2023 EDDIE COWELL IOM REGATTA
Day 1
The 2023 Eddie Cowell Regatta saw 35 IOM’s compete with skippers from all States except NT plus three all the way from New Zealand. The fleet was split into 3 heats.
Unfortunately the start on Day 1 was delayed for an hour waiting for the wind to settle in, eventually a good W – NW breeze arrived giving our competitors some exhilarating sailing, a few changed to B rigs but the majority stayed with A’s. Forecast for Day 2 was even stronger conditions .
Results after Day 1 : 1st Sean Wallis #71 7 points, 2nd Ben Taylor #70 9 Points & Lincoln McDowall #97 9 points. Good clean & close racing.
DAY 2
The forecast was right, a lot more wind fluctuating from 5 knots to 18+ knots in the gusts, giving competitors challenging conditions to contend with and occasionally causing havoc especially rounding marks & sailing downwind. Great spectator viewing ! Congratulations to everyone for surviving the day.
Results after Day 2 were : 1st Sean Wallis #71 22 points, 2nd Paul Jones #77 32 points, 3rd Gary McCarthy #181 44 points. Interesting to not that at the end of Day 2 there was Going to be interesting tomorrow as there is only 1 point separating 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th places.
Day 3 After a very windy Day 2 we were happy to have 3-5 knots mostly S to NE, a good, fairly steady breeze with glorious sunshine – Kawana Lake on the Sunshine Coast at its best. A perfect day, a stark contrast to yesterdays 7-18 knot Westerly winds.
A really good days sailing to finish of what was a highly competitive regatta with very varied conditions. Congratulations to all competitors for such a pleasant & enjoyable event.
The top 5 were :
1st Sean Wallis Venti #71 32 points
2nd Paul Jones Venti #77 49 points
3rd Greg Torpy Venti #125 82 points
4th Aaron Farrar Britpop #34 87 points
5th Alex Scapens V11 #106 93.6 points
Masters : Gary McCarthy Venti #181
Grand Masters : Graham Clough ( NZ) V11 #81
Full results attached.
On behalf of the Sunshine Coast Radio Sailing Club I thank all competitors for making the trip to the Sunny Coast & for being part of the 2023 Eddie Cowell – we hope you enjoyed our venue, hospitality & the event in general, we certainly enjoyed watching you race & catching up over the 3 days.