Boats and Skippers

Afrita - Andrew Laming IRC

Afrita is a standard Sigma 33OOD, one of the first out of the Plymouth yard back in 1979. Her previous owner was Alison Noice, a prolific writer who penned the RYA Yachmaster’s text book in which Afrita is featured amongst her other sailing books.

Present owner Andrew Laming grew up racing Graduate dinghies in Surrey with his family, followed by university sailing at Keele in Lazer Its and then  a 505 at Newquay Sailing Club. He was inspired to buy Afrita after racing on a friend’s GK24 in a particularly boisterous Helford to Penzance race when that boat was forced to turn back and Andrew thought, ‘Hm I like this and want to do more!’ So COGS was the inspiration for buying the boat. In the ten years of Andrew’s ownership Afrita has made several trips to Cowes for Round the Island and also the Sigma Nationals, as well as Cork Week and Belfast and Dun Laoghaire for more Sigma National Champs. Recently she was cruised across Biscay to the Spanish Rias during the first Covid lockdown. The following season Andrew and partner Vick sailed her to the Med for the summer, before returning to the UK to resume racing. The boat has had a lot of work this winter and is back in racing mode for the looming 2024

Bellissima - Anthony Nathan IRC 1.020

Anthony sailed as a teenager, mainly on dinghies and occasionally on yachts. He restarted sailing in 2011, crewing on Jacobi, a J109. He bought his first boat, Yellowbird, a 5y old Hanse 315, in 2012 and started racing in 2018, two handed with Len Young, coming 5th in the Byron (now RYAYTC) Fleet and the next year won the Offshore (as the only boat to compete in the Fleet), again two-handed.

Bellissima, a 3y old Grand Soleil 34, replaced Yellowbird in mid/late 2021, and came 2nd in the IRC Offshore and a narrow 4th in the Coastal Series in 2022, and won both in 2023, as well as Top Yacht. Johnny Walker is the most experienced of the crew and leads our strategy and spends much time on the helm. Jon Christie is the another regular in the crew, as is Chris Newman who joins us this year as does Finn McConnell. Len Young is wanting to take a more hands-off role this year. Several others who have raced intermittently in the last two seasons are scheduled to race in some of the races during 2024, including 12y old Sam Wolanski, the youngest of the crew.

Blue Horizon - Tim Rowley RYA YTC 912

He was first addicted to compulsive boat buying in the 1970s, he’s gone from a Topper, through dinghies and cruisers, a catamaran and two trimarans, to his present Maxi 1050, Blue Horizon. He says that she’s a lovely boat but not ideally suited to short, round-the-cans courses, whilst COGS gives her the chance to stretch her legs. He chooses to race her in full cruising comfort and, with a great crew, enjoy the passage race format between welcoming yacht clubs.

Having sailed for 50 years and raced for 30, he states that he can honestly say that, for him, COGS is the best yet and he is honoured to serve as Chairman with a great team.

Skipper at the helm

Blue Pearl – Clive Tayton IRC

Been sailing since his early 20’s initially Laser 2000, Laser 3000 and Dart 18 Cat. Started to crew for friends on RORC races before moving to the SW in 1999 and getting his own yacht shortly afterwards. Raced his GK29 extensively in Plymouth then moved to Falmouth with her in 2017. Bought Blue Pearl (Oyster 395) during lockdown and this is his 3rd season of COGS racing with her. Really likes the COGS format and was keen to get involved in helping to organise the series.

Ferret of Mylor  - David Scott (Scotty) YTC 1025

A standard Beneteau First 21.7. She was purchased in 2020 for the purposes of fun, salt, sunshine and beer. After a very long break from regular racing, Scotty will be trailing the fleet in COGS coastal races, probably becoming very frustrated and probably drowning his sorrows after the race. Happy days.

Scotty started sailing at the age of 7 mainly in old Cadets and National Twelves. He sailed his first championship in 1978. He decided that the trapeze would be his thing and qualified for the 1982 UK & England 420 Youth Squad (top 6 in those days). For the rest of the 1980s he raced offshore and inshore in various positions on many IOR boats and in match racing events. In 1992 he briefly returned to the trapeze with the late great John Merricks in the 470 class winning the Palamos Olympic Classes Regatta. For the rest of the 1990s he raced Squibs, Enterprises, International 14s, 18 Foot Skiffs and kept fit in a Laser sailing down the canal outside his house in the Midlands to the pub. After consolidating his business he again returned to the trapeze winning the Fireball World Championships in 2002 in Tampa USA (runner up in 2001).

