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.

NEED TO KNOW ates l g st Prizegiving: 5 August There is a handy rst timers g i e at co es eek co k

Image: Paul Wyeth

Dating 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.

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

Tenaciouswill be at Cowes Week Entry 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.

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.

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 get afloat for a really close-up view.

The all female crew of Tutima Racing at Cowes Week. Image: Paul Wyeth

APRES-SAIL On shore, the event will continue its legendary social programme kicking off with the Cowes Week Opening Party on 30 July. The lively après-sail atmosphere at Cowes Week means there are plenty of social and onshore activities for the sailors and thousands of spectators who visit Cowes.

On 3 August the Official Cowes Week Competitors Ball, in conjunction with the Royal Ocean Racing Club, returns. With tickets for 300 and a theme of Best of British/Platinum Jubilee, attendees at this black-tie party can expect to be dancing till late.

To round out the social week the Overall Prizegiving will take place on the Friday evening in the Event Centre at Cowes Yacht Haven, and once the prizes are handed out there will be a new Prizegiving Party to round off the week.DJ Mark Covell will be back on the decks to reprise his big night at Cowes Week last year. Not many people can mix an Olympic sailing medal with being a world-class DJ, but Mark Covell has certainly achieved it.

WOMEN IN SAILING The event’s organisers recently announced that the regatta is joining with the Magenta Project to promote women in sailing, and to highlight the important impact that women already have in the world’s biggest keelboat regatta.

The two organisations will look to bring greater awareness to the roles women play in our sport, and hope to inspire even more young women to take up sailing, in whatever way they choose. The Magenta Project will be present throughout the week with a dedicated Hub where people can learn more about the opportunities available to women in sailing.

Jonquil Hackenberg, chair of The Magenta Project, said:“Cowes Week is an iconic event in the sailing calendar, and we are very happy to be involved in the 2022 regatta.Some incredible women have already been part of this event, and we hope that through this partnership we are able to encourage more women to participate, but equally workwith the Cowes Week organisation to highlight the amazingly talented female sailors that are looking for opportunities to be part of this great event.”

This year Women’s Day will take place on 2August with a prizegiving, followed by a presentation and a Q&A session with leading sailors from Cowes Week and The Magenta Project. awarded Silver Level Clean Regatta Certification by Sailors for the Sea. They also work closely with The Green Blue, as well as signing up with the Clean Seas campaign - Turn the Tide on Plastic. Throughout the week they will be raising awareness of sustainability issues and highlighting how we can all help to make a difference, both on and off the water.

THE CHARITIES Joining the Scaramouche Sailing Trust, which became an official charity partner in 2020, is the Jubilee Sailing Trust. The JST began 43 years ago in Southampton with a mission to change lives through adventure and exploration. The charity operates the tall shipSV Tenacious, which was built and maintained by volunteers, and designed to be sailed by a mixed ability crew.

Since the charity began more than 50,000 people have sailed with the JST and the charity has transformed numerous lives. Tenaciouswill be in attendance for the duration of the regatta and the JST team will also have a presence on shore hosting a number of activities for visitors.

Laurence Mead, regatta director, said: “Looking out from the Royal Yacht Squadron platform on a Cowes Week race day we can see boats of all shapes and sizes enjoying the regatta.It is wonderful that this year the Jubilee Sailing Trust will be joining us with their tall ship SV Tenacious which, although not be racing, will add to the fabulous spectacle on the water this year.”

NEW REGATTA! Announced just last month, there is a new Cowes Week Winter Regatta on its way in January. It follows the news that Visit Abu Dhabi is the Presenting Sponsor of Cowes Week 2022. The new event will take place every year in late January in Abu Dhabi.

The on-water elements of the new regatta will be run by Cowes Week Ltd, while Global Mission and its local partner the Karamm Group / Z Zone will have responsibility for the onshore social programme. The inaugural Cowes Week Winter Regatta will take place from 23 – 27 January and will feature racing for a range of one-design classes as well as IRC yachts and Performance Cruiser and Club Cruiser divisions.

His Excellency Khalid Seddiq Al Mutawaa, said:“It is a great pleasure for me to be able to welcome a new Cowes Week Winter Regatta to my home country.

“I have always dreamed of this as a festival of friendship and we can guarantee sailors, and their families, a warm welcome, some great racing and a relaxing week enjoying all the delights of the UAE.”

SHOOTIN’ THE BREEZE

WE CATCH UP WITH PAUL WARD, COWES WEEK BOARD MEMBER AND J/70 OPEN WORLD CHAMPION.

