swing South West later in the day with the promise of an afternoon sea breeze. A total of nine races are scheduled, three races are required to constitute a series and if six races or more are sailed there will be a single discard. The fleet will race together as one, but prizes will be awarded for three divisions - Open Division (for all yachts), Corinthian Division (open to all amateur crews) and Low Rating Division (for boats with an IRC rating of 0.899 and below. The regatta concludes on Friday.

You can follow the latest news from the event at the Quarter Ton Class Blog and on the RORC Facebook Page. Further information about the event can be found at www.rcyc.co.uk or by contacting Sailing Secretary Jo Chugg on [email protected] Tel 01983 293581.

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

In Cowes, on the south coast of England, IRL1392 Illes Pitiuses (Jason and Dominic Losty) from Cobh are leading the all amateur or Corinthian division trophy after day one of the 2014 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup having won the first race. Onboard is Cork Harbour Olympic Star keelboat sailor Mark Mansfield as tactician.

Yesterday's marks the start of a second week of successful racing for the Cove SC crew who finished 16th overall in last Saturday's massive 1,600–boat Round the Island Race. 

Ireland previously won the Corinthian Quarter Ton Cup in 2012 with the George Kenefick skippered Tiger, another Fauroux design like Illes Pitiuses.

Illes Pitiuses leads the pack by single point margin from Pierre Paris's Pinguin Playboy (1986 Castro) with Phil Cook's Purple Haze, the beautiful varnished 1976 version of the Thomas designed Bolero which won the inaugural revival Quarter Ton Cup in 2005, in third. Illes Pitiuses got their day off to a great start by winning race one overall and went on to also claim fourth overall in race three, added to their seventeenth in race two they now lie seventh overall as well as leading the Corinthians.

Warm sunshine, sea breezes and a great fleet of Quarter Tonners are ingredients guaranteed to produce an outstanding day on the water and the opening day of the Cup certainly lived up to everyone's expectations.

Initially the race committee, headed by Race Officer Rob Lamb, was forced to postpone while the sea breeze established itself, but once it arrived three great races were laid on for the 33-strong fleet. As always with the Quarter Tonners it was nip and tuck at every mark and the place changing was constant.

The quality of racing in the Coutts Quarter Ton fleet is always outstanding and for this tenth anniversary edition it seems that the teams have pulled out all the stops. As well as performing beautifully the boats and crews are also looking quite wonderful this year. The oldest boat in the fleet is Tony Hayward's Blackfun, a 1977 Davidson design, whilst the youngest is Richard Fleck's Per Elisa, which was designed by Ceccarelli and won the Quarter Ton Cups of 1995 (Gdynia) and 1996 (Travemunde).

With three races in the bag and a 2, 2, 3 scoreline Rickard Melander's Alice II, a 1990 Phil Morrison design, leads the fleet by a 4.5 point margin. Alice II has regularly featured on the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup podium since her first appearance in 2010 and must surely hope that this year they will finally be the bride and not a bridesmaid.

Lying in second overall is Peter Morton's Bullit, a 1979 Fauroux that won the Quarter Ton Cup in San Remo the year she was launched. Under Peter's ownership she also won the 2012 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup in Cowes and the team clearly have their eye on adding their name to the trophy for a third time. Their performance improved as the day wore on, starting with a seventh in race one, followed by a dead heat for third with Tony Haywood's Blackfun (a 1977 Davidson design) in race two, and finally a win in race three.

Tonight's overall top three is rounded out by Willie McNeill's Illegal Immigrant, a 1991 Ceccarelli design which acquired her name when customs officers found an illegal immigrant in the boat when she arrived at the UK border after Willie purchased her from Greece. After a slightly wobbly start with an eleventh in race one Illegal Immigrant went on to add a second and a win to her score line putting her 2.5 points behind Bullit.

The racing is so close that dead heats on corrected time are common. In addition to the tie between Bullit and Blackfun noted above there were three further dead heats today: In race two Enigma, the 1977 Dubois design now owned by the Stewart/Young/Smith partnership, and Graham Hetherington's Great Bear IV (1986 Joubert Nivelt) tied for thirteenth, and in race three Eric Reynolds' Magnum Evolution (1976 Everitt) and Phil Cook's Purple Haze (1976 Thomas) tied for twelfth and Rob Gray's Cote (1990 Gonzalez) and Cartoon tied for fourteenth.

