Taittinger

Royal Solent Yacht Club

05/07/2025 to 06/07/2025

Another breezy Taittinger weekend. Saturday's forecasted 15-20kt turned into a 20-25kts SW with the wind-over-West Solent-tides creating a punchy sea state. A couple of boats decided that tea on the balcony of the Royal Solent was the order of the day, but eight boats ventured out into the wild conditions and returned elated but dripping wet! Most boats didn't fly the kite, with those that did all broaching at some point or another. Drumbeat pipped Merak on the last beat by 3 seconds. The Race Committee sensibly decided that as the breeze was building and the rain arriving one race was enough!
Conditions on Sunday were lighter, with 10-15kts sustained athough some fruity gusts at times. Once again the tide made things tricky with each run a tactical game. 2 races were run with Solan Goose and Andaxi both taking a win, but it was Merak's three 2nd places that meant they took the overall prize.

Sail No.	Name	SH	Overall	1	2	3
CO401	Merak II		1	2	2	2
CO918	Solan Goose		2	3	1	3
CO701	Andaxi		3	4	3	1
CO651	Drumbeat		4	1	4	5
CO640	Concerto		5	5	6	4
GBR568	Gualin		6	8	5	7
GBR6541	Connie		7	7	7	6
GBR2958	Corafin		8	6	8	8
CO718	Carinosa	2H	9	DNC	9	9
CO682	Blanco		10	DNC	DNF	10

HRSC

Hamble River Sailing Club

21/06/2025 to 22/06/2025

Report by Trevor Pountain (HRSC Race committee)
The Solent Contessa 32s, came to HRSC on the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of June 2025, to contest their Inshore Series Regatta 3. The weather was forecast to be breezy, and it didnt disappoint. Punchy was how Mel Mcqueen of Connie described it. There was plenty of action on the Solent this weekend, with the RSrnYC running their Summer Regatta and the J- Cup and the Impala Nationals. Fortunately, they were supported by a Race Team from HRSC. In addition, the Cape 31 Class were hosting their nationals. With a latish start at 1200, to allow travelling boats to arrive and with a helpful south-easterly breeze, the race team set up shop in the vicinity of Coronation Buoy. In the event timing was everything as, just when the HRSC team had announced Orange Attention in one minute, the Warsash SC committee boat came to negotiate some space for their RS event. It always pays to get your towel down first! Warsash managed to squeeze inshore between Coronation and Chieftain Training.
CRO Rupert Wolloshin, ably assisted by Messrs Langdon, Pountain, McKie and Lutley, set a windward/leeward type of course, just using the fixed Solent buoys, as there were already too many laid buoys littering the plateau. Corafin, Robin Holland, didnt make the first start as they had left their genoa on the dock! Andaxi, Donna Rouse-Collen, came home first, followed by a very exited Connie, Mel Mcqueen. Mel and crew were new to the boat and chuffed with their podium finish. Drumbeat, Mark Himsworth came third. The second race was a similar affair with Andaxi getting a second bullet. Drumbeat came second and Carinosa, Jo Sammons was third.
Saturday night saw a deck party at HRSC, followed by a three-course dinner in the clubhouse. There were a couple of speeches and one very non nautical joke that I couldnt possibly mention.
Sundays forecast was for more wind and stronger gusts than Saturday. In order to facilitate a quick start and turn around it was decided to start at Bald Head and introduce the Contessas to a reaching start. Drumbeat came home first in race one and the cheers from the boat showed how much it meant to them. Andaxi was second and Corafin third. With the J-Cup competitors going home after their first race, we gave the Contessa fleet the choice of staying or going home. To a boat they wanted to continue. Theyre made of sterner stuff these Contessa sailors. So, a quick thrash down to the Solent, followed by a short beat and quick thrash back was the course design. Andaxi just pipped Drumbeat to take the series with Corafin third. Connie managed to place third overall helped by Corafins missing genoa in Race1. We look forward to welcoming the Contessa 32 fleet back next season.

Sail No.	Name	SH	Overall	1	2	3	4
CO701	Andaxi		1	1	1	2	1
CO651	Drumbeat		2	3	2	1	2
GBR6541	Connie		3	2	5	4	4
GBR2958	Corafin		4	DNC	4	3	3
CO718	Carinosa	2H	5	4	3	DNC	DNC
GBR1370R	Coh Karek		6	5	NSC	5	5

RTI

Island Sailing Club

07/06/2025 to 07/06/2025

Another breezy edition of the Round the Island race, with squally weather and rain showers throughout the day. Winds started as 15-20kts SW before building as the fleet rounded the needles, creating lively swell and big waves down to St Cats and beyond to Bembridge. As the boats rounded Bembridge the wind started to drop and veer giving the tail enders a challenging beat back to the finish. Drumbeat and Jemima pulled away at the start and stayed neck and neck throughout the whole race, with Jemima taking her maiden CO32 win and 3rd place in ISC overall by a margin of 40seconds!
Congratulations also go to Colemere who entered in the IRC class and took 2nd place in the IRC Doublehanded fleet, but her earlier start means her result isn't comparable to the rest of the fleet.

