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ALL AT SEA JULY 2021
COWES WEEK ey art of the British s orting summer calendar, the th Co es ee is set to elcome sailors to the sle of ight for a ee of incredi le racing and arties ashore.
For 2021, there will be eight IRC classes, Black Group One Designs such as the J/109, as well as 17 One Design Day Boat classes in the White Group. A completely new class this year is the Club Cruiser Division where it is planned to run two starts each day, depending on the number of entries. There will be a further four starts in the Performance Cruiser Division. The decision was taken to split cruisers into Performance and Club divisions to recognise the very different performance characteristics across the range of yacht designs, as well as the sometimes more family orientated crew lists in the club cruisers. The team behind Cowes Week believe this will deliver high-quality racing for everybody, with similar boats and like-minded crews in the different divisions. There will also be a new trophy for the Club Cruiser Division, sponsored by The Cruising Association. Laurence Mead, regatta director, said: “What a year! We have so many sailors desperate to get back on the water, and I think this will be a fantastic summer for boat racing all round. We are working flat out to deliver a great Cowes Week.”
Image: Paul Wyeth
OPENING PARTY
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fter announcing the cancellation of the 2020 regatta on 5 June last year, Cowes Week is back for 2021 with new classes and new parties set to make this a year to remember. The famous regatta is one of the UK’s longest running sporting events, having first taken place in 1826 and is the largest of its kind in the world, attracting hundreds of yachts in up to 42 classes. Although entries opened later than usual this year, on 29 March, the event was already carrying over nearly 200 entries from 2020. We can expect to see thousands of competitors race, ranging from weekend sailors to World Champions and Olympic medallists. Over the years the event has attracted both British and foreign royalty, along with many famous faces too. What is so unique about Cowes Week is the eclectic mix of competitive racing and crew parties, for those who are happy to burn the midnight oil whilst participating in seven days of demanding racing. The lively après-sail atmosphere means there are plenty of social activities onshore for sailors and the thousands of spectators.
A CLASS ACT
Several classes that raced more than 50 years ago are still racing today such as Dragons, Flying Fifteens, Solent Sunbeams, Swallows, Victories and X-one-designs. It is the mixture of classic and ultra-modern designs that adds to the regatta’s uniqueness.
Image: Tom Gruitt (Right: Prince Philip. Image: UK Crown Copyright 2021)
REMEMBERING PRINCE PHILIP
The Duke of Edinburgh was a regular competitor at Cowes Week, adding a very welcome royal element to the week, as well as being a competitive entrant in the regatta in his own right. It was not until 1964 that, on the suggestion of Prince Philip, 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. That structure is still in place, delivering a single set of racing instructions for the regatta and guiding in a modern and evolving race management system. In 2004, on its 40th anniversary, Cowes Combined Clubs moved into a new purpose-built Regatta Centre, which was officially opened by HRH Prince Philip.
New for this year is the first Cowes Week opening party, which will take place on Saturday 31 July after race day one. The event will take place at Cowes Yacht Haven, as will the overall prize giving on 6 August. For the first time there will also be a daily prize giving, open to all competitors, to be held on the Parade at 18:00 each day, celebrating the race winners across the regatta, which it is hoped will become a great social occasion in its own right. As Laurence Mead said: “Winning a race at Cowes Week is an achievement that we want everybody to be able to celebrate!” After the prize giving there will be plenty of time to enjoy all of the social events throughout the town, at yacht clubs, pubs, bars and restaurants, all subject to the Covid guidelines in place at that time. Laurence continued: “At the time of writing, and based on government guidelines, we are expecting to be able to have a sociable event built around some great boat racing, but we have taken an early decision to cancel the fireworks to make the event as Covid safe as possible, but there will be great racing for thousands of keen sailors and, in the end, that is what matters most. “Unfortunately there are also no Red Arrows this year as they are fully booked. We plan to have both back in the future as they are an integral part of the week.”
LOOKING AHEAD
With 100,000 people visiting during the regatta, Cowes Week has an inevitable environmental impact on the water and on the shoreside. However, Cowes Week Limited has signed up with Sailors for the Sea ‘Clean Regattas Programme’ and been awarded Silver Level status. The organisers also work with The Green Blue, as well as signing up with the Clean Seas campaign - Turn the Tide on Plastic.