Whilst the racing at the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup is always spectacularly close, the regatta is about more than just the results. It's wonderful to see such beautifully restored and maintained historic little boats being enjoyed by their owners whether they are leading the fleet or not. Joining the regatta for the first time this year is Cartoon, a 1986 Fauroux design owned by Ken Lawless from Ireland. Cartoon is unique in the fleet in that she still sports her original rig configuration, boasting runners, check stays and "almost" in line spreaders, and has not been optimised for IRC. She underwent a refit last winter and to keep the boat in as close to original condition as possible they even went to the lengths of finding fittings from Jack Holt's 1986 catalogue for authenticity.

Paul Colton's Cri-Cri is another boat that might not be at the top of the leaderboard but is nonetheless having a great time. Cri Cri was one of the first Kevlar and Nomex boats built and was designed for the 1979 Quarter Ton Cup in San Remo by Alain Jezequel. Cri Cri is a pet name for Christoph and the boat was named after the original owner's son. Alain Jezequel's boats filled five of the top ten in the 1979 Cup - Cri Cri finished eighth. Subsequently he attempted to take his designs forward into the Half and One Ton classes, but he was unable to make the transition so 1979 was to be the zenith of his design career. After racing Paul Colton's Irish humour came to the fore as he joked "I'd quite happily have 50 starts a day and then a 100 yard race. We're considering running our GoPro footage backwards so it all ends up in a draw rather like the Grand National in reverse. But seriously the racing is stunning although it was a very tough day at the office. We're a crew thrown together this year but always really enjoy the racing here and are looking forward to tomorrow and to hopefully eking out one or two results."

Today's racing wasn't without its fair share of controversy. In the final race of the day the race committee announced an individual recall for three boats. Lucy Wood's Rum Bleu (1979 de Ridder) turned back and restarted correctly, but Jamie McWilliams' Sai Kung Belle, a 1981 Fauroux design which has shipped all the way from Hong Kong for the event, and Ian Southworth and Led Pritchard's Whiskers (1979 Joubert Nivelt) both ignored the call to return. On the line neither received a gun which was particularly painful for the Whiskers crew who crossed the line in first place. An appeal to the Protest Committee, chaired by Sonia Mays, failed to see them reinstated so they find themselves in eighteenth overall and looking forward to the introduction of the discard.

Tomorrow the fleet looks forward to three more races and with a forecast for easterly breezes in the mid to upper teens we can expect more great racing and perhaps a few of the thrills and spills for which these lively little boats are famous. The regatta continues until Friday 27 June with up to nine races scheduled. Three races constitute a series and if six or more races are sailed a discard will be applied.

Provisional Overall Top Five After Three Races

1. SWE744 Alice II - Rickard Melander - 2, 2, 3 = 7
2. FRA7891 Bullit - Peter Morton - 7, 3.5, 1 = 11.5
3. GBR501 Illegal Immigrant - William McNeil - 11, 1, 2 = 14
4. GBR8414R Aquila - Sam Laidlaw - 5, 5, 7 = 17
5. GBR50R Espada - Louise Morton - 4, 6, 8 = 18

Provisional Corinthian Top Three After Three Races

1. IRL1392 Illes Pitiuses - Jason and Dominic Losty - 1, 2, 1 = 4
2. FRA12130 Pinguin Playboy - Pierre Paris - 2, 1, 2 = 5
3. GBR7070 Purple Haze - Phil Cook - 3, 3, 3 = 9

#quarterton – In the Corinthian Division of the Quarter Ton Cup for all-amateur crews Afloat's Irish Sailor of the Year George Kenefick sailed Tiger, the 1989 Fauroux design he owns jointly with his father Neil, to victory ahead of Sergeant Pepper, Richard and Anne Thomas's Bolero, which was designed by Richard's father David.

Third place went to Paul Kelsey's Runaway Bus, a 1977 Whiting design, with Love In A Mist, a 1974 Waarschip owned by Eric and Philip Williams - the oldest boat in the regatta - fourth.

