Cowes Week 2010

Hurrah!  We have 14 boats. Very competitive group too.  Looking forward to it.

Crew available

I have been contacted by D Watson, a past owner of Needlework looking to do some more sailing.
No problem in any job from bow to stern.  Contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

For Sale

Check out the boats for sale.  A few surprises in there.....

Cowes Week Drinks Party

The Quarter Ton Class Drinks Party in Cowes Week is on THURSDAY 5 AUGUST
at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.  6.30 to 8pm.  Tickets are £12.50.  I might even
be able to persuade the Rockstar to turn up....

Even if you are NOT racing your QT, please do come along. We would love to see you.

However, rather than have me stressed at the door trying to extract money from those 
I am late/I only want one drink/I don't want anything to drink people - (you know who you are....)
you MUST pay me in advance.

Cheques made payable to:  Quarter Ton Class Association, 35 Castle Road, Cowes, IOW PO31 7QZ. 
Yes, we now have a Bank account (at Coutts!)  

IRC Champs Report

We girls enjoy this regatta. We are in and mixing it with the big boats (boys) and we enjoy that,
even if the RORC shorten the course at the gate, give us all a finishing gun, but forget to take
sail numbers and times.....     We borrowed Anchor Challenge from Morty, and in turn
we lent Espada to Mark Lees who only discovered on Thursday that he couldn't race the already
entered Panic as she didn't have an endorsed IRC cert.   Anchor Challenge has halyard locks and
it is quite a stressful time coming into a leeward mark rounding (West Lepe) in a SW sea breeze,
3 knot tide with, surrounded by big boats, with all eyes focused on poor Diana trying to get the
jib halyard lock to engage. Anyway, she was masterful and managed it well...... although I think I will
stick to a winch on the cabin top in future!  Also out and racing was Menace with Howard Sellars
on board helping the clean shaven James to negotiate his way round the course.  It was a great
shame there weren't more people out there, although you will be pleased to hear that we three
beat the J97, the two J92's and a half tonner .

And Next? 

What is next?  3 boats are doing the IRC Championships this weekend. I am sorry it isn't
more. If it is this unpopular we shall remove it from the programme next year. 

Next is Cowes Week. First week in August. Get your entries in now. We have our own class
starts, and a Class Drinks Party. Watch this space for details. 

I have been asked by the owner of Runaway Bus whether he can sail with 6 people during
Cowes Week which effectively takes him out of Class Rules.  I have to say in Cowes Week
sometimes it is nice to take a guest, or member of the press, or just simply a friend.  Does
anyone have any objections to this request. I suppose what we would be trying to avoid is
someone obviously loading the boat with crew on a windy day. I can see that this is a genuine
request, for the whole of the week.  If you have any comments, please email me
by Monday 5th July so we can agree which way to go. 

Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2010

FIrstly, a great many thanks to Coutts for sponsoring our regatta for the 4th year running.
I think they enjoyed it - they certainly saw lots of action on the race course and were
well looked after by Hugh Agnew on Rum Jungle.  Thank you Hugh. 

I have to say, Fiona Brown does an amazing job for us on the PR.  We had headlines twice
on Sailing Anarchy - for the knockdowns - thanks to that amazing one on Anchor Challenge -
(get off the bow Jason!) and Flash Heart who pirouetted around the course alot. 
This year, for first time, she did a QT blog throughout the event with news, snippets,
film interviews etc. You can read up on this at http://quartertonners.wordpress.com/

Her daily press releases can be found here:

Day 1 - http://www.quartertonclass.org/images/media/qtc%202010%20-%20day%201.pdf

Day 2 -  http://www.quartertonclass.org/images/media/qtc%202010%20-%20day%202.pdf

Day 3 - http://www.quartertonclass.org/images/media/qtc%202010%20-%20day%203.pdf

And then a big thank you to everyone who turned up and raced their lovely little boats.
It was a great sight.  If you check out www.cowes.co.uk you can find they did some filming of
the event which is well worth watching. 

Round the Island Race - Saturday 19th June

POST RACE - CONGRATULATIONS to Echo, sailed by Paul and Mark Lees who won the QT trophies
for the first QT on handicap round the island. Good effort. You almost got those Folkboats!

On Espada, we had a great race, probably because for most of it we were ahead of
Anchor Challenge (oops, we aren't allowed to mention that in our house....)
but also we went round in sight of 8 other QT's which forced us to keep working hard. 
Infact, we went round the Needles with Cote and Illegal Immigrant, and round St Cats,
side by side with AC and Bullet, who hit a rock just before we got to the corner. 
We have to confess we took a man with us last Saturday one of the ex owners of ASAP
(now called Tiger) Adrian Layton. He put up with us well and even asked to come again! 
I think he is missing the class.....

