Cowes Classics Regatta 2025 - Day 1
by Magnus Wheatley 31 May 19:04 NZST
30 May - 1 June 2025
Cowes Classics Regatta 2025 Day 1 - Classic Cruisers Group Two © Tim Jeffreys Photography
The Solent shimmered and glistened under early summer sunshine and with a brisk building Force 3-4 westerly wind over tide initially before the turn mid-afternoon, the racing areas of Hill Head and Osborne Bay offered near-perfect conditions for all classes in the annual flagship regatta of the Royal London Yacht Club, the annual Cowes Classics Regatta.
This year for the first time, the Royal London Yacht Club and the Royal Thames Yacht Club are jointly running the regatta with Principal Race Offer, Tim Hancock, marshalling three Solent course areas for the fleets of classic yachts that have come to Cowes from far and wide. Today, all fleets started off Committee Boat lines with most completing two races whilst the Squib fleet managed three.
Setting off from the Hill Head course, the Classic Yachts Division for yachts over 12 metres LOA had a sporting start to their regatta series with Patrick Ilderton's beautiful Sparkman & Stevens Yawl, 'Mah Jong,' being squeezed out at the Committee Boat end of the line and forced to tack around. Racing was tight all afternoon across two races, but the stand-out performer was Richard Hargreaves' stunning 30 Square Metre 'Aeolus' who took both races by considerable margins on corrected time.
Giving chase in the big boat division was the Fife Clyde Linear Rater 'Mikado' of Michael Briggs and the Sparkman & Stevens 43 'Firebrand' of long-time Cowes Classics Regatta competitor Peter Cyriax, who both scored second and third places to finish the day on five points apiece, three points off 'Aeolus.' All to play for going into the weekend.
With the tide turning around the Hill Head bank, the first start for the Classics Division less than 11.9 metres LOA, saw a variety of tactics being deployed to make the best of both the sea state and tide. Craig and Emma Dymock's beautifully restored International H-Boat 'White Wedding' opted for the pin end of the line and plugged out to capture the first of the ebb to the left side.
It was a winning move by the defending champions, that saw them lead the fleet and record the race win that proved controversial with a number of yachts being scored DNF after finishing on the wrong line. After an extremely close second race, the pecking order of the fleet was established with Steve Scanlan's Fife One-Design taking a corrected time win by less than a minute, and after a third in the first race, now sits just one point off White Wedding who top the standings in this fourteen strong fleet that will be hotly contested over the weekend.
One very welcome addition every year to Cowes Classics Regatta is that of the Old Gaffers that capture the purest essence of what classic yacht racing is all about. Two wonderful examples have made the trip this year with Richard Jacobs' Gaff Cutter 'Ivy Green' taking both race victories over the Plymouth Hooker 'Spinaway X.' Seeing these two grand dames of the sea going head-to-head was a wonderful sight for spectators on the Solent.
Nearby on the Hill Head plateau, in the Daring Class, very much the class of Cowes Harbour, it was the familiar 'Peckham' name at the front of the fleet in the perennial class winner 'Dauntless' but rather than being steered by Daring legend Giles Peckham, it was his son Josh who was showing the fleet the way around the course.
The 'Dauntless' team were showing some very slick boat-handling and recorded two race wins from two starts ahead of a tight chasing pack led by David Tydeman's 'Dynamite' and Paul Wiseman's 'Doublet' who are tied on points having shared second and third places in both races. Josh Peckham proved tough to beat and is certainly the favourite going into the weekend.
Speaking afterwards, Peckham commented: "It was all about clean starts down at the pin end to find the rougher water up the left side of the course with the tide beneath us. That was key and it slowly got more lumpy and wet as the afternoon wore on."
Sharing the same course area as the Darings were the highly competitive Dragon fleet where any mistakes were harshly punished amidst desperately tight boat-for-boat racing. After the opening races, it's looking like a two-way battle for the overall regatta win between Simon Barter's 'Bertie' and Chris Grosscurth's 'Fit Chick' who shared race wins and a second place between them to sit tied at the top on three points apiece.
Down in Osborne Bay, almost as far as Fishbourne, some of the most competitive one-design classic racing was under way with the Squib and XOD fleets being joined later in the afternoon by the Bembridge One Design fleet who had sailed up from their home port to join Cowes Classics Regatta.
In the highly competitive Squib class, Dan Henderson, sailing in his first Cowes Classics Regatta with crew Marc Moncrieff, was sailing supremely in 'Penny Benjamin,' fully hiked out and really playing the windshifts well in the flat water of Osborne Bay to record three outstanding race wins and lead the fleet by four points going into the weekend. Phil Rust's 'Aquabat' was always near the sharp end of this competitive fleet and posted consistent results scoring a second, third and second place to sit second overall, three points ahead of Charlie White, another debutant in the regatta, sailing 'Kestrel' who also showed good consistency in this twelve boat fleet.
Osborne Bay also played host to the XOD fleet that although small in number with just seven entries, looks like being one of the hardest to win with the top two boats tied on points after the first day of racing. David Palmer in 'Princess Jalina' and Cordelia Ellis aboard 'Myrtle' traded blows all afternoon and were thrilling to watch as they each scored a race win and a second apiece. Giving chase to the top two is the fast-driving Lisa Childerley aboard 'Palassie' and with variable conditions forecast for Saturday and Sunday, this is a series to watch. 'Moving day' on Saturday could be significant.
Once the Bembridge One Designs had arrived, the Principal Race Officer sent them off on just one race that was won by Mark Grzegorczyk ahead of Jos Coad and Russ Fowler in these very equally matched one-designs who are looking forward to an entertaining and close weekend of racing ahead before the passage race back home on Sunday.
Commodore of the Royal London Yacht Club, His Honour Peter Ralls K.C. who was out on the water watching the racing today and keeping a keen eye out as judge of the Concours d'Elegance Trophy, remarked: "We could not have wished for a more perfect Solent day for the Cowes Classics Regatta. I was struck by how competitive all the fleets were from the Gaffers to the Dragons, the X-Boats to the Squibs. It was a wonderful sight on a busy Solent and my thanks go to the competitors for racing hard in a Corinthian spirit and to our wonderful race management teams who did a superb job all afternoon. My special thanks are reserved for the volunteers supporting the regatta, we just can't do it without them both on shore and on the water. It's a delight to behold all round."
Racing continues on Saturday for all classes at Cowes Classics Regatta with the weekend forecast showing good breezes and sunshine - the perfect recipe for an outstanding Cowes regatta, a jewel on the Solent calendar.
Find out more at www.cowesclassicsregatta.org