16 Jul 2012

Battle to the finish at Oyster Regatta Cowes 2012

By Lulu Trask

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On 16 July 2012, the final and fifth day of the Oyster Regatta Cowes 2012 took place. The week that lacked sunshine was in excess of excitement; there was no clear overall winner as the final day approached, with day five’s race truly the final decider.

The day’s race began with winds of 25 knots on the west start line, resulting in a full fleet of white sails. Class 2’s race began with a battle as the fleet came in starboard towards the beach, following which the three leaders tacked onto port. The race winner was the subject of a great recovery from earlier problems, and John Nelson and Phillip Reisco’s Oyster 42, Sundancer of Chichester, claimed day five's victory, and as it did, segregated the results somewhat to become overall winner of its class.

This year Class 1 featured two superyachts: two Oyster 82’s took part in the regatta, the 25m Bare Necessities and Starry Night of the Caribbean. The Class 1 category also saw a high-tension start, with the two Oyster 82’s in a starboard battle from the very start, which in its earlier stages saw Bare Necessities as the hopeful winner as the yacht pulled away and rounded the windmark a full one minute and twenty seconds ahead. However, potential victory was short-lived as Starry Night of the Caribbean and its race-trained crew overtook its Oyster 82-competitor, winning the race and finishing five minutes ahead across the two hour and fifteen-minute course. A personal victory remained for those on board Bare Necessities, however, given this was just the third week of racing in the boat’s eight-year existence.



An exciting day for all, and particularly those in Class 1: “Class 1 has been very exciting, with just 1.75 points separating the first three boats overall, and it as all about this last day,” said Chief Executive Officer of Oyster Marine David Tydeman. “Starry Night of the Caribbean needed to win this race to take first overall,” continued Tydeman, “and she did; the event was hers.”

The Class 1 winner was also one of the entrants awarded The Concours d’Elegance awards, presented by the Royal Yacht Squadron, an award that also went to Class 2’s Oyster 435 Parton, Oyster 46 Can Do, and Class 1’s Oyster 575 Isis. In light of the upcoming Olympics, starting in just 11 days, a special Tom Daley award was also presented to Paul Fletcher of the Oyster 56 Dreams Come True, who took what the regatta called “an Olympian high dive,” otherwise known as Man Overboard.

Results of the Oyster Regatta Cowes 2012

Class 2

1. Prince De Petarcq
2. Sundancer of Chichester
3. Nutcracker
4. Astraeus da Luz
5. Kite Runner
6. Spirit of Epsilon
7. Tenens Spirit
8. Little Morten
9. Parton
10. Can Do
11. Prime Number
    

Class 1

1. Starry Night of the Caribbean
2. Asante
3. Isis
4. Sotto Vento
5. Bare Necessities
6. Boysterous
7. Dreams Come True
8. Purusha

Full details of the results can be viewed here.

The next Oyster Regatta will take place in Palme de Mallorca from 26-29 September 2012.

Related Links

Oyster Profile | Oyster Website

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