(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week is
a key part of the British sporting calendar taking place in early
August each year. These dates result from early traditions when the
great and the good came to Cowes between Goodwood and the Glorious
Twelfth – day one of the grouse shooting season. The event is a great
mix of competitive sailing and a vibrant social scene and has evolved
enormously since the early days; it now attracts up to 1,000 competing
boats, around 8,500 competitors and over 100,000 visitors.Hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Cowes Combined Clubs, the sailors are treated to incredibly challenging, fun sailing; especially when each day dawns with a new course on the famous Solent-- full of capricious currents and shifty, gusty breezes. The event puts a premium not only on boat-handling and boat-speed, but on the navigational capabilities of the crew to find all the marks and make it back to the extraordinary finish line immediately off the flag deck onshore lined with massive cannons at the Royal Yacht Squadron.
There is a combination of IRC handicap racing as well as a multitude of J/One-design classes participating. Starting with the one-designs, there will be J/70s, J/80s, J/109s and J/111s sailing.
The field of eight J/70s are certain to see some of the match-ups get heated up again that took place at the J/70 UK Nationals earlier in the year at Cowes. Certain to be tough sledding for many as virtually all the boats have had their flashes of brilliance over the course of the summer. Amongst the leaders could be NORTH SAILS (Ruairidh Scott), BOATS.COM (Ian Atkins), TEAM SPITFIRE Powered by SLAM (Wing Commander Simon Ling RAF) and JENGA 8 (Paul & Marie-Claude Heys). However, since many of the new teams are racing up the learning curve, don't be surprised to see these teams in the front row, including DJANGO (Malcolm Jaques), JUGADOR (Jack Davies), PHEEBS (Simon Cavey) and WILSON COVERS (Ian wilson).. Sailing photo credit- Rick Tomlinson. For more Cowes Week sailing information
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