Great weather conditions for Round the Island Race ensured a fab kick off to the Flying Fish racing season.
A breezy morning saw a lively start for the three Flying Fish yachts with over 1800 boats tacking down to The Needles. The next leg to St Catherine's Point was slightly tricky with poor visibility as banks of low fog rolled eastwards. The sea condition south of the Isle of Wight was variously described as grim, hairy, wild, lumpy and on the edge! As the leaders returned to the Solent however the sun came out and the wind lessened but became shifty, keeping everyone on their toes to the end.
Tired but happy Team Fish celebrated a great race in traditional style - in the Cowes Yacht Haven beer tents. Book now for next year's event.
Round The Island 2009 >>
The Fish 40.7s are now heading down to the Celtic Sea for a warm Irish welcome at the Cork Regatta which starts on 14 July. Skippers Gary Christie and Andy Hunt will once again be battling it out on Hot Stuff and Cheeki Rafiki. One berth has just been released on Hot Stuff - this is the last space - so book your place to race now.
Hot Stuff then returns to her home waters to race in Skandia Cowes Week. With over 1000 entries again this year from Olympic sailors to folk boats, this is one of our favourite events of the year. We're fully booked for 2008 but are already taking bookings for next year.
Cowes Week August 2009 >>
And down in the Southern Hemisphere, Flying Fish Australia are looking forward to racing their 40.7s in Hamilton Island Race Week - a week of dashing round the cans in the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. This event is also fully booked now but there are still places left on the Australian Coffs Harbour Regatta in December - see below.
The Coffs Regatta starts with inshore racing round the cans at Pittwater, followed by an offshore ocean dash along 226 nautical miles of New South Wales coastline up to Coffs Harbour. With a final sprint around the beautiful Solitary Islands, this must be Sydney's favourite regatta.
'The Coffs' began in 1981 as the 'warm water' alternative to the Sydney Hobart Race. It is a challenging race for anyone looking for keen competition, and a must if you want to race offshore. Book now before air fares go up again.
Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Offshore Race Dec 2008 >>
And last but not least, the Flying Fish Sydney to Hobart campaign is looking strong again this year with a great crew and mixture of experience. Team Fish will be looking to beat their 2007 result of 3rd in class. We're sold out for this race event for 2008 but are taking bookings for the brave for 2009!
Sydney to Hobart Race 2009 >>
Good luck to all the Fish crews in both hemispheres - bring home some trophies to dust!
We compete in lots of different regattas throughout the year; for the full list of Flying Fish race events click here >>
We also offer race training weekends. If you're new to the sport, join us for a weekend's Yacht Race Training: Introduction to Spinnakers or a Yacht Race Training: Spinnaker and Race Tactics Week. If you are already racing, jump on to the Yacht Race Training: Advanced Weekend course for some top tips on tactics.
Find weekend and five day race training courses >>
|