As close finishes go the final day of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2012 was certainly up there with the best of them. Going into the day Peter "Morty" Morton's 1978 Fauroux had a three-point lead over Sam Laidlaw's 1990 Vrolick designed Aquila, being helmed today by John Greenwood. Anchor Challenge, a 1978 Farr design helmed by Paul Gibbons, was six points back in third on 40 points with Alice II, Rickard Melander's 1990 Morrison, lying in fourth on 49. The first race of the day, the seventh of the nine race series, saw the discard come into play and with several of the top boats counting a black flag disqualification from race six there was plenty of room for manoeuvre in the final rankings.

Race Officer Rob Lamb and his Committee, the core of which will be officiating on the RSX course at the Olympic Regatta in Weymouth, did an excellent job to complete the final three races scheduled despite very variable breeze. The unpredictable wind and a strong tide gave the sailors plenty to think about and ensured the fleet was constantly shuffling places with surprises and dramas at every turn.

Race seven set the tone of high drama when a number of teams misjudged the strength of the tide, resulting in a series of mark one pileups. After that the day just got more and more exciting with some of the closest racing you could hope to see anywhere in the world.

Despite being one of the boats caught up in the race seven mark rounding debacle, ultimately Peter Morton and his crew claimed a record third Coutts Quarter Ton Cup win by just 4 points from Alice II with Aguila third and Anchor Challenge fourth. This achievement was impressive not only because it was the first time the event has been won by the same person three times but also because Peter and his team have used three different boats for their wins.

The racing results only tell part of the story of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, which is as much about the fun of finding and loving these very special historic little boats and sailing with your old mates, as it is about winning. A quick look around the fleet reveals that what ever the age of boat, whether she's been professionally restored or is lovingly maintained by her owner and crew, each is a little masterpiece in her own way. Many of today's leading designers cut their creative teeth in the class. The boats have character, they're quirky, some of them are downright strange to look at, but they all entrance both their owners and those who sail them.

There are a couple of very special boat mentions to make in this report. The first is Atalanti IV, owned by past ISAF Vice Chairman and sailing legend George Andreadis. George commissioned Atalanti IV for the 1991 Quarter Ton Cup. Design by Rob Humphries the boat ran late and only arrived just in time for the event where she finished fourth. Having completed that '91 Cup George then put the boat into storage in his infamous Athen's boat shed and never sailed her again. Until that is, Morty persuaded him to bring her out of retirement for the 2012 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup. A good wash and brush up later and not only did she finish a very creditable eighth but she was also chosen as winner of this year's Marineware's Concourse d'Elegance, for the best-presented yacht at the regatta.

The other special mention has to go to Freres-sur-Mer, a 1981 Fauroux design owned by Holland's Theo and Andre Bakker. This was her first ever Coutts Quarter Ton Cup and the boys threw themselves into the spirit of the event with gusto. Whilst they may have finished in last place their results were somewhat hampered by a black flag and two did not starts on the first day courtesy of a broken traveller. The fact that they are still sailing with a 1984 mainsail might just have had something to do with it too! It was wonderful to have them join the fleet and at the prize giving they were presented with a roll of duct tape to help with running repairs and a packet of handy Solent navigation chart napkins to ensure they can find their way back for the 2013 event.

A look around the crews is revealing too as the fleet without doubt attracts some of the best sailors in the world. Not for big money, but because they want to sail with their mates and they too love Quarter Tonners. This year's rogues gallery included the likes of World Match Racing Champion Ian Williams, America's Cup veterans Don McCracken, Dave Scott, Ethan Bixby, British Olympians Stuart Childerley and Andy Beadsworth, David Howlett, Kelvin Rawlings, Jason Carrington, Ian Southworth, David Bedford, John Greenwood, Mike Budd, John Brinkers, Nigel Young, Irish Olympian Mark Mansfield...... and the list goes on.

Once again a fleet of sailors has gone home at the end of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup with a sense of achievement, lots of like-minded new friends and some wonderful memories. Our thanks go to event sponsor Coutts for their most generous long-term support of the event, to Class Secretary Louise Morton for her tireless work in making the regatta happen, to the Race Committee and to the members and staff of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

There are still Quarter Tonners out there in need of a good home so if you feel you could give a down at heel Quarter Tonner the love and attention she needs please contact Quarter Ton Class Secretary Louise Morton on [email protected] who manages our rehoming programme.

