Event host Chris Bake and his 44Cup Team Aqua, steered by RYS Commodore Robert Bicket, won the King’s Cup, at the 44Cup World Championship practice day at Cowes.
For this special edition of the King’s Cup, VIP guests, including Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon and Sir Ben Ainslie, were invited to steer two races on the high performance one designs in order to raise money for 11 Isle of Wight-based charities associated with sailing.
In the first race it was Nico Poons’ Charisma, with local Cowes ace Peter Morton at the helm, that finished ahead of Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika, steered by Olivia Dowling, and Hugues Lepic/Pietro Loro Piana’s Aleph Racing, with Lucy Harrison helming.
In the second race Chris Bake and his Team Aqua, steered by RYS Commodore Robert Bicke, led the fleet accross the RYS finish line ahead of Aleph Racing and Team Nika.
In the final tally Bicket and Bake’s Team Aqua won but only after a three-way tie with both Aleph Racing and Team Nika had been broken in their favour.
Dame Ellen Macarthur, who created highline news and became a household name in the UK when she finished second in the 2000-1 Vendée Globe and then set a new singlehanded non-stop round the world record in 2005, was at the prize-giving.
“Being on the water you get a feeling for just what that can do especially the young people at the Cancer Trust – it’s often the greatest sense of freedom that they’ve felt for a long time and that really makes a profound difference.”
Chris Bake was delighted by the result but also by the six figure sum raised for the charities: “It was really successful. Using the RC44s for this has been great. Bringing the communities together, as well as being able to help all the charities on the island feels really good.”
This feeling was echoed by the other RC44 owners.
Racing for the 44Cup World Championship Cowes starts Thursday with a warning signal at 12:00 hrs.