Daring Open at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes (Cowes)
by Giles Peckham 24 Jun 2003 11:25 BST
The Darings in Cowes over the mid-summer weekend © Giles Peckham
The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club (Cowes) hosted the Stug Perry Regatta for the Daring Class over the weekend of June 21st and 22nd.
In an easterly force four, the RCYC set a windward/leeward course on the Brambles Bank for the fleet of twenty Darings. In the first race on Saturday, the boats which tacked out into the favourable flood tide south of the bank came out ahead at the first mark. Dauntless reached
the windward mark first and went on to win with Division Belle in second place and Dionysus third.
Despite the fact that the tide had turned, the right hand side of the beat paid in the second race too. Again, Dauntless led from the first mark, with Division Belle in second place and Decanter third.
On Sunday, in similar conditions, Darius took the lead by the first mark, with Defiant and Loup Garou in pursuit. Dauntless came through to second place at the leeward mark but then fell
foul of a twenty degree right hand shift up the beat and dropped ten places. She recovered to fourth place by the finish, good enough to clinch the Stug Perry Trophy with a race to spare, although the last race had to be abandoned anyway.