photos by Tim Jeffreys @ superyachtshots@aol.com
further images can be viewed online in the Cowes Classics 2023 gallery
Cowes Classics Week 2023 will be remembered as a windy regatta! However, all nine races were completed to schedule with excellent time keeping by the Race Officer. By XOD standards there was a relatively small fleet but the competition was fierce. Having said that, X91 Astralita and X166 Swallow were in a class of their own. Only X178 Beatrix, X117 X-Ray, X50 Xcitation and X51 Athena managed to break their stranglehold on the top two places.
Astralita won by two points from Swallow and these two were well clear of the fleet. X-Ray sailed very consistently to claim third while Xcitation and Athena both had one day to forget, coming in fourth and fifth. As a whole, the week was excellent practise for Cowes Week. We were given the full range of Solent charms including the Norris Nadgers, tacking up the squadron green and a breezy day in Osbourne Bay. While the regatta is nowhere near as large as it used to be it is well run, the cake is very good and it’s wonderful to sail mid-week in a relatively deserted Solent.
David McGregor
XOD Class Captain