01/08/2024
Both the Victory and XOD classes had earlier starts than usual today, with the former getting away cleanly and the XODs at the second attempt after a general recall. Roger Yeoman’s XOD Xcitation has become consistently faster as the week has progressed and took victory for the first time today, 32 seconds ahead of Penny Fulford’s Madeleine, while Andrew & Donna Cooper and John Boyce’s Athena took third 34 seconds later.
John Tremlett, Tim Copsey and Fraser Graham’s Astralita started the regatta posting three consecutive first places but dropped to 28th yesterday. They finished sixth today, more than three and a half minutes behind Xcitation. XODs have a discard after only four races, so Astralita now retains first place overall, but only two points ahead of Richard Faulkner’s Swallow, with xcitation only one point adrift in third place. Competition for the class’s most coveted trophy, the Captain’s Cup, is therefore wide open going into the final race, with almost one third of the fleet having a mathematical chance of winning.