#quartertoncup – In the all amateur Corinthian Division of the Quarter Ton Cup in Cowes the defending champion Tiger and her young crew led by George Kenefick from Royal Cork (ably assisted by Mike Budd), leads the fleet with five first places and a black flag. The battle for second is tied between Paul Kelsey's Runaway Bus and Richard and Anna Thomas's Sergeant Pepper, both stalwarts of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, who each count eleven points, putting them six points behind Tiger. Eric William's delightful little Love In A Mist, the smallest boat in the fleet is fourth with Dun Laoghaire's Ken Lawless & Sybil McCormack's Supernova fifth. Royal Irish club mate Paul Colton's Cri-Cri is sixth and Lucy Wood and Tara Stone's Rum Bleu seventh.

Whilst the weather may have been overcast on day two of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup the fleet most definitely was not and the 30 teams enjoyed three more stunning races. It was a day of high drama in every sense with constant parry and thrust on the race course and the black flagging of four of the top ten boats in race six. With the discard not coming into play until a seventh race has been sailed the black flags hit the overall results hard. Those affected were Rickard Melander's Alice II, Rob Gray's Blackfun, George Kenefick's Tiger and Louise Morton's Espada, all of whom are ranked in the top ten.

The Irish teams had another great day with Ian Travers and Eamon Rohan's Per Elisa and Diamund Foley's Anchor Challenge, being helmed this week by Paul Gibbons, both putting in solid results. Per Elisa won race four, stumbled with a fourteenth in race five but came back with a fifth in race sixth to move up from ninth overall to fifth. Anchor Challenge struggled in the first race finishing twenty-first but then won races 5 and 6 which shunts them from fifth to third overall, six points behind Aguila.

#quarterton – Ireland will be out in force next Monday with six entries and three new teams competing for the Quarter Ton in Cowes. The three new teams are Paul Coulton's Cri Cri, a recently refitted 1979 Alain Jezequel design; Jason & Dominic Losty's Fauroux designed Illes Pitiuses; and Diamund Foley who now owns Espada's sistership Anchor Challenge.

Irish sailor of the year George Kenefick and his young team aboard Tiger, the 1989 Fauroux previously known as ASAP, will also be crossing the Irish Sea once again to defend their Corinthian title for all amateur crews. Tiger, the ICRA Class 3 champion, has just undergone some keel surgery - having just been fitted with a Mills Keel.

The Corinthian Trophy was first awarded in 2011 and is expected to be hotly contested again this year. Ken Lawless and Sybil McCormac make a welcomed return on Supernova, with the final Irish Entry this year being Eamon Rohan's and Ian Travers' Ceccerelli designed Per Elisa which won the last two IOR Quarter Ton Cups in '95 and '96.recent aquisition has just completed an IRC optimisation in Cowes. This boat won the last two IOR QTC's in'95 and 96'. She has been fitted with a new rig and David Hollom designed fin keel. A retro styling completed her refit. Per Elisa wil be staffed by former Blondie IV crew from the Royal Cork, KYC and the UK.

Jason Dominic Losty's Fauroux designed Illes Pitiuses was refitted along-side Per Elisa over last winter in Cowes. Being a near sistership of the formidable Tiger, she is sure to be fast out of the traps. She is being crewed by a comination of Cobh and Royal Cork Crew including notables such as Kieran Dorgan and Dave Rose.

Foley will be sailing the Farr designed Anchor Challenge with Mark Mansfield (recent 1720 National Champion) with the balance of crew coming from Royal Cork Yacht Club. Notables includes Mansfields former Olypic partner- Killian Collins and Paul Gibbons of recent Tiger fame. Anchor Challenge won the QTC in 2010 so is a definate force to be reckoned with this year.

The eighth edition of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup revival regatta will be hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes, from Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 June 2012. The event will bring together Quarter Tonners from across the UK and Europe to enjoy three days of competitive sailing, camaraderie and fun.

These historic little ships hold a very special place in the hearts of many sailors and each year more boats are rescued from neglect and brought back to their former glory by their enthusiastic owners. Owning a Quarter Tonner is a little bit like owning a vintage car and their owners put just as much time, money and love into rebuilding and maintaining them as any classic Bentley or Alvis owner. The original Quarter Ton Cup competition was raced annually from 1967 to 1996 and was the World Championship for small offshore racing boats. Many of today's top sailors and yacht designers cut their teeth in the class and a lot of the designs were truly unique and revolutionary in their day.

