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SOUTHAMPTON YACHT SERVICES
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ROUND THE ISLAND ON BOARD VELSHEDA
Piers Wilson, retiring MD at Southampton Yacht Services, was invited to sail aboard the J-Class yacht Velsheda for this year’s J P Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. Joining them in this year’s event were 14 Oysters ranging from John Nelson and Philip Riesco’s Oyster 42, Sundancer, to the brand new 85’ Oyster Custom yacht, Starry Night, built by Southampton Yacht Services and launched just weeks before.
Velsheda is well-known to Southampton Yacht Services having undergone extensive refi t work there in the last few years, whilst her support yacht, Bystander, had some work carried out during her visit too. SYS will be helping both yachts during their refi t period in Palma in late Autumn.
A very kind invitation from the J Class yacht Velsheda’s owner to sail in the J P Morgan Round the Island Race resulted in a phone call
from the Captain, Oliver Tizzard. “Report to the yacht at 02.30 hrs in Gun Wharf, we sail at 03.00.” I heard myself doing a faint gulp then a nonchalant reply as if I was always up and about at that ungodly hour!
Our start was at 05.00 so by the time we had motored to Cowes, been well briefed by David Pitman our tactician and Lars Loſt us who was in charge of the crew, we did not have long to wait. T e permanent crew on Velsheda and Bystander plied the entire race crew of 38 with a stream of delicious bacon butties and later with sandwiches.
Velsheda is a fearsome weapon once sails are up, so manoeuvres before the start have to be precise with 175 tons travelling at 10 knots in amongst the large fl eet of yachts. T is year, with a northerly wind, it was a spinnaker start with a huge ebb tide under us making it essential not to
be too early. Leopard was ahead but our start was good and the spinnaker up in no time. I always say it is about half an acre, probably an exaggeration but it certainly seems like that when you get it down! T e spinnaker drop needs about 20 crew, gathering it in at a frantic pace.
T e reach to the Needles was very fast. Gybing close to them with the sun just up was a fantastic and memorable sight. We had lighter wind round St. Catherine’s but then some very successful inshore tacks gave us a commanding lead over all but Leopard. We fi nished around 10.45 which was a remarkably fast time for a heavy displacement yacht and resulted in being placed fi rst in Class ‘0’. We returned to the berth in Gun Wharf and the sight of Velsheda with her tender Bystander in matching livery moored astern of her attracted a huge crowd. An altogether memorable morning’s sail.
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