COWES WEEK COWES sailor Louise Morton was the toast of the town after she picked up the 2010 Ladies Day Trophy at Cowes Week.
She discovered she had been nominated yesterday morning (Wednesday) as one of the six finalists, then headed straight out to the race track with her five-strong female crew to post her second runner-up place of the week.
She said: "We were pleased with our second place since it moved us one point ahead of the leader Bullets."
Three times winner of the Women’s Open Keelboat Championship, Louise is dedicated to her sport.
As well as racing competitively, she has spent the past five years reviving the Quarter Ton class, with such success that in the last Quarter Ton Cup there were 35 entries.
She has also campaigned her own boat, Espada, at or near the front of the fleet, with a crew composed entirely of girls.
Stuart Quarrie, chief executive of Cowes Week Ltd, said: "Over the last decade there has been a marked increase in female participation at Cowes Week with the number of female skippers leaping by 150 per cent since 2002."
Louise’s husband, Peter, is racing on Charles Dunstone’s TP52 Rio in IRC Class 0 this week and was also celebrating after they posted their second win of the week.
Reporter: martinn@iwcpmail.co.uk