QPAUL, HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO SAILING? PW: My mum was from Norfolk and our early family holidays were always sailing on the Norfolk Broads in the beautiful Hunters Yard Broads sailing yachts. No engines and learning how to tack a 35ft boat up a 40ft wide river. I learned how to sail dinghies at LLandegfedd in Wales in a Mirror and then got into racing dinghies and then keelboats.

QWITH YOUR EAT, SLEEP, J, REPEAT CREW YOU WERE THE FIRST BRITISH TEAM TO WIN THE J/70 OPEN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2019. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING ABOUT THAT WIN? PW: Can I have two best things please? Our sailing team were fantastic - Mario Trindade, Charlie Cumbley and Ruairidh Scott. Really good sailors and we enjoyed our time together on the water and ashore. And the team at Royal Torbay YC who ran the J70 Worlds. Bob Penfold and 100 volunteers from the club made us all very welcome and PRO Stuart Childerley ran a great event on the water.

QWHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE TO GO FROM A COMPETITOR TO ALSO BEING ON THE MANAGEMENT TEAM FOR COWES WEEK? PW: I love sailing and it is the people who make it fun. With a bit more spare time I have enjoyed getting involved in sailing organisations. My club, the Royal Southern, is one of the Cowes Combined Clubs that run Cowes Week and we all work together with a professional management team and a large group of volunteers from all of the Combined Clubs. There are a lot of really skilled people involved in preparing and financing the event, entry systems, course setting, safety teams, running the Cowes Week office and the social side is really important too. There is the new Clubhouse Crew Bar and the Competitors Ball is back!

QWILL YOU ALSO BE RACING THIS YEAR, AND IF SO ON WHICH BOAT? PW: We will be racing J70 Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat in the J70 Mini Series for the first four days of the week. This is the biggest J70 event of the year in the UK and forms part of our UK Grand Slam Series. We have three races each day and a social event each night including the Key Yachting Party on Monday. There are 15 J70s owned by yacht clubs the RYS, the Royal Thames and the Royal Southern, and this is a great opportunity for new sailors to come and join the Class for some great racing.

QCAN WE EXPECT ANYTHING NEW OR DIFFERENT FOR COWES WEEK 2022? PW: We all want to make sure that we offer a great regatta experience to as many boats and sailors as possible. So this year we have more of what the sailors want. More boats taking part, from Cruiser Classes to the modern racing one design rockets - the Cape 31s. More of what makes Cowes Week special, starts and finishes at the iconic Royal Yacht Squadron line - there is nothing like the sound of a cannon to get a racing start organised or to remember those great days when you might win a race. Special racing series and committee boat starts for some of the fleets to give them the best racing. There is a lot going on and we try to make it work for everyone. We have an Opening Party on Saturday ,the Cowes Week Competitors Ball is back on Wednesday and a really good prizegiving event on Friday.

QWHICH HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE COWES WEEK? PW: 2019 was a classic week for us in the J70. We had the first four days mini-series in light to medium winds with a lot of races really well organised by PRO Steve Parry and great competition in a really good fleet. We raced the rest of the week on the traditional long courses around the Solent, and I particularly remember one spinnaker reach all the way from Lepe Spit to East Bramble in something like 25 knots of breeze. We were flat out, spray everywhere, 20 knots and more down the Solent, blasting along for miles and trying to find the next course mark at the end!

QWHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ASPECT OF THE WEEK? PW: Racing at Cowes Week is not like anywhere else. A great variety of courses, great competition and back on shore to meet up with sailors from our fleet and from all of the other classes. Meeting up with sailing friends is the best part.

QWHAT IS YOUR TOP TIP FOR A NEWCOMER TO COWES WEEK? PW: I remember getting the boat over to Cowes, organising a place to stay and mooring for the boat plus all of the other arrangements were a bit daunting at first. My top tip is to ask another sailor or the Cowes Week team for some advice when you need it. The sailors all want to encourage newcomers and the Cowes Week office team are really helpful and easy to talk to. We all remember that first time!

QWHY DO YOU THINK SAILORS COME BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR? PW: This is one of the biggest and I think the best regatta in the world. Sailing in the Solent is always interesting and the English weather can give us anything. Racing in these conditions with the best boats and then a lot of fun ashore - there is a lot to love for everyone at Cowes Week.

QHAS THE BOARD STARTING THINKING ABOUT NEXT YEAR’S COWES WEEK? PW: We are always looking at what we can do to move Cowes Week forward. Better and more inclusive racing for more sailors, new ways to show our sport with TV and video links. More of what the sailors and spectators want ashore to have a great time. Laurence and the Cowes Week team have a lot of great ideas for this year and for the future.

J70s racing at Cowes Week. Image: Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com