X-43 “Hoddox” (hull No 1)  skippered by designer Niels Jeppesen himself

I was delighted when Niels asked my brother Peter and I to show our Viking friends from X-Yachts of Denmark around the Isle of Wight, by sea.

The race is held annually, since 1931 and this year over 1,500 yachts took part. Fifty miles in total, the course leaves the island to port, the original 1851 America’s Cup course left it to starboard.

A running start, with the tide at 07.10 took us and the rest of the big class down towards the Needles. “Hoddox” went through the Hurst Harrows in very close company with the 130ft J Class “Velsheda”. Fortunately, negotiating the famous S.S. Varvassi wreck at the Needles this year was made easy for us as X-Yachts’ friend Jochem Visser, the “Boat Speed Doctor”, was marking the spot (temporarily) in his IMX 40.

The fleet then settled down to a long turn to weather to St Catherine’s into a building breeze and sparkling conditions. The bigger and heavier X-43 was able to stretch her legs as we changed to heavy genoa and break free of her smaller IMX 40 sisters. With the tide tuning to our favor we beat pass Ventnor, a pretty Victorian seaside resort on the south of the Island, which enjoys the most sunshine hours in British Isles. Our Danish crew who for all this was their first “Round the Island” could see why this interesting and testing race is so popular. A fortunate tack at Dunoes put us in side our immediate rivals to lay up to Bembridge ledge.

Spinnakers showed again for the run home, rounding close to the Napoleonic: “No Mans Lane Fort” in company with Harold Cudmore who was skippering the leading IMX 40 “X2” then nudging Ryde Sands for just a second, past Queen Victoria’ s Osborne House and to the finish and the beer tent in Cowes, the spiritual home of English Sailing.

Our Vikings were quickly ashore, perhaps pushed on by their ancestor’s conquests, to sample the Beer and Fish and Chips and showing more than a passing interest in our fairer sex, watched the remainder of the huge fleet stream in.

We were able to finish second on the water in Class 2. A fine result for a teak decked cruiser/racer in amongst the racing yachts. Jochem Visser managed to continue after his unscheduled stop to push us into a 5th place in Handicap.

On corrected time the X-43 would have finished 7th well ahead of two Swann 45s if she had competed in Class 1 together with the Farrs and the Swanns.

48 X-Yachts completed this year’s race.

John Lawrence, X-Yachts GB (Ltd)