Toby O’Connell made the perfect start to his title defence in the Jumeirah Regatta today while the racing yacht previously owned by the King of Spain found the going tough on its competitive debut in Gulf waters.
After light, shifting winds had caused a delay to the start of the two-day event, O’Connell took his 50-foot yacht Yo! to victory in the opening race to grab an immediate advantage in Division One of the cruiser class.
But he was followed closely by two of the boats he had tipped as the biggest threats to his hopes of a second successive Jumeirah Regatta triumph which uses the IRC handicap system.
Taking second place was Faith, skippered by Francis Carr, with Christophe Vanek and Yousef Bin Lahej, the first UAE national to qualify for an Olympic sailing event, finishing third in AGMC BMW.
Victory for Yo! was no surprise, as O’Connell and his crew have been in dominant form in the Commodore’s Cup at Dubai Offshore Sailing club this season, winning five of the first six events.
Last year O’Connell took Yo! to success in the prestigious Phuket King’s Cup Regatta in Thailand, the biggest event of its kind in Asia, shortly before landing the Jumeirah Regatta title.
Kristian Tzanov had been hoping for a good start in his newly acquired 42-foot yacht Soverign, which was formerly known as Bribon when raced by King Juan Carlos of Spain.
But the powerboat racer and former moto cross rider, with a crew containing four vastly experienced Italian professionals, did not finish the opening race, on a course set off DOSC, and clearly needed more time to get the best out of Soverign.
The husband and wife team of Peter and Carol Eldridge made a perfect start to the defence of their performance catamarans title, winning the opening race from teenagers Tom Hemingway and Guy Wolfenden over a course set off Mina Seyahi Sailing Club.
Jon Hemmingway, father of Tom, took third place in partnership with Jamie Eldridge, son of the defending champions. Conor and Maeve Ward won the first race of the classic catamarans class from Malcolm Macgregor and Rens Woertman.
Provisional results
Race One:
Cruisers, Division One
1. Yo! / Tony O’Connell 1pt
2. Faith / Francis Carr 2pts
3. AGMC BMW / Yousef Bin Lahej 3pts
4. Tissaheel2 / Rob Weight 4pts
5. Boracic / Calum McKie 5pts
6. Shockwave / Alan Skennerton 6pts
7. Switchblade / Will Ramage / Cameron Price 7pts
8. Twister / Glywn Rowlands 8pts
Catamarans - Performance
1. Peter Eldridge / Carol Eldridge
2 Tom Hemingway / Guy Wolfenden
3, Jon Hemingway / Jamie Eldridge
Catamarans - Classic
1. Comor Ward / Maeve Ward
2. Malcolm Macgregor/ Rens Woertman
3. Andy Perkins / Moira Freeman
