While the GBR Red team started the final day of the Rolex Commodores’ Cup with a comfortable lead, a double points scoring final race combined with a front passing over the Solent bringing with it solid 30 knot winds, even stronger gusts, rain and terrible visibility maintained the tension until the very last moments of the competition.

In the end John Shepherd’s big boat, Fair Do’s VII made it around the race course cleanly to post a second place behind Anthony O’Leary’s Antix Eile in Ireland White, while the two smaller GBR Red boats, Jerry Otter’s Erivale III and Peter Rutter’s Quokka 7 had a much harder time in their classes, the mid-boat finishing ninth and the small boat coming home fourth. But overall the results were good enough for GBR Red to win the 2008 Rolex Commodores’ Cup comfortably, on 122 points with the two Irish teams White and Green on 144 and 161 respectively, pulling ahead of France Blue today, the defending champions dropping to fourth on 166.5.