Cowes History and comments on the weather
History of Etchells in Cowes written by Roger Elgin in 2005
Back in the days when Queen Victoria was ensconced in her favourite residence, Osborne House, just round the corner from Cowes, east Cowes had the fashionable edge and the gentry usually stayed there. Kaiser William 11 could be seen coming across from the east Cowes side of the Medina river on the chain ferry and strutting down the high street to the Royal Yacht Squadron. It is an interesting fact that the Kaiser spoke clear English where his uncle, King Edward V11, whose popularity he was so intensely jealous of, spoke with a guttural German accent.
The second world war transformed the social standing of east and west Cowes. The eastern half became industrialised as more workers were moved in from the northeast of England to build Spitfire fighters. The massive hanger, overlooking the harbour, that was an aircraft plant, was used to build the two giant Princess flying boats that were an underpowered and unsuccessful chapter in Britain’s aviation history.
The western half with its string of yacht clubs running from the Squadron, founded in 1815, shortly before the Duke of Wellington won the battle of Waterloo, at the entrance to the Medina, through the Royal Corinthian, the Royal London, the Island and on to Cowes Corinthian, is the main centre. The yachting core of Cowes is compact. It takes only about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other down the high street.
Spurred on by rising prosperity, success at the Olympics and local superstars like Ellen MacArthur and Shirley Robertson, sailing is on a roll. This is reflected by the Cowes Week turnout of over 1000 boats. Some classes had entries big enough to count as a championship. The veteran X One Design class, with 79 starters. continues year after year but 2005 saw a new sports boat, the Laser SB3, field 66 entries while the Sunsail 37 had 58.
The Etchells with 31 boats on the line was slightly down on its best. However, a keenly contested series of world championship qualifying regattas on the eve of Cowes Week and the number of boats shipped to San Francisco for the worlds had affected entries.
A few years ago achieving this level of activity seemed improbable. The development of onshore facilities was lagging behind sailing. Rooted in an idyllic, rural island with a relatively elderly population, Cowes needed a bit of a shot in the arm - and this is just what the last few years have seen. Facilities have improved dramatically transforming what Cowes has to offer.
Though the marina in east Cowes has expanded substantially since the days when it was hard up for business, racing boats mainly moor in Cowes Yacht Haven and Shepherds Wharf, both home to the Etchells fleet. The marina’s, once cosy but scruffy yards, are now unrecognisable with smart pontoons, shore side amenities, dry sailing facilities and a modern crane.
There is enough comfortable accommodation for a championship fleet in Cowes Yacht Haven and it is only a two-minute stroll to the Etchells favourite pub, the Pier View.
From the days in the late 1970s when the fleet had shrunk to a handful, it has undergone a major expansion to become one of the biggest fleets in the world. With over 50 boats racing regularly over the season.
It was very different 20 years ago. Air Commodore Nance would appear on a Friday at the Island sailing club and bring each of the three strong fleet in from its harbour mooring to slip it. Then he and his wife, wearing her best wellies and summer frock, would set to and scrub the bottom of each boat. Both were elderly but without their dedication, the fleet would have been lost.
With a friend, I bought K10, which had been lying unloved on the quayside at Lymington, for a song. She met her end on a rock racing just off the shore round the corner from Cowes. Fortunately, there are no rocks in Cowes harbour or the racing area for the worlds. The on thing that stood out about an Etchells in those days was the weight of the sails. The cloth of an early synthetic main was so heavy it took all three crew to furl it.
The first British Etchells had been built in Scotland by Robertsons of Sandbank who had built the disappointingly slow 12 metre Sceptre which challenged for the America’s Cup in 1958. One problem the fleet faced at this time was that the building mould was rotting in a field. But Jeremy Rogers, a renowned helmsman and boat builder from Lymington, restored it and production recommenced. We bought one from him. It is still going strong and my eldest daughter, Cordelia, used it to qualify for the worlds in San Francisco.
