(Cowes, IOW, England)- Since 1826 Cowes Week has played a key part in
the British sporting summer calendar and is one of the UK's longest
running and most successful sporting events. It now stages up to 40
daily races for around 1,000 boats and is the largest sailing regatta of
its kind in the world.
This year, Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, as the event is now
known, offers a great mix of competitive sailing and social activities
from August 11th to 18th. The 8,500 competitors range from Olympic and
world class professionals to weekend sailors. In excess of 100,000
spectators come to watch the sailing, enjoy the parties and live
entertainment, and to experience the unique atmosphere. It is genuinely a
one-of-a-kind event.
Traditionally, Cowes Week takes place after Glorious Goodwood and before
the Glorious Twelfth (the first day of the grouse shooting season) -
occasionally the traditional dates are changed to ensure optimum racing,
taking account of the tides. Over the years the event has attracted
British and foreign royalty, and many famous faces.
The
first race was for a Gold Cup of the Value of £100, held in 1826 for
just seven yachts under the flag of the Royal Yacht Club (which later
became the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1833). The next year King George IV
indicated his approval of the event by presenting a cup (the King's Cup,
presented at every subsequent event until 1939) to mark the occasion,
and the event became known as Cowes Regatta. This was run as a
three-day, then a four-day, event and quickly became part of the social
calendar.
It was not until 1964 that, on the suggestion of HRH Prince Philip (a
regular competitor and Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron), Cowes
Combined Clubs was formed to run and organise the regatta. This body
represented the seven clubs involved in managing the racing (Royal Yacht
Squadron, Royal London Yacht Club, Royal Thames Yacht Club, Royal
Southampton Yacht Club, Royal Southern Yacht Club, Island Sailing Club
and Royal Ocean Racing Club) and Cowes Town Regatta Committee. The Royal
Yacht Squadron line became the universal start line and there was one
set of sailing instructions and racing marks for the Week-- it was a
brilliant suggestion by the Prince as since the regatta has mushroomed
in popularity.
Over
the course of time, J/Boats sailors have found the Cowes Week to their
liking, enjoying the fabulous on-shore festivities along with the
equally challenging sailing up and down the capricious tidal river known
as "the Solent". Participating in this year's events will be
one-design fleets of J/109s and J/80s as well as fleets of J/111s,
J/122s, J/97s sailing within various IRC classes. Thirty-one of 180 IRC
entries are J/Teams, about 17% of the fleet, quite a good show again
and the dominant brand in IRC class sailing-- twice as many as Beneteau
or X-Yachts participants in each brand!
Again leading the charge as biggest one-design keelboat fleet at Cowes
are the twenty-five J/109s and what amounts to a changing of the guard
amongst the top of the fleet will be in the making as last year's top
boats are all gone. Amongst the leaders could be ME JULIE (Dominique
Monkhouse), David Mcleman's OFFBEAT and the RAF Sailing Team on their
familiar RED ARROW. It will be an fascinating fleet to watch as the
pecking order gets jumbled rapidly race to race!
The
J/Sprit class may again include a selection of J/92, J/97 and J/105
designs. In 2011, there was keen competition for the top spot, the class
winner being the J/92s J'RONIMO (David Greenhalgh & John Taylor)
followed by Nick and Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE, third was Andy Howe
& Annie Kelly's J/92 BLACKJACK. All three competitors are sailing
again and will have to contend with two top J/105s, NEILSON REDEYE (Pip
& Pete Tyler) and KING LOUIE sailed by Fiona and Malcolm Thorpe.
Then, the rest of the fleet are no less intimidating, including several
J/92s like WHO'S TO NO (Richard Sparrow), BOJANGLES (Richard Sainsbury),
HULLABALOO (Andrew Dallas); and a gaggle of fast J/97s like MCFLY (Tony
Mack), JACKAROO (Jim and Stephen Dick), JET (James Owen), the champion
JIKA-JIKA (Mike & Jamie Holmes) and another champion FEVER
GLENFIDDICH (Grant Gordon).
The J/80s recently had their J/80 Worlds in Dartmouth and, as expected,
the run-up to that event would have an impact on the large twenty-four
boat attendance the J/80s enjoyed last year. This year it looks like
there will be a competitive coterie of nine boats with some familiar top
boats in the fray, including JAMMY DODGER, AQUA J and the RAF Sailors
on SPITFIRE.
Sure
to be a factor will be the six J/111s, starting with David & Kirsty
Apthorp's new J/DREAM, winner of this year's IRC Class in the Round
Island Race. Then you have SHMOKING JOE (Duncan McDonald and Phil
Thomas- past IRC Class winners in the Round Island Race). Newcomers
include MOJITO from Hong Kong sailed by Simon & Michele Blore,
previous owners of successful J/92s of the same name; DJINN from Belgium
sailed by Sebastien de Liedekerke, a former J/109 owner; JEEZ LOUISE
(James Arnell); and ICARUS sailed by Charles Rolls and Andrew Christie.
If the performance of the 111s in recent offshore events with any
amount of breeze is indicative of the possible outcome in IRC2 Class,
their friendly J competitors will have a tough time handling them.
Included in this group are the J/122s.
The four powerful J/122s JINJA (Ian Matthews), GHOST (Ken Lowes), THE
SISTERHOOD (Susan Glenny), MINT JULEP and JOULOU (Ivan Trotman) will
keep everyone honest and perhaps win a race or two and take a podium
finish!
Two well-sailed J/133s- JUMP (Ian Dewhirst) and MADJUST (Richard Huges)
have proven their capabilities to win races both around-the-cans and
offshore may possibly end up in IRC1 or IRC2, in any event they will
have their hands full as they strategize how to get around the Solent as
cleverly as possible. Sailing Photo Credits-
Beken of Cowes/ T
im Wright-Photoaction.com. For
more Cowes Week sailing information
(London, England)- The World Sailing Show-
is a highlights video produced by the “World Sailing” organization in
London, England. The November highlights reel talks about the radical
new America’s Cup class design. Then, they discuss why winning an
Olympic medal doesn’t get you a head start, especially if you’re
embarking on a 7,000nm race offshore (however, having one-design
experience in strong one-design classes like J/24s, J/80s and J/70s
does). Finally, they have a nice segment about the massive turnout
for the AUDI J/70 World Championship in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy
hosted by YC Costa Smeralda. The event started with controversy
and ended with spectacular racing in the biggest one-design sportsboat
fleet ever seen in history. Watch this J/70 Worlds segment at 09:38 in the World Sailing video
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
(Plymouth, England)- The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth will host the final
prize-giving ceremony for the 2013 J-Cup hosted by the Royal Western
Yacht Club, August 21st-24th. Though not the first time the annual
regatta has visited the West Country, this will be the first time that
the spectacular marine facility will feature in the regatta programme.
J-Cup
competitors will have exclusive use of the entire aquarium and its
gardens for the prize-giving, which will take place on the final night
of the regatta; Saturday 24th August. Sailors will enjoy a locally
sourced "Best of the West" supper, followed by dancing in the Upper
Gallery, against a backdrop of Plymouth Sound.
Wing Commander Simon ‘Sling’ Ling, one of the owners of SPITFIRE,
has owned and raced many different keelboats and sportsboats over the
years including SB20s, J/109s and J/80s. The J/70 held instant appeal
for Simon, so much so that he was amongst the very first UK sailors to
trial the boat. Simon’s confidence in the J/70 is illustrated by the
fact that he has been appointed Chairman of the new J/70 UK Class
Association. Team SPITFIRE will sail on behalf of the RAF Benevolent
Fund.
