The United States confirmed their status as favourites to win the 1995
Champagne Mumm Admiral`s Cup by emerging overnight leaders after the
two races of the first inshore day of the competition. Germany are second
by a narrow margin over ltaly, South Africa, strengthened by the late
substitution af the crack German yacht Omen far their own two-year-old Orion
Express, sit at fourth. Scandinavia, Great Britain and Ireland make up a
group, Hong Kong brings up the rear.
The day saw two Solent course races in the waters off Cowes,
recalling earlier days of the competition which was started to bring overseas
yachts to England for just such sport. The morning race, 15 miles in length
round a succession of Solent navigation marks, was dominated by long runs
and reaches againat the fierce and infamous Solent current. Many
tacticians, not all of them from overseas, found themselves outfoxed by the
tides and same appeared to have momentary difficulty sorting one buoy from
another. Mean Machine (Scandinavia) and Jameson 3
The afternoon race was sailed in a stronger sea-breeze - again,
classic Cowes conditions - while tho course was no less traditional, taking
the fleet across the Cowes seafront to windward. then bringing the yachts
running back, a colourful parade of spinnakers, along the green past the
Royal Yacht Squadron Castle. The arrival at midday of HM Yacht Britannia
to join the Norwegian Royal Yacht at anchor off Cowes completed the
postcard picture. HM King Harald of Norway is skippering one of the
Champagne Mumm Admiral`s Cup yachts, Fram XII, in the Scandinavian
team. A starting line collision between Capricorno and Skandia damaged
the Italian yacht`s headstay and genoa but, by hooking the checkstay of the
Mumm 36 on Capricorno`s bow, so badly damaged the smaller yacht`s mast
that she immediately withdrew and made for port to have tho mast replaced in
time for tomorrow`s 200-mile Channel Race.
In the Big Boat class honours were even betwen Willi lllbruck`s
Judel/Vrolijk lLC40 Pinta (Germany) and Bob Towse` Ferr-designed 46-footer
Blue Yankee. Ireland`s Jameson 3 (the Tripp-designed Falcon, under
charter) took line honours but as biggest boat in this handicap class
corrected to mid-fleet on each occasion.
In the ILC4O class, Italy`s Brava Q8 and the USA`s Pigs in Space, both
Farr designs, look smartest when it came to smart sailing, however, Harold
Cudmore, skippering the Brltish mid-size boat Group 4 Seahorse Astro, two
years old and unarguably not the fastest boat in her class, showed he can
still pull a trick or two by reading the Solent tides just right to lead the class
for much of the race, finally finishing third.
Britain had even better success in this first race when David Bedford,
moved at the last minute from the Big Boat to steer the little boat In the team,
brought the Group 4 Mumm home in front of everyone else.
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