As I write this, the start of the San Francisco worlds in September is only two weeks away. It was holding a world championship back in 1996 that gave the Cowes fleet such a boost. We had 64 starters and the Solent, relatively quiet in mid-week, was at its very best with sunshine and some perfect breezes. It was impressive to see how such a big fleet started with so little fuss.
My boat was dismasted on the eve of the championship by an American port-tacker that tried to take short cut between the backstay and the aft end of the cockpit. It was a bit disappointing. But this was Cowes. She was all re-rigged and ready to go by the next morning. It turned out to be a wonderful week. Let’s hope this is repeated in San Franscisco and Cowes 2007.
Roger Eglin 29th August 2005
Typical Conditions in the Solent in June
An Expert’s View
The Solent is an interesting place to hold a regatta due to the tides and the changing nature of the wind. Winds can be expected from all directions to give some variety, but the prevailing wind from the south west is dependable. No wind days are rare due to the formation of the south westerly sea breeze. Although not always across the whole of the Solent until 1400 – 1500, the breeze can be strong and last well into the evening. Strong wind events are generally short lived lasting less than 12 hours and often less than 6.
Thunderstorms or local strong winds, for example the Mistral, do not plague the race area. Although rain can be experienced it again tends to be short lived, soon turning to sunshine and showers in a fresh westerly breeze behind a front. The waters can be choppy if wind against tide, but never rough.
Weather forecasting in the Solent can be very accurate due to the abundant nature of observations and model focus on southern England. This means you can provide the competitors and race committee with good information to ensure the race area is placed in the best possible position for that days wind.
Data
The following data comes from a study period from 2001 – 2004 from Southampton Airport, time of day that data was taken was 1200 UTC or 1300 BST. Winds at the airport (see charts below) are estimated to be a minimum of 2-6 knots lighter than those which would be experienced on the Solent due to the inland and slightly sheltered nature of the weather station at Southampton Airport.
Wind Direction
Most common is from the south west (56%)
Least common, by far, is from the north east (<1%)
Wind Speed
Most common is the 8-14 knot range (6 – 10 knots at the airport).
Strong wind events of 20 knots or more are rare in June, (<2%).
Climate
All types of weather can be experienced in June with fronts bringing rain, or high pressure bringing prolonged spells of settled weather. Although winds can be seen from all directions, the most common in June being from south westerly.
Sea surface temperatures in June range from 15 to 17°C. British summer time air temperatures can range from as low as 14° up to a maximum of 34°, typically though they range from 20 to 25°C.
Although June 2004 was a particularly stormy month with several fronts bringing temporarily strong winds and heavy rain, previous years do indicate that low pressure systems are likely to bring only three or four fronts per month as opposed to 2004’s three fronts in each of the last two weeks. Behind these fronts can be 24 – 48 hours of moderate and blustery south westerly to westerly winds accompanied by sunshine and showers.
Often a ridge of high pressure from the Azores high to the south west will build over southern and western areas of the UK and Ireland. This creates a north west wind which often leads to a strong south westerly sea breeze.
East to north easterly winds do occur in June, they are rarely strong or long lasting especially when associated with high pressure to the north over the UK, this is more common later in the summer.
A note about the author-
Fiona Campbell, a graduate with a Meteorology degree from the University of Reading and thesis in mesoscale weather modelling focusing on the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland for the 2000 America’s Cup, began working in a forecasting office of a new online weather forecasting company. She was contacted by David Houghton, an infamous British meteorologist famed for working with many America’s Cup, Whitbread and 8 Olympic sailing teams, he is also the author of Wind Strategy. This contact lead to a job as team meteorologist for GBR Challenge the America’s Cup team and the RYA Olympic Sailing Team for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Fiona is now a self employed marine meteorologist specialising in coastal conditions but also offshore weather routeing, most recently as the Official Transat Meteorologist.
Meteorological Information
Supplied by Fiona Campbell, Skye Weather