Download PDF - Oyster News 66 - Oyster Yachts

Twenty-six Oysters entered this, the 20th regatta for Oyster yachts, which, as usual,
was very kindly hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron at their landmark headquarters,
the Castle, on the Cowes waterfront.
The event opened with the usual skippers’ briefing, which was given by principal
Squadron race officer, Rear Commodore Yachting, Simon van der Byl, assisted by Oyster’s
own race officer, Alan Brook. Earlier in the day, Simon’s wife, Suzy, made a thorough
inspection of the assembled Oyster fleet at Cowes Yacht Haven, in her role as Concours
d’Elegance judge. Before the first night dinner, Squadron Commodore, The Lord Iliffe,
extended a very warm welcome to owners and guests, warm indeed being the flavour for
the week since, with building high pressure, summer had returned and the forecasters
were talking about record temperatures.
Tuesday’s plan was for two relatively short inshore races starting and finishing off the
RYS line, but with the high pressure as forecast, racing was postponed until late morning by
which time a building sea breeze was enough for even the smallest yachts to make headway
to windward against a fading foul tide. First away in Class 2, looking very sharp off the line,
and short tacking up Cowes Green to make best use of a favourable back eddy, was
John Nelson and Philip Riesco’s Oyster 42 Sundancer of Chichester. In Class 1, starting
20 minutes later, Richard Matthews, sailing the Oyster 82 Zig Zag, was cleanly away and,
as expected, led the fleet upwind.
Most yachts elected to carry offwind sails and with the sea breeze building to around
14 knots during the afternoon it was champagne sailing all around. There was some keen
competition between the two Oyster 655 sister ships, Richard Smith’s Sotto Vento and
Acheron, which included an uncharacteristically aggressive luffing match. In the end
Sotto Vento had the best of it but was beaten on corrected time by the vintage Oyster 68,
Jose Alvarez’s Starry Night, sporting a new spinnaker for the occasion, and no doubt
benefiting from an age allowance befitting her years. >
OYSTER REGATTA COWES 2008
Thank you to our day sponsors
for their continued support:
FAR LEFT: Richard Smith’s Oyster 655, Sotto Vento
ABOVE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Lord Iliffe welcomes the Oyster owners
The Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes
Suzy van der Byl and Oyster’s Barry Ashmore judging
the Concours d’Elegance
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