(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- As Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week
2013 drew to a close on Saturday evening, organisers Cowes Week Limited
(CWL) reflected on another highly successful regatta which saw an
increase in overall entry and visitor numbers, plus online interaction
figures which already surpass the totals seen for the whole of 2012.With the exception of a forced lay-day on Tuesday 6 August, the conditions provided some champagne sailing throughout the Week and at the overall prize-giving on Saturday evening, there were many happy faces. Stuart Quarrie, CEO of Cowes Week Limited commented: “It’s been a fantastic, very rewarding week. The weather Gods have been smiling on us and it’s a testament to the huge efforts of our entire team that this year’s regatta has been so successful”.
Martin
Gilbert, CEO of title sponsor, Aberdeen Asset Management, added: “There
was a terrific buzz around this year’s event and there was a
tremendously exciting atmosphere. Our guests all had a great time and it
felt like the event achieved even more positive press coverage than in
previous years. We’re all tired but happy after the week, it couldn’t
have gone any better.”The number of crews participating in the Aberdeen Asset Management Under 25 Trophy grew significantly following the introduction of the youth initiative by Aberdeen in 2012 and over twenty boats raced for the Trophy this year. The crew of Under 25 year-olds racing the J/80 J.A.T claimed glory at the end of the Week and were second in the Young Skipper's Trophy-- plus skipper Chris Taylor also won the J/80 series!
Five J One-Design classes participated in this year's Cowes Race Week (J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109, J/111), a record number of fleets for any sailboat brand by a significant margin and in six of the nine IRC handicap racing and cruising classes, J/Teams placed several teams in the top ten plus winning two of them.
In
the world of one-design sailing, the J/70s sailed a novel "short
series" from Saturday to Tuesday, sailing two races per day, then for
those who stayed for the duration of the week, an overall J/70 series
winner was declared as well. In the nine boat J/70 class, it was TEAM
RAF SPITFIRE led by Wing Commander Simon Ling that took the overall
series trophy. Following them was JUGADOR skippered by Jack Davies in
second and in third was WILSON COVERS sailed by Ian Wilson. The
balance of the top five was NORTH SAILS (Ruairidh Scott) and DJANGO
(Malcolm Jaques), 4th & 5th respectively. Sailing photo credits- Rick Tomlinson For more Cowes Week sailing information
|
