Saturday, May 17, 2008
Skip Navigation LinksHome / Sport / Skandia Cowes Week

WORLD`S BEST IN TOWN FOR TOP RACING ACTION

By Martin Neville - Thursday, August 2, 2007
WORLD`S BEST IN TOWN FOR TOP RACING ACTION
Some 8,500 sailors are gathering in Cowes for the best yacht racing action around.
THE WORLD'S biggest sailing regatta gets under way today (Friday) with thousands of people flocking to Cowes to enjoy the dazzling sight of the fastest and finest yachts in action over eight days.
Skandia Cowes Week kicks off today and more than 1,000 yachts and 8,500 sailors will compete in the longest-running and largest sailing regatta of its kind, contributing £58 million to the IW economy.
Competitors range from world champions and professional sailors, to families pushing their cruising yachts and classic day boats to new limits in 34 classes, plus multihulls and IRM.
The big boats of class zero will be on the water today but racing proper begins tomorrow and there will be eight full days of racing, with starts from 10.25am to 12.30pm each day off The Parade, with the main start line stretching out from the Royal Yacht Squadron and its famous brass cannon.
From around 2.30pm, races will finish off the mouth of Cowes Harbour and boats gradually return to their moorings.
Last year’s white group overall winner, Islander Graham Bailey, said of the event: “For us, Skandia Cowes Week is the regatta of the year. We sail many events and championships each year but nothing matches the challenge and fun of Cowes Week.”
Live bands will play to an audience of up to 4,500 each night in the Cowes Yacht Haven, home of the famous beer tent boasting Britain’s longest bar with more than 100 pumps, and other regatta venues such as the Parade Village and Shepards Wharf marina.
At least 30,000 glasses of Champagne will be consumed during the event and the Champagne G.H. Mumm Ladies’ Day is taking place on Thursday, as a celebration of women in sailing. One third of the 8,500 competitors at Cowes Week are women.
Of the 100,000 spectators, around 50,000 come mainly to watch the famous fireworks display on the Friday evening at 9.30pm.
Official charity is again The Ellen MacArthur Trust, which takes young people, aged from eight to 18 years, to help them regain their confidence on their way to recovery from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illness.