PRE RACE - I know it is difficult to think ahead to this race at the moment with all the hectic
preparations in hand for the QTC next week, but I have been forced to today by
the Island Sailing Club. Do you know that we have a massive 21 Quarter Tonners
entered for the RTI - probably the most since the old IOR days.  The Island
Sailing Club in recognition of our growing stature, have decided to present the
top QT with one of their own trophies - the Jack Knights Trophy. This will be in
addition to the wonderful Elephant Boatyard Trophy presented to the newly formed
QT class about 5 years ago for the top QT in IRC by Tom Richardson of the Elephant
Boat Yard.   For those of you who didn't know Jack Knights was the yachting journalist who
commissioned Stephen Jones to design Odd Job.  Nice connection, uh? 

EXCEPT - Does anyone know the whereabouts of the Elephant Boat Yard Trophy?
If you do, please return it to the Island Sailing Club in Cowes before next Saturday.

Found - Darren had it.....

For all information on the Quarter Ton Cup 2010, please go to the www.rcyc.co.uk - results
page which will be kept up to date during the event.

Rib crew required for QTC

We are short of one person to go in a rib to help with the course setting for the QTC? Anyone
interested should contact Jo Chugg through the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club on 01983 293581 or
on her mobile 07940 434612.  Even if you can only do one day it would help.  You need to be
able to lift and lay marks (we promise not to make it too difficult for you!)

Crew available for QTC

Simon Wheeler who owns Rablo has negotiated a pink ticket to leave his wife and family for 3
days and join in the fun. If anyone is looking for crew, please call him on 01753 578569 or
email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

ISC Training Weekend

The 7 boats that turned up this weekend had a fantastic opportunity to hone their starting, tactics
and mark roundings on very short sharp courses set by the legendary PRO Ian Lallow. I could have
hit a golf ball with my driver to the weather mark it was so close (and I am not a big hitter!)
and it presented a great opportunity for us all. Cathy Foster helped everyone on and off the
race course with her very observant calls for boat trim, set up, tactics, infact whatever
you wanted.  Great many thanks to Sonia Mayes at the ISC for coming up with this idea, which
will definitely be put into the programme for next year.  For those of you who didn't make it,
you missed a great opportunity to get ready for the QTC....! 

Congratulations to Paul Kelsey and his team on Runaway Bus who won the weekend......

QTC

Fantastic entry list and WE NOW 30 boats which is a record! AND I know of a few more to come...

That makes up for the rather sad turnout this weekend when I thought you would appreciate
having a training regatta with some coaching.  Ian Lallow is the PRO with Cathy Foster on
the water giving coaching advice. What a shame. We have 7 QT's and 2 mini tonners......

Perhaps it just makes it too busy a June for us all with the Round the Island/RORC IRC
championships coming at the end of the month 

Poole Regatta Report - from Roger Swinney

We had a great and varied but mostly windy Poole Regatta. One race saw all 5 boats nose to tail
around the windward mark. From a Force 6-7 on Saturday we ended up with Force 0 on Sunday
and had to motor all the way back to Cowes, 5 hours!  Race 2 saw all five of us within 1 minute
on corrected time by Race 7 it was almost half an hour!

Illegal Immigrant (or just 'Grunt' for short as she has plenty of that...) was going like a refugee
chased by the Border Patrol. Very impressive. She won in the heavy and in the light stuff.

Menace had a 1st and was never out of the top 3 and Diamond was right up there too, both
crews parting with us at PYC. Panic crewed by all youngsters had some great moments too,
winning Race 4.  (They didn't do Race 1 in the Force 6-7 as they had only just bolted the keel
on the day before. Wise decision - it was too as to coin a phrase, it was 'effinorrible' out there
in the rain)  Ayanami started with a 3rd in the blow, even survived the gybe but got slower as the
wind died later in the event.

Immigrant won overall and is the 'Wessex Quarter Ton Champion' as it was titled in the blurb...
Full results at http://www.pooleregatta.co.uk/results/2010/Quarter%20Ton.html

Irish IRC Nationals

Congratulations to the Faroux Quarter Tonner ASAP but now renamed Tiger owned by the
Kenefick family, who won IRC Class 3 in the IRC Nationals last weekend. We look forward
to racing against them at the Quarter Ton Cup when the 5 young lads hit Cowes.  

Quarter Ton Cup

I am pleased to say that we already have 10 15 21 entries for the Quarter Ton Cup this year,
from 5 different nations!!! - Ireland, Sweden, France, New Zealand and the UK. 
Wonderful.  I am pleased to see Love in the Mist is coming back to play - welcome
to Malcolm Donald. He won the Concours D'elegance a couple of years back with his
beautiful Waarship. 

Crew required. There is a very nice gentleman from Paris who owns Iota, who is
looking for crew for this event.  He is planning to come with a friend and he wants
three more people.  They can even helm (if they qualify under the class rules).  
His name is Gilles Robert and his email is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it   I do hope this strikes a
note with someone and they contact him.....

