ALL AT SEA JULY 2022
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COWES WEEK Later this month thousands of competitors and fans of Cowes Week will come together to enjoy all that this world fa ous regatta has to offer on and off the water. Image: Paul Wyeth
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ating back to 1826, Cowes Week is one of the UK’s longest running sporting events, and with thousands of competitors racing during the week it remains as popular as ever. At the end of July the regatta will once again welcome around 600 yachts across up to 40 classes with racers covering the full spectrum of sailors from leisure to World Champions and Olympic medallists. Cowes Week’s mix of classic and modern designs is what gives the regatta its uniqueness. It is wonderful to see some classes that raced more than 50 years ago still competing today such as Dragons and Solent Sunbeams. Of course, new classes are also introduced as they increase in popularity. After running a successful regatta last year, despite Covid restrictions, for 2022 there is a new one-design class for Sonatas to reflect its strong activity in Cowes over the past few years. After last year’s Club Cruiser Class debut at Cowes Week, earlier this year the Cruising Association and Cowes Week teamed up to produce a ‘firsttimer’ video, which can be viewed on YouTube and the Cowes Week website.
“A first-time at anything can be daunting,” said Lucy Gray, CA General Manager. “We hope this video will be a useful guide for those making the transition from cruising to racing, demystify competing and encourage more entries in the Club Cruiser Class.” In 2021, the Club Cruiser Class featured a broad line-up of cruising yachts, including Bavaria, Beneteau, Dufour, Westerly and Folkboat, and entries this year include a Rustler 33, Finngulf 33 and Super Seal 26. The event format is one race per day, with several starts off the iconic Royal Yacht Squadron line.
Tenacious will be at Cowes Week
Based on competitor feedback, an updated pricing structure was introduced for Black Group boats for 2022 which has been radically altered to make it fairer across the board for different sized boats. The pricing bands are now broken down into 1m increments and start at 7m rather than 9m, which will lead to more consistency in what different boats are paying, irrespective of their overall length.
RACING FORMAT
Racing across all classes will follow a similar format to previous years with more starts off the Royal Yacht Squadron line on a rolling five-minute sequence and a roving Committee Vessel, able to be located to make best use of the conditions on the day. Courses are designed each day to take into account the weather forecast, tidal streams and speed of each class of boat. The race teams worked throughout the winter to address issues around shortening courses and new plans are in
Entry
Cowes Week Charities Jubilee Sailing Trust: jst.org.uk The Scaramouche Sailing Trust: scaramouchesailing.org.uk place to make that a smoother process across all 42 fleets. At the end of racing, there is no hanging around for the results as just minutes after crossing the finish line, competitors are able to see where they finished in relation to other boats in their class and, in the handicapped fleets, whether anyone still racing can beat them
on corrected time. The results can be found on the Cowes Week website, EventTV screens around the town, from the Regatta Centre and also on Cowes Radio. For those not taking part in the racing The Green and The Parade are great places to watch, plus there are spectator boat options for those who would like to is a Seabin installedclose-up on River Soar getHere afloat for a really view.
Standard Entry Fee for entries and fees paid on or before 22 July starts from £80. Late Entry Fee for entries and fees paid on or before 23 July starts from £92. www.cowesweek.co.uk Future Dates 2023: 29 July – 4 August 2024: 27 July – 2 August
