Title 1

Ramsgate Week began with a mini coastal series for the IRC classes, running from Monday to Wednesday with one race per day and two gentleman's classes which will run from Monday to Saturday. The first day saw plenty of changeable winds and calm seas.

There was a close battle to the first mark in Class 1 with the Belgium boat, Alegria rounding just ahead of Xwaves and Richochet. The two lead boats continued a close battle to the Elbow. Alegria extended their lead and took line honours.

Class 2 saw a close start between A Boen and Jazz, with Upstart benefiting from their battle. A Boen led at the first mark with Jazz and Upstart contesting for second and third place. Finally, A Boen crossed the line first with an appreciable lead from the rest of the fleet.

Antix led from the start in Class 3, reaching the South Brake first followed by Moist Definitely and Cheeky Monkey. They furthered their lead during the six mile spinnaker leg and finished in first place with a convincing victory.

In Class 4 there were four Impala's, as well as Andromeda, a Starlight 30. Volante led to the first mark, but was overtaken by Scallywag on the long spinnaker run to the Elbow. Scallywag managed the changing wind conditions well and stretched out a commanding lead to finish first. The remaining three Impala's enjoyed close racing exchanging positions until Volante broke away again to finish second.

There were two gentleman classes; Class 5 with spinnakers prohibited and Class 6 with no sail restrictions. Both classes were sent on a short beat to B2 and then a run past North Quern to a short reach to East Brake and a long run down to the Elbow. At this point Sunbird was in the lead in Class 5 with Havoc second on handicap. Half the fleet elected to tack inshore, the rest taking offshore towards East Break. The inshore leg paid off and Sunbird held its lead around East Brake to finish ahead of Havoc, Sydney II and Bravado. Mallard finished first in Class 6, with Peridot, Rush and Dos Mescalito crossing the line respectively.

The IRC fleet sailed a windward / leeward course, starting the first race in light winds, managing to reach the leeward mark only to find the weakening wind fade. The race was abandoned and restarted when the wind filled. After the first race the winds dropped again, leading to a postponement of the second race until tomorrow when, if conditions allow, three races will be run.

Class 0 was thinly supported with just three starters, including the UKSA sailing the Farr 52 'Chernikeef 2' and Richard Matthews' on his Humphreys 42, 'Oystercatcher XXVI'. The first race started in 5 - 6 knots of breeze and 'Oystercatcher XXVI' took an early lead to be first round the weather mark. Shortly afterwards the breeze and filled in from the shore and then dies, at which point boats started kedging and the race committee wisely abandoned the race.

The restart saw 'Oystercatcher XXVI' first away. It was all together a shifty affair with 'Chernikeef 2' using her power to get around the top mark and bare away into a strong, fair tide; but in the event the wind filled in from the stern and 'Cracker' (Stephen & Carole Heppell's IMX 40) was posted as the class winner. After a delay of about an hour, waiting for the wind to settle, Class 0 got within 2 minutes of their second start, before racing was postponed and subsequently abandoned.

In Class 1, the Corby 36 'Quokker', led the fleet at the first windward mark, closely followed by the X-35 'Kiss' and the Belgium IMX40 'Oxygen'. Before the leeward mark, 'Quokker' fell into a hole and was overhauled by both 'Kiss' and 'Oxygen'. For the final beat to the windward mark, 'Oxygen' rounded first, followed by 'Kiss' onto the run to the finish. On corrected time, 'Kiss' was the winner.

In light airs, Johan Bol's 'A Boen' and the French First 34.7 'Marine Diffusion Dunkerque' enjoyed match racing, competing closely up the first leg, with 'A Boen' beating 'Marine Diffusion Dunkerque' to the first mark. Richard Sparrow's J92 'Who's To No' and Julian Poupard's X99 'Xpedite' were following closely behind. 'A Boen' took line honours with 'Who's To Know' and 'Xpedite' coming in second and third on corrected time.

'Antix', the X302, had a good start in Class 3. The First 31.7, 'Calvito' was only two boat lengths from the start, but had no boat speed and was rolled by the fleet. In the second lap, 'Amazon' and 'Waverider' were involved in an incident, forcing 'Waverider' to do a 720. 'Cheeky Monkey' had a good second lap, catching 'Calvito' and 'Waverider'. 'Antix' came first, with 'Amazon' and 'Cheeky Monkey' in second and third.