Vice Admiral's Cup

I thought Rob Lamb did an excellent job of race officering this weekend. Short sharp races -
we always knew what his plans were. No hanging around between starts. Brilliant job.
Thank you Rob. Results can be found on www.rcyc.co.uk which show just how close this
racing was. There was more often than not just seconds between boats on handicap.  Some of you
may have wondered who the helicopter buzzing around belonged to on Sunday. 
Well it was Mike Pascall, the co-owner of Illegal Immigrant out for the day. 
He is unfortunately unable to sail at the moment due to injury, but took some photographs
which give a good idea as to just how close the racing was.

Go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pascall/to see what you look like from the air!

Thank you Mike! 

For photographs from the sea, you have no better gallery than Fiona Brown's own
website - switch onto slide show and enjoy the fantastic photos. 

http://www.fionabrown.phanfare.com/4678048#imageID=99942256

Benodet - Obelix Trophy

For anyone who hasn't been to Benodet, this trip is real easy.  It is a 4 hour drive
towing from St Malo. Craneage is well organised, the town is beautiful, the seafood
brilliant, and the wine very drinkable. Oh, and the race organisation is first class.
No hanging around waiting to go racing here..... The AP flag only made an appearance
for a brief 5 minutes one morning!

4 boats made the journey from the South Coast and three from Jersey presenting
equal numbers against the French for what they call the Battle of Trafalgar
Whiskers, Anchor Challenge, Bullet and Runaway Bus all joined forces on the ferry from
Portsmouth and arrived on Wednesday lunchtime, getting the boats rigged and in the
water within a few hours of arriving.  The French boats, led by Darren Marston's ex
Catch and now called Catch Me, and one of the more interesting boats in the fleet was
a wooden version of an Ecume de Mer, beautifully restored and rating very low as one of
the original 16 ft rating boats. The racing was incredibly close considering the spread
of handicaps but the consistency of the English boats who race more often together as a fleet
proved to be the difference and they dominated the results.  

Tom Bombadil, Super Q and Jackflash showed bursts of speed throughout the weekend
proving that the standard of the Jersey fleet is rising nicely.  The results can be found
at http://www.yco-voile.com

For the first time in years, the now familiar inter family battle was postponed when I sailed
with Morty.  I have come away with a few tricks up my sleeve and it was certainly a pleasure
and amazing how much you can learn from such experienced sailors as Kelvin Rawlings,
Round the World sailor, Jason Carrington and Olympic medallist, Peter Allam. 

One of the more exciting parts of the weekend is interpreting the French sailing instructions
especially when they send you on a coastal race and you are the lead boat.  For those whose
French is a bit like mine, Porte means gate, and not a rounding to Port!

Guy Pronier, head of the French QT class hosted a QT dinner at a lovely hotel along
the beach.  Howard Sellars was awarded a bottle of wine for not ducking under the
boom during a jibe and knocking himself out.  Luckily he recovered to carry on racing.

Illegal Immigrant

It was good to see Illegal Immigrant out racing at the weekend - pretty obvious to
spot as although she is grey (like a couple of other boats) she also has an orange
mast.  There is a bit of a story about her name. Willie McNeil bought her, then called
Pandemonium in Greece but arranged to have her put on a ferry to the bottom of
Italy where he collected her by car.  When he got to the ferry port in the UK,
Customs pulled him over as they had detected someone inside the boat and sure enough,
an illegal immigrant was discovered.  Willie has sent me this photo to put on the register
but I thought you would all like to see it here..... It certainly deserves a change of name!

 QTC

The Notice of Race and Entry Form are now live on the www.rcyc.co.uk website,
and we even have our first entries.  Very exciting to announce that Roy Dickson
who originally sailed 45 deg South to a win in the Quarter Ton Cup in 1974
is coming over and racing on Enigma which has been very kindly lent to our
New Zealand friends Brett Linton and his crew for the QTC and RTI. 
We are looking forward to welcoming them to the UK (provided the volcanic
ash cloud permits flying by then) and meeting Roy.  (PS.  He is Chris Dickson's
Dad for those of you not old enough to know....)

Warsash Spring Series

Well, I obviously nagged you all enough because in the end we had a miraculous
entry of 10 Quarter Tonners and it is still April. It was impressive and it was
great to be back out there with short lines, short courses, and lots of good racing
(in 3 to 8 knots of breeze).  Grateful thanks to Warsash Sailing Club who invited us to
join their weekend and we thought it was very well run. The turn around between
races (they have obviously been listening to us complaining about another well
known race organiser) was second to none. Hardly time to open a bottle
of water and we were off again. Races lasted from just 20 minutes up to an hour
and 20 and after 4 races on Saturday we were back in Cowes by 3 pm!  We, on
Espada got caught out both mornings by the distance to the starting area from
Cowes (much closer for the Hamble boys) and I just looked at a chart this evening -
the Bramble post is not even half way if you are attempting to hit Cutter
from Cowes. Anyway, I have thanked the CRO on your behalf and hope we behaved
ourselves sufficiently to be invited back again next year.   Thank you all.