Sail No.	Name	SH	Overall	1
GBR2751R	Jemima of Farley		1	1
CO651	Drumbeat		2	2
GBR8874Y	Bugler of Hornet		3	3
GBR3419	Binkie II		4	4
CO640	Concerto		5	5
GBR3053	Augusta		6	6
CO926	English Rose		7	7
CO925	Musketeer II		8	8
GBR3274	Carolina		9	9
CO944	Bird		10	10
GBR6541	Connie		11	11
CO753	Starstreak		12	12
CO710	Speedwell		13	13
GBR3829T	Flyanna		14	14
CO486	Baltimore Beacon		15	15
GBR5054	Saoirse of Cork		16	16
CO351	Contessa Calypso		17	17
GBR3517	Magic Dragon		18=	DNC
GBR5838	Iceberg of Beaulieu		18=	DNC
CO776	Nimbus		18=	DNC
CO682	Blanco		18=	DNC
GBR5154	Wild Thyme		18=	DNC
CO770	Jemma of Bosham		18=	DNC

Contessa

Royal Solent Yacht Club

17/05/2025 to 18/05/2025

Another vintage Contessa Regatta at the Royal Solent. Light breezes from the North East in the morning, with South westerlys filling in each afternoon, with three races completed on Saturday and one on Sunday before the fifth was abandoned as the wind failed to fill in enough to overcome the tide. All four races had a different winner, but Solan Goose (in new ownership and returned to her original name after sailing as Collateral last season) proved she is a quick boat with a third, two seconds and a first to take the overall title.

Sail No.	Name	SH	Overall	1	2	3	4
CO918	Solan Goose		1	2	2	3	1
CO651	Drumbeat		2	3	4	1	2
CO701	Andaxi		3	1	3	4	3
CO401	Merak II		4	5	1	2	4
CO926	English Rose		5	4	5	6	5
CO640	Concerto		6	7	6	5	7
GBR6541	Connie		7	8	8	10	6
GBR2958	Corafin		8	6	7	7	RET
GBR222T	Coric		9	10	9	9	10
GBR1370R	Coh Karek		10	9	11	12	8
CO682	Blanco	2H	11	DNC	DNC	8	9
CO753	Starstreak		12	11	10	11	11

ISC

Island Sailing Club

26/04/2025 to 27/04/2025

The Contessa 32 inshore series 2025 kicked off in style on April 26, and saw seven boats and their crews, together with the Island Sailing Club's race officials, doing battle with twitchy winds and strong tides. Saturday featured a chilly fickle breeze from the north, and making way against the strong ebb tide was initially touch and go, with the race officer Richard Palmer valiantly endeavouring to get racing underway but having to postpone two starts as the pressure dipped just below a viable strength. But get away the fleet eventually did, on a short windward leeward course in the relative tidal relief of Ryde Middle Bank, with most boats fetching in to dip the start line from considerably on course side before hardening up and making way towards the windward mark.
It seemed that each of the seven boats occupied each of the seven positions several times, as we tacked back and forth taking sometimes bow and sometimes stern, and making slow slow progress to the windward mark. It was eventually three-handed Blanco who came in with pressure and pace from the left side of the course to round the windward marks and run down to the leeward one, where the race officer sensibly shortened course - it was only later that Blanco learned she hadn't dipped the start line quite enough, and so was sadly scored OCS. Drumbeat therefore was promoted up into 1st place. The pressure built sufficient to permit the fleet to complete race 2's three windward leeward laps, though crew weight mostly remained to leeward onboard to achieve a little heel. Once again Drumbeat proved victorious and she lead the fleet overnight ahead of Andaxi and Carinosa who both had a 2nd and 3rd.
Carinosa hosted a marvellous pontoon party to warm the cockles and break the ice, and the fleet made its way to a delicious and convivial dinner in the fascinating setting of the Max Aitken museum - awesome job organising that, Mel!
The forecast for Sunday was for little pressure until mid-afternoon, so the fleet stayed alongside postponed for a couple of hours before heading to the Contessa 32 Class Association mark on the Bramble bank to see what could be made of the beautiful sunny, but calm, conditions. An attempt to get race 3 away under the remnants of a gentle gradient south easterly sadly came to naught, and instead we awaited the arrival from the southwest of the incoming pressure, with the race team resourcefully pivoting to a triangular course to get things going as time marched on. On Drumbeat we managed a clean start towards the pin and built on that ensuing lead, clinging on to pressure which at one stage most others seemed to lose. As forecast the wind continued to veer and during lap 2 it finally built, and after a weekend of zephyrs the fleet finished with champagne sailing: 15 knots true, little chop, and full sun, rounding off a perfect first event of the season.
Extra special congratulations to Carinosa who were second in race 1 and third in the others and overall, and doing it all two-handed to boot!
By Mark Himsworth

Sail No.	Name	SH	Overall	1	2	3
CO651	Drumbeat		1	1	1	1
CO701	Andaxi		2	3	2	2
CO718	Carinosa	2H	3	2	3	3
GBR6541	Connie		4	4	4	5
CO753	Starstreak		5	5	7	4
CO682	Blanco		6	OCS	5	DNS
GBR1370R	Coh Karek		7	DNS	6	DNS