Time: 21:16 – by Steffan Meyric Hughes
A Great Leveller
Light winds meant that, again, today's racing was as unpredictable as a football World Cup, and all the more exciting for it. The course was the 29-mile Inchmarnock Race, which took yachts and crews west south west from Largs Yacht Haven to thread the narrows between the islands of Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae, before rounding the southern tip of the Isle of Bute and heading north along its west coast to round the island of Inchmarnock and return to the start. The tricky conditions were a real leveller, with the four classes compressing as they tacked towards the Cumbraes in very light winds. The head of the fleet switched constantly, with seemingly every other yacht in the regatta taking a turn at leading. Electric moments included witnessing Kismet (Class Three) storming past the mighty Atlantic. After a big wind shift one hour in, the 8-M Saskia (also Class Three) was leading the entire fleet, but not for long, as Mariquita found some darker water and got going, leaving Saskia in a David and Goliath battle with Elena (Class One) in light winds and seas flat enough to leave shimmering reflections of mast and sails. Two hours into the race, the green, jagged mountains of Arran loomed on the port side, as the fleet struggled to clear the narrows between the Cumbraes in the light airs.
Thalia (Class Four) and Blazing Star (Class Three), hugged the shore of Little Cumbrae to make up some lost ground, coming back into the pack, as the bigger boats like Atlantic sailed into a series of wind holes, the sun coming out occasionally to set the sea glimmering darkly, lighting up sails and throwing the hills into light and shadow. Adix, in an attempt to spread more canvas, fashioned a watersail out of a headsail, and carried on through the narrows. Once on the long beat up the Isle of Bute's west coast, and in a freshening breeze, waterline length started to pay off, and Elena and Mariquita pulled away, disappearing to the north of Inchmarnock island to round it. As the rest of the fleet strung out along the course, two masts appeared from behind the island, having rounded it to start the homeward leg: it was Elena – pursued by the champion of Day One, Mariquita. Little Saskia, incredibly, was hanging on in third place for line honours. At 2.37pm the course was shortened to finish off the southern end of the Isle of Bute, so this leg would now be the last, and it was to be a finish for the ages, with Mariquita gaining on Elena, and Saskia facing a threat from Atlantic for third. In the end, Elena won convincingly, followed by Mariquita, forced to tack. The real battle was for third, with Atlantic slowly gaining on Saskia to pip her at the post by about 10 seconds.
What makes this more remarkable is the fact that Saskia, quite aside from her waterside length deficit, is under new ownership in the form of Richard Haines, owner of one of the fastest oyster smacks on the Thames Estuary, Alberta. Richard has only owned Saskia for a month, and the yacht was rigged just two days before the start of the Richard Mille Cup. He is quick to thank local sailor Lewis Smith, who was on board to dispense local knowledge, but it was a dream for Richard to sail so well, and to see the beauty of Arran from the water. “To race among these islands has been a dream,” he said in the bar afterwards. The endurance prize, if there were one, would go to Thalia in Class Four, who made every effort to hang on until the very end, despite the light winds for a boat like this, which would sail better in stiffer conditions.
The leaders on corrected timed after Day Two are as follows:
Class One: Elena
Class Two: Mariquita
Class Three: Saskia
Class Four: Kismet