Crew Required

Sgt Pepper is looking for crew for the season. One or two would be good. Anyone
interested should contact David Thomas - This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Talking of crew- Patrick Kohlman is still looking for a good ride for the QTC. -
see below under news from SF.  It would be great if he came, because he
would bring with him tons of publicity for the class over in the States, and we like that.

Monday

Good racing this weekend, in very varied and testing conditions. It was a bit
disappointing we only had 3 boats out so can only assume you are all still
out there working on your boats and getting them ready for the season.
Alice II has turned up at Cowes Yacht Haven from Sweden after a refit
looking very smart and maybe available for charter for some events this
summer.  A QT has made it to the front page of Sailing Anarchy this weekend. 
- you may be amused.  I was.....

Congratulations to the boys on Menace who have dutifully turned up each weekend
to race in IRC Class 4 in the rest of the Spring Series. They have scored 3 x 1st out of 3.
A good effort with the very cold Spring weather we have been having recently....

 The Vice Admiral's Cup

The NOR and Entry Form details are now up on the RCYC website.
www.rcyc.co.uk.  Hope to see as many of you there as possible.

The San Francisco Crowd

are coming together nicely. Summertime Dream, the Carl Schumacher designed QT
is now in the yard getting a face lift. Patrick Kohlman who owns Fun, would like
to come over and race in the QTC this summer, if he can get a ride.  Is anyone
looking for crew?  He can be contacted at - email address is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  

RORC Easter Regatta

Deadline for entries is the 25 March.  Don't forget to enter as they keen to know
how many QT's are taking part, especially since they are giving us our own Class
start.  We don't have to carry bunk cushions or a trisail for this regatta, and they
provide on the water coaching which is most useful at the beginning of the season.
As we have our own Class start, don't forget the Class Rules will apply.

ps. Here's hoping for at least 5 more degrees of temperature, less than 15 knots
of wind, and clear blue skies for that weekend.....

Rules

Following the Class Meeting last week, it has been decided to formulate some Class
Rules.  The intention is that we will use them for events where there is a dedicated
Quarter Ton Class, including Cowes Week.  Where we are racing against other IRC
boats these rules do not apply.  There will be some circumstances like Round the
Island for example, where a Trophy is offered for the first Quarter Tonner and it
is part of the Season Championship Cup where we will don't think we should apply
the rules, on crew for example.  We think it is better for a Quarter Tonner  to win IRC
overall than be a stickler to the QT rules. 

The Quarter Ton Class Rules 2010 are posted under the  main menu to the left hand
side of this page.  

QT Meeting Notes

Here is a summary of the Owners Meeting we had on Saturday 6th March where
representatives of 12 boats attended. (I presume everybody else is happy with the way
things are being run)

Following a proposal from Howard Sellars (Bullit) a discussion was held with a view to
introducing a lower and upper rating limit for the fleet. It was agreed that it would
not be right to exclude the original RORC 16 ft rating boats that were genuine Quarter
Tonners, therefore there shall be no lower rating limit.  The meeting was attended by
a member of the Mini Ton Association, Ken Dogherty, and a discussion was held about
them attending some of the events alongside the Quarter Tonners. It was decided that
for this year, they should not attend the QTC but would be welcome at some of our
other events. Of the original Quarter Tonners, ie. those in the RORC 16 ft rating band,
a number of them almost certainly would have been eligible to race as mini tonners
when the Quarter Tonners went to 18 ft IOR and the new mini tonners came in at
16.5 ft IOR.  We will hold discussions with the mini tonners to see if they would allow some
of the smaller boats to race in the Mini Ton series if they prefer to.

There was concern amongst those who attended that some people would continue to
put bigger rigs on their boats and it was agreed that there should be an upper IRC Rating
limit.   It was decided that any boat that sailed last year should not have to reduce its
rating to sail this year and the highest rating boat at the QTC last year was 0.918.  To
allow for a little bit of adjustment this year in IRC, it was agreed that we would have an
upper IRC limit of 0.920 for all regattas where we have a QT Class.