'Monkey Business', Robert Leggett's Impala, led to the first mark closely followed by the current series leader 'Scallywag'. 'Volante' followed in third, with the other class four boats in close pursuit. The downwind leg proved to be a challenge in the dying wind, with the larger classes adding to the test. The wind filled in on the final beat and the leading boats stretched their advantage with 'Monkey Business', 'Scallywag and 'Volante' coming first, second and third.

The cruiser classes had one race, starting in good wind with a westerly start to Stonar. The leading boats finished in good wind, however the wind died, leaving the back of the fleet struggling to cross the line.

Once again Lance Steven's Grand Soleil 50 'Sydney II' took line honours in Class 5, but it was Peter Richardson's 'Havoc' who won on handicap, with 'Sydney II' second Hans G Schnitzler's Kalik 33, 'Brovado' in third.

Conditions for the final day of Ramsgate Week were ideal for sailing, with a steady southerly 15 knots of wind. The day saw two races, where competitors battled it out for the coveted Gold Cup as well as completing the IRC East Coast Championships (supported by RORC).

As part of an initiative with the North Sea Challenge Series, Ramsgate Week has been well supported by boats from France, Belgium and Holland.

There were three boats in Class 0 all fighting for the pin end of the line in both races, with Peter Harrison's Farr 52, 'Chernikeeff 2' getting clean air, followed by Richard Matthews' Humphreys 42 'Oystercatcher VVXI', who have sailed well all week. 'Chernikeeff 2' needed to win both races to draw the week, but was pipped to the post by 'Oystercatcher VVXI'.

Line honours in the first race were taken by the ST370 'Holding Pattern', helmed by Matthew Vincent from Dolphin Sails. Axel De Cock's IMX 40 'Oxygen' shortly followed. 'Quokker' (crewed by local yachtsmen from the Royal Temple Yacht Club, and supported by Rob Dyer from North Sails) was third over the line, but won on corrected time.

The Dutch Stern 33 'A Boen' started both races aggressively ahead of the First 34.7, 'Marine Diffusion Dunkerque'. However, 'Marine Diffusion Dunkerque' were faster upwind, beating 'A Boen' over the line in both races. Richard Sparrow's J92, 'Who's To Know', were closely following in third place.

John Allen's X302 'Antix', and Tony & Chuffy Merewether's Sun Fast 32 'Amazon' each gained a first and a second, with the French boat 'Waverider' taking third place.

'Scallywag's' run of wins came to an end as the Robert Leggett's 'Monkey Business' and Mark Dale & Bob Booths' 'Reaction' led the fleet to each take line honours. All of the Class 4 boats enjoyed the steadier winds and demanding courses.

The Impala National Championships were decided on results extracted from the IRC Class 4 fleet, scoring on level rating. Although 'Monkey Business' won the IRC Class 4, due to their handicap rating, 'Scallywag' were able to beat them on the water to become the 2008 National Champions. Six Impala's competed, three from the host club ('Scallywag', 'Reaction' and 'Volante'), 'Monkey Business' from Haven Ports Yacht Club, 'Goodbye Mr Chips' from Medway Yacht Club and 'Kudu Nsanga', who trailed their boat all the way from Pembrokeshire Yacht Club.

The Gold Cup was decided on an aggregate of the two races for the day. Three boats finished with equal points, but the Corby 36 'Quokker' won on countback for being first overall in the second race. 'Chernikeeff 2' was second overall with 'Oystercatcher XXVI' taking third place.

The cruiser classes completed their series with two races, both of which took them to the B2, off Pegwell Bay inside the Brake Sands. The Dufour 34 'Havoc' took line honours in both races to win the series, with David Howes' 'Escape' and Hans Schnitzler's 'Bravado' gaining a second and third in the first race. 'Bravado' and Stephen Jones's 'Mirage' took second and third respectively in the second race.

Kenneth Lees' Sigma 35 'Rush' continued her winning streak, gaining a first place in both races, with 'Mallard' and Peridot taking second and third respectively.