Cowes Week
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Cowes Week (known as Skandia Cowes Week since 1994) is the longest-running regular regatta in the world. Having started in 1826, the Event is held on the Solent (the area of water between southern England and the Isle of Wight made tricky by strong double tides), and is run by Cowes Combined Clubs in the small town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
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[edit] Description
Cowes Week is held at the beginning of August, set after Glorious Goodwood in the social calendar, which in most years means, from the first Saturday after the last Tuesday in July, until the following Saturday. It is occasionally moved to another week if the state of the tides in the normal week is unfavourable, as happened in 2004. The regatta is famous for its fireworks on the final Friday, launched from barges in the Solent.
A typical Cowes Week now has over thirty-five starts a day for classes of cruiser-racers, one designs and keelboats; over a thousand boats and 8500 competitors take part. During this time the Solent, which is a busy commercial waterway, is filled with boats of all classes and is particularly colourful due to the spinnakers (the large triangular sail hoisted at the front of a yacht when running downwind).
As well as the sailing activities, the week includes a large number of onshore events including live music and cocktail parties. From private or commercial house parties, and nominally private yacht clubs and boats, through marquees erected in the marinas serving food and drink, through to crowds overflowing from busy public houses and restaurants around the narrow high street, the water and the town become a hive of activity into the early hours of each morning. Indeed, around 50,000 visitors are attracted to Cowes by the festival atmosphere of the Event each year in addition to all the competitors!
[edit] History
The festival originates from the Prince Regent's interest in yachting which continued after he became George IV in 1820. The first race started at 09:30 on Thursday the 10th August 1826 with the prize of a "Gold Cup of the value of £100" and was held under the flag of the Royal Yacht Club, which later became the Royal Yacht Squadron. Another race was held the next day for prize money only (£30 for first place, £20 for second).
Until World War I, big cutters and raters were raced by gentlemen amateurs employing skippers and crew. In the twenties and thirties there were cruiser handicap classes and local one-designs (although the six to eight and twelve metre classes attracted the most racing interest). Following World War II, when there was a revival of big yacht racing, ocean racing classes started to predominate, especially after the first Admiral's Cup event was held in 1957 and the growth in popularity of the two ocean-going races that start and finish the regatta The Channel and the Fastnet. The Fastnet, which rounds the Fastnet rock far out in the Atlantic and can be dangerous, is held in odd-numbered years only, so another offshore course is sailed in even years.
In the decades following World War II, yachting moved away from its image as a rich man's sport to one which is enjoyed by many today in modest self-skippered 30 to 40 foot yachts. The attraction of Cowes Week has also given life to many water-based activities and sailing schools promoting the sport of sailing to all age groups and walks of life. Although certain functions in the week are still the preserve of the elite or members-only clubs, Cowes Week emcompasses a wide range of events and attractions open to the public, marketed to a very diverse range of interests.
[edit] Major Trophies
The Queen's Cup was presented to the Royal Southampton Yacht Club by Queen Victoria in 1897, her Diamond Jubilee year.
Eleven boats entered the first Queen's Cup race on 9th August 1897. It was won by Latana, a 165-ton yawl owned by Mr W M Johnstone, by far the biggest boat in the race. The Cup was subsequently raced for on the opening day of Cowes Week but, shortly after the turn of the century, it was mysteriously lost. Re-discovered in 1937 in a second-hand shop in Cardiff by a club member, Captain "Jonah" Jones, the Cup was bought back for the princely sum of £35.
The Queen's Cup is awarded by the R.S.Y.C. to the IRC Class 0 winner racing on the first Saturday of the Event.
In 1950, Sir Peter Scott suggested to King George VI that larger yachts should compete for a new trophy as it was felt that the America's Cup could not be restarted after the war. It was time for another competition of international significance to be introduced. King George was in favour and presented a trophy to the Royal Yachting Association, naming it the The Britannia Cup. It certainly acted as a stimulus to big boat racing after the war. This competition also gave points towards the Admiral's Cup.
The Britannia Cup was first won in 1951 by Taisser IV and Group Captain R J S Barton.
The Britannia Cup is awarded to the IRC Class 0 winner of racing on the Wednesday of the Event.
The New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup was presented by the New York Yacht Club in 1951 on the 100th Anniversary of America's victory which led to the commencement of the America's Cup. It was presented to the Royal Yacht Squadron for races during Cowes Week Class 1. In 1957, with the advent of the Admiral's Cup, points won in this race counted towards the Admiral's Cup. In some ways the Admiral's Cup was an extension of the N.Y.Y.C. Cup in that Miles Wyatt and four friends presented this overall trophy to encourage overseas yachts to race at Cowes. Latifa, owned by Michael Mason, first won the Cup in 1951.
Presented by the Title Sponsor, Skandia, the Skandia Young Skipper's Trophy is awarded to the Skipper, aged under 25 on the Sunday immediately after the Event, who achieves the best results over the course of the entire Week. The competition is open to young skippers across all classes. The Trophy was first presented at Skandia Cowes Week 1995 and recognises the success of the yachtsmen and women of the future.