There was also some discussion about modifying boats.   Morty recalled that during the
RORC and IOR Rule these boats were changed often with bumps on and off, new keels
new rudders, trim changes and even scoops being added and removed. This was part
of the QT class and is part of what gives this class some character and differentiates it
from a strictly one design class. The current rule we use IRC is very specific about what
is allowed to be done without changing the hull date. Old IOR boats are allowed to remove
bumps, fair in the aft girth station crease, and all IRC boats are allowed to change their keels
and rudder as long as the rating authorities are notified.  It was felt that we have to rely on
IRC to control this and therefore part of the QT Rule will not only be that the boat was built
prior to 1996 but it must have a hull date prior to 1996.  This way, anybody who makes
substantial changes by altering the underwater 'canoe body' would not be eligible to race.

Divisions. It was agreed that for the QTC divisional prizes would be awarded. Division
splits to be decided once the entries have been received.

Race Programme.  It was agreed to include the Poole Regatta (2nd May Bank Holiday
weekend) and the Battle of Britain Regatta in September.  LM to add them to the
programme

Season Championship Cup.  It was agreed that there would be a Season Championship
Cup (to be donated) for 7 regattas, of which 5 to count. On reflection we think this should
include everything on the official programme except those regattas not held in UK waters
ie. Jersey and Benodet, and the QTC iself.  This leaves 10 regattas,with 5 to count.  In the
event of a tie, the best results from the biggest QT fleets will decide. Where we race within
an IRC class, the QT results will be extracted.

End of Season Championship Dinner - It was agreed this would be a good idea. To be held
in October/November when trophies not presented during the year could be presented,
including the new Season Championship Cup.

Crew Limits.  The QT crew limit is currently 5 crew. Where a boat sails with 5 female
crew, a 6th crewmember is allowed. It was agreed at the meeting that this should apply
to all events where the Quarter Tonners race as a class and we will write some class
rules so that where a NOR states the class will comply with the class rules, it will be clear.

There has been some rumblings within the class, and a number of non QT sailors have
remarked on this. It doesn't do our class any good, so now we have had an open forum
and agreed the above, I would be grateful if this could now stop.  We shall continue to
have regular meetings and are always open to ways of improving the Class and the
communication therein.

QT Dinner

We were very fortunate to be joined at the weekend by two representatives from the
French QT Class, Guy Pronier and Gilles Robert, both of whom were scouting out Cowes
with a view to bringing their boats over this summer for the QTC.  Slightly horrified
by watching the tide in Cowes, they have written a great report which has been posted
on their website - for those of you who speak French, but also some good pics of their
experience.

Warsash Spring Series QT Championship Weekend

17th and 18th April for the Quarter Tonners. We need 8 for a class.  4 have entered so far.
The entry fee goes up as of this weekend, so suggest you enter NOW. 

So far - we have Anchor Challenge, Runaway Bus, Menace and Espada.  We need 8 for
our own class so please enter soonest. 

http://www.warsashspringseries.org.uk/

Melbourne/Tasmania

Just received, an email from Chris Oldfield who lives in South Yarra, Australia who tells me

'This is a big day for me!  I have just spoken to the guy who now owns the QT boat 'Foxbat' that
I had built in Melbourne, Australia for 1978.  Foxboat was designed by Prof Peter Joubert and
was loosely on the style of Magic Bus. I raced her in Melbourne as a QT in the IOR fleet. In
1982 I moved to Hobart and raced her with the JOG's.  In recent years, I lost touch but now she
has a new owner in Hobart who is 12 months into a re-build programme to bring her back to
her original spec - a most wonderful boat.  I am so delighted to see the QT's back again, the
most fun racing I ever had!' 

America's Cup and Quarter Tonners

Last week in Valencia whilst waiting to watch the most amazing yacht race of all time, Morty
and I had lunch with Ib Andersson, from Denmark, who runs North Sails Europe.  Despite
US$200 million being tied up at the dock because it was blowing 15 knots and a 1 metre sea,
the conversation quickly turned to proper boats.  Ib recounted that he started his  big boat
sailing in Quarter Tonners and infact won the Quarter Ton Cup in Manzanita in Helsinki in
1977 with Rodney Patterson on board.  He said that when he turned up and they saw all the
lightweight new boats they thought they didn't stand a chance. However in very medium
conditions, the boat was a rocketship upwind.  He promised to dig out some photographs,
so we look forward to seeing them.

PS sorry for the name dropping...

Now there's a thing.....

A couple of years ago, Olivier Hays sailed his Farr 727 Farrniente across the Channel from
le Havre and took part in the Quarter Ton Cup.  Having never met him before, I bumped into
him in the marina on his arrival and horrified that because his accommodation wasn't ready,
he has his crewmate were planning to sleep on board the boat. Being a fellow Farr 727
owner (and a sucker for a French accent) I invited them to stay for a couple nights.  Now
one of his crewmembers Pierre Paris enjoyed himself so much he has bought his own
boat - Pinguin Playboy and is planning to come over and play in this year's QTC. Welcome
Pierre. 

Talking of sleeping on board.....

