Short and Sweet

Written by Louay Habib Thursday, 02 September 2010 08:39

Morning Report - Thursday 2nd September

Concise 2 wins the Class 40 Division & claims the Round Britain and Ireland record for yachts of up to 40ft.

Last night at 03:32:20 BST, Tony Lawson's Class 40, Concise 2 skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron line to finish the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland race. The young crew on Concise 2 had battled headwinds throughout the race. Their elapsed time of 9 Days 13 hours 32 minutes and 20 seconds was a major achievement. Not only did Concise 2 claim the Class 40 Division win, but also a record that has stood for six years. Smashing the record for yachts of up to 40ft by nearly two days. But it didn't start well for Concise 2, as crewman, Tom Dawson explains.

"Blasting out of the Solent at the start, we were ripping along with the fractional shute. We had a problem with the steering and lost control of the leeward rudder, almost immediately the boat rounded up to weather and the spinnaker blew to bits. Not the best way to start an 1802 mile yacht race! We have been beating virtually the whole way around the course but there is a good sound system on Concise and the power-ballads have kept us pumped up on the rail."

Concise 2 is the team's latest Class 40, an Akilaria RC-2, it has only been on the water for a few months. Team Concise is made up from a group of talented young British sailors that are all under 30 and have already won the Class 40 World Championships on their previous boat.

"We are looking to build our team and winning the Class 40 race here and breaking the record, is a great springboard for a busy two year campaign, which will include the RORC Caribbean 600, next February," added skipper Ned Collier Wakefield.

"This has been a long hard but rewarding race," commented Boat Captain Tom Gall, "but tomorrow it's back to business, the boat will be lifted out of the water for maintenance and minor repairs in preparation for our next event."