Action on the water at last year's Cowes Week. Picture by Jennifer Burton.
SAILING
THE world’s largest sailing regatta and one of the UK’s biggest sporting events, Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, gets under way tomorrow (Saturday).
Highlights for this year’s event include a Best of British theme for the regatta and a new initiative rewarding young crews, the Aberdeen Asset Management Under-25 Trophy.
The regatta follows hot on the heels of the London Olympic Games and provides a great opportunity to celebrate one of Team GB’s historically most successful Olympic sports. There are high hopes that Britain’s most successful sailor, four-times Gold medallist Ben Ainslie, will be in town.
The closing ceremony of the Games will be shown on big screens throughout Cowes on Sunday, which will coincide with special Family Day activities.
The official event charity, Toe in the Water, will be holding a Best of British crew party next Friday, August 17, plus there will be a chance to see some of the Olympic sailing heroes in Cowes towards the end of the week.
For the next seven days, around 8,500 competitors, ranging from Olympian and world-class professionals to weekend sailors, will battle it out in up to 40 daily races.
For the sixth straight year, the Artemis Challenge will be one of the highlights of the regatta on August 16.
In a new twist to the classic route around the Isle of Wight, this year’s challenge will see teams of monohull IMOCA 60s and multihull MOD 70s race around the Island to claim £10,000 for charity.
More than 100,000 spectators will descend on Cowes to watch the sailing, enjoy the parties and live entertainment, and to experience the atmosphere of this one-of-a-kind event.
Onshore entertainment includes day and evening music and fun in the Parade Village, on the seafront, and in the Cowes Yacht Haven.