Rupert Holmes, the journalist who writes for Y&Y and who owns the QT Minestrone,
spent Christmas Day on board his boat with his girlfriend IN ENGLAND!!!!  They sailed
from Cowes to Newtown Creek in bright sun and a 8-10 knot West-South-West against
the flood tide, had Christmas dinner on deck washed down with a bottle of Prosecco,
and then sailed back the following day.  Now, she's a good girl Rupert! 
I am sure all your wives will kill me when you suggest this to them in November. 

And my answer?   'Don't even think about it, Morty....'

Satisfaction

One of the things I really enjoy about being involved with the class, especially since the
outset of the revived QT fleet, is when people tell me that they are going to come and
join in the racing.  It is only January, and I already have two (sorry, now three!) 'new'
people who tell me that they are coming to the Quarter Ton Cup this year.  One is
Supernova, Olly Ophaus' old boat thatwas sold to Ken Lawless in Dublin, Ireland who
wants to come over and see what all the fuss is about, the second is Hurly Burly,
a recently registered GK24, owned by Julian Caddy who asks where he can sign up. A third
who has emailed me this evening, is a Bolero called Bolero from Marchwood Yacht Club
owned by Mike Lewry. This is fantastic guys.  You have made my year.....

San Franciso Update

We know Magic Bus and Fun are in San Francisco, but Kurt Flint has bought and is restoring
a Ron Holland 24 called Blue Chip and has taken the bull by the horns and decided to get the
QT class going in the San Francisco area.  He has got the domain name for a website and is
putting it together over the next couple of weeks. More information as it launches.

However, If anyone would like to get in touch with him to register their interest in this area,
his email address is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it    

More news from Federico Cellini in Italy

Federico has sent me a pic of his first design, called Farm & C. She was designed in 1977
and built in 1978 so she started off to suit the IOR 18' rule but had to be changed during the
build to 18.5'.  She was a short hull (7.2) and heavy (1650kg) with a centreboard.  However
during construction he abandoned the centreboard and fixed a fin keel and made her lighter.
She was cold moulded so they weren't able to modify the hull to suit unfortunately.  Federico
was 17 years old at the time and built her with 4 friends and no money!  Result - a real rocket
ship upwind in almost every condition but a dog downwind.  Because of lack of funds they
were limited to what they could do, but they did go and win the Medio Adriatico Championship
- all classes, including his fathers half tonner!  Aren't these stories just great....

News from NZ

James Blackburn reports from New Zealand that whilst trying to find some history on his QT
Swamp Dog and her sistership Amalgam recently, he came across this book called Light Brigade
written by Gary Baigent on the history of Yacht Design in NZ. Looks like an interesting read and you can
download it.  The bits about the QT's start on page 58.  Good early stuff on Whiting, Farr
and an old picture of Odd Job!  

Cote - the other Spanish QT

Snow White sent us this picture of one of her dwarfs painting Olly Ophaus' Quarter tonner
Cote. Apparently Mr Moaner is a dab hand at spray painting and it is good to see one of
Southampton's succcessful entrepreneurs taking time out from his business empire getting
his hands dirty and lungs full of bad stuff. 

(Just for info this was written by Morty (AKA Mr Grumpy), so don't get cross with me, Darren)

4 more boats have registered including I think our first from the Czeck Republik - check
details for Scarpa.  The others are Barbarossa Viento Del Este and Baffo Bianco. 
Also, Joker is for sale.  See the For Sale section....

Island Sailing Club - Training Regatta

The Island Sailing Club has a new Rear Commodore Sailing in Sonia Mayes.  For those
of you who don't know, Sonia is an international Judge and although traveling far and wide,
has always managed to come back to Cowes to sit on the Protest Committee for the
QTC, although to date, we have not had to use her expertise.  She loves the Quarter Tonners!
In her new capacity, she is keen to offer something to the class that is original, so she
has suggested a training regatta just prior to the Quarter Ton Cup with short sharp races
in the Solent with coaches in ribs to help us all.   We will all pile back to the ISC for video
download, comment and instruction and then have a bbq supper.  NOR and more
information to follow but I think this should be a great event so put it in your diaries.  

The 'new' Mini Ton Class

The Mini Ton class revival is taking off.  Headed by Matt Aktins, they have launched a
website and already have a keen number of enquiries and boats that have registered.
We have invited them to join us with their own class start at the Vice Admiral's
Cup and also at the training weekend at the Island Sailing Club of which more above.
Take a peek if you have a moment - www.minitonner.com

2010 Programme

Hopefully by now you have all found this season's calender of racing on the Solent
which is on the link to the left hand side of the page, and hopefully you all have
in your diaries the first event which is a good party in Cowes on Saturday 6th March.
You need to start emailing me to tell me you are coming.  As per usual, it is the people
coming from the furthest away who have responded first and we will be pleased to
welcome Guy Pronier and his wife to Cowes for the first time.  Guy heads up the
Quarter Ton Class in France. 