Joining the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup revival fleet for the first time this year will be Peter Morton's new boat Bullit, a Fauroux design from 1977 which won the 1979 and 1980 Quarter Ton Cups and has just been completely refitted. Morty's crew will include the infamous Kelvin Rawlings, without whom the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup would not be complete, and Jules Salter who loves the event so much that he will fly in specially from the Lorient stop-over of the VOR to participate!

Past ISAF Vice Chairman George Andreadis is also be returning to the Quarter Ton Fleet for the first time in 21 years with Atalanti IV, the boat he had built by Jeremy Rogers to Rob Humphries' design for the 1991 Quarter Ton Cup where she finished 6th. Atalanti IV has been in George's famous yacht storage facility ever since the end of the 1991 Cup, but she returns to the water this summer looking absolutely stunning following a full refit. Having just come second in the Quarter Ton Class at the 2012 Vice Admiral's Cup George will no doubt be hoping for a podium finish in the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup too.

Class regular Rob Gray also has a new boat this season in the shape of Black Fun, a 1976 Laurie Davidson design which won the '76 New Zealand Quarter Ton Championship with four straight wins. We also look forward to welcoming Freres Sur Mer, a 1981 Fauroux design from the Netherlands.

Joining the newcomers will be a host of familiar faces led by reigning Coutts Quarter Ton Cup holder Louise Morton and her crew aboard the 1980 Bruce Farr designed Espada. Also keen for a crack at the trophy will be Rickard Melander from Sweden sailing the 1990 Phil Morrison designed Alice II. Stalwarts of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, Rick and his crew have been gradually improving their performance each year and, having just won the Quarter Ton Class at the Vice Admiral's Cup, clearly have their sights firmly setting on the main event. Other regulars will include Graydon Dawson's Diamond, Willy McNeil and Mike Pascall's Illegal Immigrant, Ian and Catrina Southworth's Whiskers, Menace owned by Derek and James Moreland and Tim Rees, Paul Treliving's Odd Job and Paul Kelsey's Runaway Bus.

With so many new teams joining the regulars an excellent turnout is expected. Racing will take place in the Solent with social events being held each evening at the Royal Corinthain Yacht Club's delightful Cowes clubhouse. The Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Gala Dinner will take place on Tuesday 26th and the guest speaker will be sailing legend Brian Thompson, who holds 27 sailing world records, has sailed more offshore racing miles than any other Briton and who will also be racing in the regatta with Rob Gray.

#QUARTER TON CLASS – With a decline in big boat sailing here (some say we will be lucky to even field a Commodore's Cup team this year), people are turning to what other classes that are around for competitive and cost effective sailing.

Some one design classes like the 1720 are flourishing again, but some sailors prefer a class that alterations can be made to the boats to suit their sailing styles and weight and the Quarter ton class fits that bill.

Quarter Tonner  action on the South coast. Photo: Bob Bateman

The retro class of sailing boats gave a shot in the arm to the two major south-coast regattas last June. Although its heyday was 30 years ago, the revitalised Quarter Ton class in Britain and Ireland, is experiencing a new lease of life. The class competed at both the ICRA Nationals and the Sovereign's Cup.

Up until recently the Quarter tonner Tiger, owned by Neil Kenefick (it made the cover of the Irish Sailing Annual 2012) was the only boat making the running but last year Eamonn Rohan bought "Anchor Challenge" and campaigned it well.  At the end of the year he sold it to another Cork sailor Diarmuid Foley.

The budget-minded class has been back building numbers steadily since 2001 when Peter Morton revived the class on the south coast of England.

Representing good value for money there has been a lot of movement in Quarter Ton boat sales. A further two Quarter Tonners have been bought during last summer and are currently in Cowes having a full reconfiguration and updrade. The first is owned by Ian Travers and the second by Jason Losty from Cobh.

In the UK there are a further three boats going through full ugrades and others are changing keels and masts.

The highlight of racing for the class is the Quarter Ton Cup held annually in Cowes. This year's event will be held from June 24th to 27th. These boats are very competitive under IRC as can be seen by Tiger winning class 3 at last year's IRC nationals.

There will be 30 to 35 boats expected for this years Quarter Ton Cup.