Simon Russell

Winner XOD

Simon ‘Fumesy’ Russell, a past Etchells World Champion crew, also won the Captain’s Cup for XOD in 2002.

 

Best day

Thursday. I was a little surprised the race committee let us start in such difficult conditions – 70-plus XODs drifting around the Solent without an engine to get home. After the start it all went horribly wrong and we followed the entire fleet around the first. Some smart sailing by my crew (Richard Lovering and
Brett Cokayne) helped us get through a wall of 100 boats and we were 5th by the finish.

 

Worst day

Our worst day in terms of results was really our best day! We had to finish close to Stuart Jardine and if he didn’t win the race, we had the Week. By the end we’d made sure all our competition was with us. I’ve never been so happy to finish 36th!

 

Top tips for winning

It’s not about taking risks to win races, but putting a series together and our aim each day is to finish in the top ten. Stay in touch with the leaders and your competition and you will be up there.

 

Biggest error

It was a few years back. The wind dropped to nothing, I lost all steering and we drifted past the finish line ODM. It cost us 30 minutes and a lot of places.

 

Luck or judgement?

There is a certain amount of luck during the Week- we’ve had our fair share of both good and bad!
You need to be switched on all the time.

 

Most important pre-race prep

Cowes Week is not just about boat speed; there are so many factors to consider and lots of decisions to make before you go on the water.

 

Favourite conditions

Having a crew on the heavy side, I guess. I feel comfortable when we are all sitting on the side.

 

Racing/social balance

I’m too old for all-nighters, but I enjoy a few beers after racing, win or lose. Just don’t go over the top. I certainly couldn’t do Cowes without a drink.

Sander Speet

Winner Class 3 IRC

Twenty-four-year-old Sander Speet skippered the Grand Soleil 44 Holmatro to win Class 3 IRC in 2007. This year he is sailing in the iShares Cup Extreme 40 circuit. He is also a member of the Mean Machine sailing team.

Best day

Friday. We split with our main competition on the first beat, came 1st in the race and won the Week with a day to spare.

 

Worst day

Thursday. We were OCS and should have known it – we pressed on and collected a lot of points.

 

Top tips for winning

Preparation – half our crew had done a previous Cowes Week on the same boat and experience is useful.

 

Biggest error

Being OCS – it could have totally blown the week.

 

Luck or judgement?

You need luck at every regatta and especially when you cross the Solent tide. Judgement – and lots of it – you make your own luck!

 

Most important pre-race prep

There are plenty of books about the Solent – read the best ones.

 

Favourite conditions

No preferences; we just take everything as it comes.

 

Racing/social balance

We like to party, but not every night. Two or three nights will be late, but on others we get to bed early.

 

Tim Spalding

Winner Class 4 IRC and Black Group overall

Spalding’s Amey Love Shack has a regular core crew of eight and this year, as in 2007, they will be joined each day by four guests from Amey.
Some of these will be non-sailors and sampling Cowes for the first time.

 

Best day

Saturday Race 8 – the closest race with our rival Incognito, who just managed to beat us.

 

Worst day

We didn’t have one, really.

 

Top tips for winning

It’s really a case of thorough race preparation plus watching boats around you and in other fleets to try to get an idea of where the wind is filling in or dropping. It helps to have a good, fun crew who don’t get upset when it’s not going your way. A useful mindset is to expect everything in the Solent and do your best to be consistent.

 

Biggest error

It was simply a matter of not covering our competition, Incognito, in race 8 when they took a seeming flyer out of the tide and gained 200m.

 

Luck or judgement?

Total luck in winning Black Group as the result depended on other classes not completing all their races and our class having so many entries. Maybe 80 per cent of it is judgement as opportunities are made more often than not. Luck always seems to happen to the same people.

 

Most important pre-race prep

Being relaxed and back in tune with sailing. I’m afraid you can’t just step out of busy work time and expect to be calm and relaxed enough to win.

 

Favourite conditions

12 knots and above. Max power on the boat

 

Racing/social balance

We are all the wrong side of 40, so all-nighters are no longer an option. Our sponsor Amey provide the crew house and a caterer so the whole team tends to be very well looked after.

 

Graham Bailey

Winner Etchells 22

Bailey won the 25-strong Etchells OD class, plus White Group overall with a score including five 1st places.

 

Best day

Leading Race 6, beating up the Ryde Middle Bank and crossing tacks with my wife Julia who was winning the Dragons. It was a study on the merits of competing in a different fleet from that of your spouse!

 

Worst day

Hitting the rocks four times in Race 1 – pushing too hard, too early in the week.