It promises to be a good bash. Email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it for tickets.  

Is this a first?

I have had an email from Nick Houlding who tells me that he still owns the Quarter
Tonner he built (in 1983) and launched, and has raced and cruised it ever since!  I think it may be.
Anyway, welcome to the Class to Nick who owns Pink Lime, a Quartet and he keeps
it at the Hardway in Gosport.  There is another Quartet called Pluo owned by Richard
Adams kept at Langston Marina and he also had his since new. Come and join us....

Help needed - 

Patrik Karlsson needs some help.  He has bought a Quarter Ton boat but he doesn't
know much about the history so can anyone help him?  The previous owner tells him
that it was built in 1989 - 1990 in Denmark or Great Britain for some big regatta in
1990.  The sail number is 9944.  Please email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  

Quadriga

I have been sent details including the 1979 IOR certificate of Quadriga, the Judel Vrolijk
boat built in 1979.  It used to sail on Lake Constance. Purchased in 2008 by Jo Grauer
in poor condition and undergoing what looks like a major.... refit. 

Request from Italy

Federico Cellini tells me that his first design in 1987 was a Quarter Tonner which became
the Middle Adraitic Champion and his soul is strictly linked to Quarter Tonners (and Half Tonners)
He is looking for information on Peter Norlin's Butterfly. He says she was the last heavy
displacement boat to show a certain speed compared to the kiwi school.  If anyone has
any information he would love to hear from you. Please email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Royal Cork

Remember those lovely guys from the Royal Cork who came over with Manzanita and
took part in the QTC 09?  I do, 'cos they stayed with me.  Well, they spent the week
drooling over ASAP in the dock, and manage to pounce on it the moment it came
on the market.  Here they are, having taken the boat back to Ireland having lots of fun
and winning races. They have promised to return next year and it looks like they
have been practicing hard.  Check out the beautiful paint job. It was previously
owned and restored by some of the lads at paint specialists -  Marineware....

(photo from Robert Bateman off the Royal Cork website)

And Quarter Tonners keep winning....

Congratulations to Derek and son, James Moreland and Tim Rees who own Menace, who
love doing the Garmin Hamble Winter Series (are they mad - have you seen the weather
over the past couple of weekends???) ) and won IRC Class 4, against
a couple of other QT's who posted decent results but couldn't last the course, and
Sigma 33's, Mustang 30's, Impalas a mix of other boats....  Fab result.  Here is a good
pic taken by Jonty....

and winning......

Jamie McWilliam in Hong Kong on his sistership to Menace, a Kelt, won
the Lipton Trophy last weekend - the all comers Pursuit Race and then the IRC class
in the Round the Island on Sunday, ahead of an A35 and the Mills 41..... 213 entries.
Good team on board with Tom McWilliam, Marty Kaye, Iain Chapman and Patrick
Pender on Saturday and the lovely Denis Martinet on Sunday. 

He tells me rather painfully that he lost the Round the Island overall (against the
boats in the locally handicapped system) by 1 minute 52 secs which may not have
happened if they had not so entrenched with the celebrations on Saturday night
and turned up for the race on time on Sunday morning.  Nothing changes....!

RORC Racing 2010

The Chief Executive of the RORC called me today to personally invite the Quarter
Tonners to join in with their Easter Red Funnel regatta and their IRC Championships
in 2010.  They are offering us our own class if we can get 8 boats together, OR
we can race in IRC 3 if not. I did them both this year and it was great being on the
same race course as the really big boats.  I remember one moment coming into a
leeward mark completely sandwiched and overlapped by the much faster Farr 45, Atomic,
and Fair Do's with not a word spoken between the boats. Everyone knew exactly
what the score was.  It is also a great advert for the class to be seen out there
competing at this level and doing well. (I have asked them to reconsider their
race entry fees for us little 'uns)

Amazing!

I have just had a weekend away (as one does during the Winter) and have come back to
find four new boats have registered to our website. Fanstastic.  It is still growing.
We are now up to 145......

Christmas Presents

Starting to think about Christmas Present?   How about buying your loved one a Quarter
Tonner?  'Panic' has just been reduced in price - see For Sale section.

SPRING FITTING OUT SUPPER - SATURDAY 6 MARCH 2010

Put it in your diaries.  Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes - all welcome...

New Zealand Quarter Ton Class

The good news is that moves are afoot to set up a QT class in NZ. Anatole Perry the owner of
Smokey Joe is keen to set up a class so anyone interested should get in touch with him on
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it   Brett Linton returned to NZ after Cowes Week and went and bought
Black Fun designed by Laurie Davidson and apparently the boat is now turned over and work
has commenced. Laurie himself has even been down to inspect and no doubt advise.  That's
cool!

