 The 2008
Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week
exploded into life today with three glorious races
sailed in conditions ranging from eighteen up to twenty
five knots. As the wind whistled around the Cowes Yacht
Haven, there were lots of nervous faces amongst the
twenty nine teams who gathered at eight o'clock this
morning for the official briefing from race officer Tony
Lovell. The racecourse was set in the lee of the land in
Osborne Bay to provide the competitors with some shelter
from the forecasted steadily increasing breeze and the
fleets' sleigh ride journey down there gave several of
the 2007 Cowes Week class winning helms their first true
experience of the Laser SB3 downwind at
speed.
 As the fleet
hit the line for the start of race one, first to show at
the pin end were RS K6 Class winner Richard Talbot,
Victory representative John Tremlett and Dragon Class
winner David Palmer. As the fleet approached the
windward mark the racing could not have been closer with
the top fifteen boats rounding in a tight pack, headed
by 1720 representative Mark Greenaway. Most of this
leading bunch chose to continue on starboard allowing
Ian Kirkpatrick from the IRC6 class to take the
initiative by gybing on the mark and heading out into
the stronger breeze on the left. This tactical call
rocketed him from tenth to first at the leeward mark.
Also making big gains on the downwind leg were Graham
Bailey from the Etchells Class and the Daring Class's
Giles Peckham. At the finish, Ian Kirkpatrick had
extended on the fleet to pull off an impressive race
win. Graham Bailey came through second having managed to
hold off a fierce attack from Giles Peckham on the final
downwind leg.
 The breeze
had notched up a couple of clicks for the second race
and it was the Dragon fleet's David Palmer who having
started at the pin end of the line found himself leading
the fleet at the windward mark. Having learned their
lesson from the first race, almost the entire fleet
gybed immediately at the weather mark. The SB3 fleet all
under gennaker was a spectacular sight as the boats
blasted downwind totally obscured by spray. Victory
Class helm John Tremlett had the bit firmly between his
teeth and closed the gap on David Palmer sufficiently to
be able take advantage of a poor drop at the leeward
mark. Having taken the lead John Tremlett was never
challenged and went on to win the race from Mark
Greenaway who slipped past David Palmer on the final
downwind to take second.
At this point in
the proceedings Graham Bailey from the Etchells Class on
six points, held a three point lead over Giles Peckham
(Daring Class) and Mark Greenaway (1720 Class) who were
tied on nine points.
 The wind was
up to a steady twenty five knots for the start of the
final race which was sailed around a round the cans
course finishing off Cowes. At the windward mark Glynn
Williams from the IRC 2 Class rounded just ahead of
Giles Peckham, Russell Mead (Hunter 707) and David
Palmer. On the downwind leg these four were engaged in a
high speed battle for the lead which culminated in
Russell Mead rounding the leeward mark just ahead of
Glynn Williams. On the next beat Giles Peckham
demonstrated blistering pace to move into first place
and as he set off down a tight two sail reach to the
next mark he was followed by JohnTremlett (Victory),
Glynn Williams and Russell Mead (Hunter
707).
 On the next
long beat to the Gurnard Buoy, Mark Greenaway kept his
podium aspirations alive by moving from sixth up to
second. The final leg to the finish just outside the
mouth of the Medina River saw the leaders pass the Royal
Yacht Squadron at full chat and clearly at the limits of
control. Giles Peckham successfully held his nerve to
take the gun and was quickly followed by Mark Greenaway
in second with John Tremlett coming through
third.
When the results were calculated,
Giles Peckham's impressive 3,6,1 scoreline had secured
him an overall win and the title of 2008 Volkswagen
Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Week. Only a
single point behind in second was Mark Greenaway and
Graham Bailey's fourth in the final race was enough to
earn him a well deserved third place
overall.
 At this
evening's prizegiving, held at a packed Volkswagen
Touareg hospitality stand, Giles Peckham along with his
winning crew, boat owner Craig Burlton and bowman Steve
White was officially announced as the winner of the 2008
Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes. Giles was also
presented with the keys to a brand new Volkswagen
Touareg and Craig received a voucher for a Mark Warner
family sailing holiday. The Nexus Marine award for most
passionate performance of the regatta went to Mark
Greenaway, in recognition of his amazing comeback in the
final race, which saw him move from almost last at the
first mark, to second at the
finish.
.
Further
information about the Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes
at Skandia Cowes Week regatta is available
fromwww.kingofcowes.com.
For further
information on the Volkswagen Touareg King of
Cowes, please contact Claire Stopps, Event Press
Officer, on Tel 01327 841642 or
E-mail claire.stopps@laserperformance.com, Fiona Brown, Event Co-ordinator, on
Tel 07711 718470 or E-mail fiona.brown@fionabrown.com, or Tom Morton at Freud
Communications on 0203 003 6392 or E-mail tom.morton@freud.com.
For information on the
Volkswagen range, please contact Kate Thompson in the
Volkswagen Press Office on 01908
601187
Notes to
editors:
Competition is expected to again
be fierce at the Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes, with
prizes of a Volkswagen Touareg, Laser XD and a Bug by
LaserPerformance up for grabs. On top of all this, there
is a great holiday with Mark Warner to be won for the
winning SB3 owner and a Nexus Marine 'Most Passionate
Performance' spot prize awarded.
The prototype
Laser SB3 was exhaustively tested by probably the most
experienced team ever to work on a production project.
Top International keel boat sailors, World and National
dinghy champions, Olympic coaches, sail, spar and foil
experts, all joined together with Laser's in-house team
to create the finished boat, a ready to race and highly
competitive sports boat.
Every Laser
SB3 is built to exactly the same specification with
identical materials and methods. The rules do not allow
competitors to modify their boats at all. Therefore the
races, which can take up to one and a half hours each,
become a true test of the sailor's ability with skill
and tactics taking over from performance modifications.
The Laser SB3 is a Keel Boat, so unlike a dinghy which
relies on the weight of the crew to stay upright, the
Laser SB3 features a lead bulb on the end of a fin which
protrudes out of the bottom of the
boat.
For further information about
Skandia Cowes Week, visit the official Event website
www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk
For more
information on the official sponsors, please
visit
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Event Press Officer
Claire Stopps
W +44 (0)1327 841642
M +44 (0)7841 929378
SKYPE:
claire.stopps
Event
Coordinator
Fiona
Brown
Tel +44 (0)7711 718470
fiona.brown@fionabrown.com
SKYPE: fpbrown
Press Officer Skandia
Cowes Week
Peta Stuart-Hunt
M
+44 (0)7711 477707
W +44 (0)1590 679621
peta.stuart-hunt@skandiacowesweek.co.uk
SKYPE:
PRPETA
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