The largest offshore racing fleet ever, comprising nearly 3,000 sailors, set off from Cowes in 25-knot wind-against-tide headwinds, which made for a punishing scene in the western Solent.
Conditions described by competitors as ‘boat breaking’ and ‘survival mode’ led to the retirement of around one in four entries over the following 24-hours – but also helped spark a blistering pace which led to overall course records being set in both multihull and monohull classes.
Wind speeds in the western Solent were particularly high on the first evening, gusting up to 40 knots, fuelling an incident-packed first day and night for many competitors and for rescue services along the south coast of England and the Isle of Wight. HM Coastguard reported that it responded to 28 incidents in those first 24 hours.
The most dramatic was the sinking of a French double-handed yacht in the western Solent. A search and rescue helicopter and two RNLI lifeboats were deployed after reports that the Sunfast 3600 Vari was taking on water. The two crewmembers were found in their liferaft, safely recovered and taken ashore to Yarmouth. The reasons for the sinking have yet to be determined.
この記事は Yachting World の September 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Yachting World の September 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Nikki Henderson- Want to be a better skipper? think like an instructor
Recently I was fortunate enough to find myself on the bow during a race. Well, I thought it was fortunate but appreciate that sentiment could be up for debate... I don’t get so much opportunity to play on the pointy end these days. It was fun!I was readying the symmetric spinnaker for a bear away set. Having just fed the sheet and guy around to the starboard side and under the jib, I was bracing myself in some sort of yoga-starfish position. Right foot braced on a stanchion, left foot on the pulpit, my core muscles just about keeping me upright as I rolled the lines around to make sure they weren’t twisted before attaching them to the clew.
NIKKI HENDERSON
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