Poole Regatta 2010

The Organising Committee of the Poole Regatta which is held over the second bank holiday in May
in Poole Harbour are offering us our own Championship with a trophy being put up by Crusader
Sails (the owners of Echo).  Roger Swinney and the crew on Ayanami always tell us what a great
regatta this is, so we think it is about time we go down and join them.  Marina berthing on a
first come first served basis is offered at Members rates at the Poole and Parkstone Yacht Clubs
or berthing is also available at Poole Yacht Haven.  More information at www.pooleregatta.co.uk.

Cowes Yacht Haven - Round the Island Race

Berthing for the Quarter Ton Cup is included in the race entry fee as we like to keep everyone
in the same place during the regatta and it enables the Race Committee to operate 'dock starts' in
adverse weather conditions.  For any visitors to the Solent wishing to stay on for the Round the
Island Race the following weekend I have made arrangements with Cowes Yacht Haven to hold
6 extra berths for the Friday and Saturday nights  provided the boats can be rafted along side
each other.  This will be at the normal charging rate of £2.95 per metre per night rather than
the inflated RTI race weekend rate.

Please make contact with Cowes Yacht Haven to book your berth - 01983 299975 or
email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Website Update

With grateful thanks to David Schnackenberg, our website has been updated all the way
from New Zealand. 

My email address is:   This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it   

Please keep sending all your news and stories on QT's through.... 

Coutts and other News

Great news all round in that Coutts have confirmed their sponsorship of the QTC
for 2010.  Their 3 year contract expired in 2009 but they would be pleased to sponsor
the event for another year.  This means that the event will be held in Cowes and that
it is mid week.  We have chosen the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday immediately prior
to the Round the Island Race, meaning that anyone wishing to travel to the Solent 
can do both regattas within one week.  I will arrange suitable berthing
between the events at Cowes Yacht Haven for those wishing to stay on, and also for
craneage to occur at the weekends. 

There has been a lot of interest since Cowes Week in people looking for QT's and
I know there are one or two for sale.  Please keep sending me details of what you
have or what you are looking for so I can put them on the For Sale section of the
website.

I propose that we have a Fitting Out Supper at the RCYC in Cowes in March, preceeded
by an Owners Meeting to discuss anything and everything to do with the class.  One of the
things that we are going to need to tidy up is the criteria of what is a Quarter Tonner. For
example at the moment technically mini tonners could come and sail as we don't have a
lower limit on the IOR rating.  There has also been some suggestion that we should put
an upper limit on the IRC ratings of Quarter Tonners although while the Rating Office has
so much control over hull factors which bear little resemblance to reality, the ratings
are slightly in the hands of the Rating Office, unless we can get them to be a bit more
uniform with the way they treat us.

Mini Tonners/Half Tonners

Whilst talking about Mini tonners, I have had a number of enquiries from people with
Mini Tonners wishing to take part in our regattas.  I have been in contact with Matt Atkins
who is the General Manager of Kemp Sails who has one, and who is preparing to coordinate
that Class, so anyone wishing to get in contact with him - here are his contact details:

Email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Mobile Tel: 07950012977

We are in discussion with Matt to have a joint regatta at some stage in 2010.  

With regard to the Half Tonners, I have been approached to try and organise a joint
regatta with that class as well. However, they are not inclined to come and race in the
Solent, so we are putting our thinking caps on.  Perhaps Falmouth? 

Programme for 2010

I have now filled in the Events Calender to the left, but for those of you who
would rather see it in list form - here it is:

2 - 4th April - Red Funnel Easter Regatta
17 - 18th April - Warsash QT Spring Championship
28 April - 1 May - Obelix Trophy, Benodet, France
14 - 16th May - Vice Admiral's Cup
29th - 31 May Poole Regatta
5 - 6th June - ISC QT Training Regatta
14 - 16th Coutts Quarter Ton Cup
19th June - Round the Island Race
25 - 27th June - IRC Championships
31 July - 7 August - Cowes Week
3 - 5 September - Brewin Dolphin Jersey Regatta

September - Runaway Bus Trophy (Nab Tower and Tiny Mitchell Trophy)
Battle of Britain Regatta

Welcome to Snoopy's new owners

and another warm welcome to Southy and Cat, who having played on other boats, have got together 
a Hamble/Warsash syndicate (possie) to buy Snoopy. Fantastic and we look forward to seeing you
on the water.

Southy came to race at the Jersey Regatta with Catch back in 2007 and obviously
got the bug....

The boat is now called Whiskers, as in Cat's..... 

Welcome Lymington!

The boys in Lymington have bought Phoenix and today she made the grand journey on a trailer from 
Chichester to Lymington.  Welcome to the class - Ronan Grealish, Campbell Field and Jason Ludlow. 

For all other previous news and stories - see under the 'News' Section where they have been
filed.