He has fantastic memories of being dragged around race courses all over the world by some fabulous drivers. After moving to Cornwall a few years ago, and having been off the race track for years, his priority in sailing is the crack and the fun.

Inn Spirit - Simon Copperwait IRC

Inn Spirit Is a custom built 36ft racer cruiser (HOD) designed by Rob Humphreys and built by Priors of Burnham on Crouch in 1997. Simon Copperwait has been racing in the COGS series for the past 8 years. Before he owned Inn Spirit he waslucky to have crewed on various boats including Swans, Rockets, 8M cruiser racers, Sigma’s, Limbo’s amongst others, having done many regattas including several Cowes weeks, Swan Cups in Sardinia and the Channel Islands. Antigua week, Falmouth week, Falmouth classics and his favourite, Calves Week, in the south west of Ireland.

His right hand man and main sail trimmer is Steve Watson who has sailed with him on Inn Spirit from the beginning and has managed to stay cool during all of Simon’s mood swings – happy daze. His daughter Naomi and her partner soon to be husband have become a regular part of the crew for the past 4 years and have raced with them in most of the COGS coastal and offshore races including several PASAB’s and L’Aber Wrac’h races in challenging conditions. He hasa large pool of additional crew members including Jonny B, Cian Alfie, and Scraps amongst others.

Lilliburlero -Freya Skingley RYA YTC 1097

Lilliburlero is a Contessa 26 and was built by Jeremy Rogers in 1969. She is set up as a cruiser racer and is mainly sailed short-handed. In 2023 she came 2nd in COGS YTC two-handed. She is owned and skippered by Freya Skingley.

Freya grew up sailing and racing dinghies locally, and then she transitioned to yachts in 2019. She started racing Lilliburlero in 2022 in club races as well as in Falmouth Week – when she wasn’t solo sailing along the south coast! She is also part of Gentoo Sailing Team Youth Academy and be able to sail on an Imoca 60 and a Sunfast 3300.

Nightowler - Mike Lithgow RYA YTC 953

His first sailing experience was back in the 60s at school sailing an Albacore and various 14ft dinghies in Langstone harbour. In 1975 and he was looking after and maintaining dinghies and yachts for the RNSA at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth. In 1978 he became a deck hand on 700 ton Hopper barges helming from Portsmouth to South of St Catherines, a 4-5 hour trip he must have done at least 300 times! Since that time he has never been phased by crossing shipping lanes. His next step was a job as Tug Skipper, towing, anchor movements, and general boat handling.

Following a shift in careers, he became a Film Editor and didn’t really get back on the water until the early 90s. Dinghy racing in february at Surrey Docks London led to buying a 29ft yacht with friends and a few trips across the channel and along the South Coast. He passed his Yachtmaster Offshore Theory and did a bit of casual racing up and down the Solent. In 2010 he and his wife moved to Cornwall and he continued to race with MYC on a Friday night.

His best sailing experience came in 2010 when he was fortunate to be asked to direct a TV documentary on the Voyage of The Jewel of Muscat. Based on a 9th century wreck discovered with a £13 million treasure hoard, the vessel was built on a beach in Oman and sailed across the Arabian sea to Galle in Sri-Lanka. Here he joined as Director and crew member for the sail over the Bay of Bengal to Penang and through the Straits of Mollucca to Singapore. From a full on cyclone to 40 degree doldrums and navigating by ancient Arab songs it was a truly memorable experience.

In 2014 he purchased Nightowler, a 32ft Albin Nova, designed and built in Sweden in 1982. He has raced in the COGS Coastal and Offshore Series since then with his number one crew John Houlihan, and others. They race in RYA YTC Echo class. His general philosophy on racing is to try and be competitive but mostly to enjoy the racing the social side and just being out on one of the best sailing waters in the UK.

Xenia – Paddy Royall IRC 0.997

Paddy Royall has been on racing boats since he was 6 weeks old. He has done three transatlantics and more cross-channel trips than he can remember. He started dinghy sailing in his 20s, with a series of progressively higher performance dinghies (Enterprise, Fireball, Laser 4000, two International 14s, Cherub and two International Moths). At university, he was part of the sailing team and set up a yachting club. In 2004 he took his International 14 to Japan where he lived from 2004-7 and was part of the Japan team in the 2006 International 14 World Championships in Long Beach, California. He sailed extensively with his father, Wally Royall, who bought the X362 Sport, Xenia, in 2009. Paddy bought Xenia in 2017 and has since raced the boat throughout the south coast, cross-channel and in Ireland.