 

Top tips for winning

Stay out of trouble, avoid unforced errors and don’t think further than two marks ahead at any time. There is always enough going on in the present to keep you fully occupied, so as soon as you step unnecessarily far into the future you are not paying full attention.

 

Biggest error

With my long-suffering team of Stephen Bailey and ‘H’, we uncharacteristically did an Eric Morecambe in Race 1: went to all the right marks, but not necessarily in the right order!

 

Luck or judgement?

Not as much luck as you might think. The degree of fortune varies, of course, but typically most of what happens is reasonably foreseeable, if you are paying attention (and perhaps have the experience). We are totally immersed in sailing and make risk-assessment decisions virtually the entire time from leaving the dock. Despite all the hard-luck stories heard in the bar afterwards, not much happens that could not have been foreseen.

 

Most important pre-race prep

Write the course down accurately, check, cross-check and double cross-check, if you have time.

 

Favourite conditions

We like a bit of variety in the Week to try to mix the points up.

 

Racing/social balance

Julia found an article in a magazine recently where the latest academic research shows that lager rehydrates the body faster than water. The scientific community has finally endorsed our practice of spending several hours rehydrating together with friends and family after coming ashore! You can’t do the Week without socialising – that would be cheating. When the clock strikes eight, switch to sparkling water.

Colm Barrington

Winner Class 1 IRC

Colm Barrington owns the TP52 Flash Glove, the New Zealand-built ex-Pinta, and won Class 1 IRC last year with two days to spare. A big fan of Skandia Cowes Week, he enjoys the scale of the event and is looking forward to a competitive line-up of TP52s at this year’s regatta.

 

Best day

It was Thursday, when we won the Week. Saturday was the most exciting, because we finished way ahead of the competition. The only problem was, we missed a passing mark near Gurnard and had to retire from the race!

 

Worst day

That would be Sunday, when the wind died approaching the finish. I shouldn’t complain – we got there and finished 4th on corrected time.

 

Top tips for winning

Boat preparation, obviously, and a good crew line-up. The team works well, having already done Key West and Miami this year.

 

Biggest error

Missing that mark in the last race, but we were probably over-relaxed.

 

Luck or judgement?

With eight races and two discards you would have to be very unlucky for luck to be a factor.

 

Most important pre-race prep

Assuming the boat is fully sorted, getting out to the start line early is important – the line is long and the courses can be difficult. Lots of time is needed to assess the conditions, if the right decisions are to be made.

 

Favourite conditions

I like 22 knots true. That gets the boat going at a steady 18 knots downwind.

 

Racing/social balance

We do the entertaining early and then everyone goes to the crew house for supper. We don’t do the balls and try to get to bed early. But I’m sure some of the younger members slip out to the Pier View.

Glynn Williams

Winner Class 2 IRC

Glynn Williams skippered the Swan 45 WISC. Currently performing strongly in the Mediterranean Swan 45 fleet, WISC will be missing Cowes this year.

 

Best day

All the days were good, except Wednesday and Thursday. After a slightly bittersweet Swan 45 World Championship in July, where we ended up 4th after struggling in lighter winds, we set up WISC a bit differently for Cowes Week. With the regular crew on board, including Andy Oliver, Pondy (Paul Grant), Jerry Eplett, Elvstrom Sobstad’s Kevin Sproul, navigator Titch Blachford and tactics Tim Powell, we were very quick in all conditions.

 

Worst day

Thursday. The Farr 45 Henri-Lloyd managed to close up to WISC owing to the two-discard system that probably now should be changed. Two discards in a premier regatta could allow a boat that is less well sailed to win the class if worst races are discarded. The game is all about consistency and avoiding disasters.

 

Top tips for winning

Team work, navigation and communication, good tactics, a fast boat and lots of confidence.

 

Biggest error

None. We had an almost perfect week.

 

Luck or judgement?

Five per cent luck and 95 per cent judgement.

 

Most important pre-race prep

We had already won the Big Boat Series, Swan 45 Class in the Vice Admiral’s Cup and finished 4th in the Swan 45 Worlds, so we were well prepared, having started training on 17 March. The key element of our prep was a tuned boat and well-rehearsed and motivated crew.

 

Favourite conditions

Either fully developed sea breeze 18+ knots or eight knots and flat water.

 

Racing/social balance

For the first time I rented two crew houses, which allowed us to have family guests in addition to the team on WISC. My wife Ina had a very enjoyable week – the Royal Yacht Squadron Ball, the fireworks, etc.