J Class Solent Regatta: Hundred Guinea Cup race round the island

22 July 2012

The Hundred Guinea Cup Race, the last and main event of the 2012 J Class regatta series, took place on Saturday. Although all four J Class yachts were due to race, Rainbow had to pull out having suffered mast damage in Race 3 of the Solent regatta, and so it was the three yachts Velsheda, Lionheart and Ranger that lined up off the Royal Squadron start for the race based on the original 75 mile America's Cup course which takes a clockwise route around the Isle of Wight.

Winds were light but all three yachts made it most of the way around the island, before a dying breeze and a strong west-going tide began to hamper progress to the finish line and the Race Committee decided to call it a day. The timings taken off The Needles at 1630 were used to decide the race outcome.

Lionheart established an early lead and ultimately took the King's Hundred Guinea Cup.

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