News archive for 2010

08:00 Wednesday 28 Jul 2010 Victoria RhodesCowes Week 2010 brings together crews from all walks of life

Thousands of sailors flock to Cowes Week each year and this year's regatta is no different.  Amidst the multitude of competitors there is always a host of interesting stories which add colour, flavour and context to this annual event.

From the young and old, men and women, disabled and able-bodied, amateur and professional, Cowes Week welcomes all.  Teamwork is the name of the game and is what attracts families, the armed forces, the emergency services, charitable causes, and a huge number of faithfuls to Cowes Week year-on-year.

Below is a snapshot of some of the crews who will take to the water at this year's event:

Keeping it in the family

It's a family affair aboard Doolalli in the Laser SB3 fleet. An all-family crew with an age range spanning six decades, the Simonds family will once again be racing at Cowes Week as they have been doing so for over 40 years.  This year, 11 Simonds will race on different days throughout Cowes Week on a crew rotation.

Nuance of the Sigma 38 class also boasts its entire crew from the same family.

Meeting charitable objectives

The crew of Outreach within the IRC fleet is comprised of members of the British Limbless Ex-services Men's Association (BLESMA) and The Gwennili Trust. Both charities will use Cowes Week as an integral part of their rehabilitation programme and a platform to raise awareness of their cause for the first time this year.

With more sailing miles under his belt than any other Briton today, Brian Thompson is flying the flag for the charity Toe in the Water with his boat, Toe in the Water - British Soldier. Toe in the Water is a charity that provides competitive sailing for injured servicemen. Big Toe and Little Toe, will also be competing in the J/80 class with a crew of injured servicemen.

An international flavour

The regatta has a truly international appeal with over 15 countries being represented at Cowes Week 2010 including Hong Kong, South Africa, and as far a field as Australia. Among the international boats the regatta welcomes Jivaro racing under IRC, with her skipper doing much to promote the development of sailing in Brunei.

The crew of Shamrock (Belgian entry) say that participating in Cowes Week will be "the pinnacle" of their sailing career, despite a fraught delivery programme to Cowes. An engine change was required two weeks before the start of the event, and the whole delivery crew got seasick en route! Having sailed all his life, the skipper started racing only two years ago and is really excited to be part of the regatta.

Bitten by the bug

Blanco, taking part in the Contessa 32 fleet, has raced with the same skipper and crew for 20 years! Consistency has paved the way to success for Blanco, with a class win seven times since 1998 (including last year).

Other die-hards include the crew of Zinnia who have won an astounding 61 races in the Victory Class at Cowes Week and Flying Fifteen, Men Behaving Badly, which has won its class for the last six years and has twice won the overall White Group Trophy.  The largest class to race at Cowes Week this year are the XODs; a fiercely competitive class, Stuart Jardine, skipper of Lone Star, impressively has a total of eight XOD class wins, with six in the last decade.

Solent Sunbeams have been racing competitively at Cowes Week for most of the last century and Dainty has raced in Cowes Week consistently for 87 years, since she was first built in 1923!

Cowes Week is one of the longest running events in UK sporting history and attracts up to 1,000 yachts in around 40 classes, and 8,500 competitors ranging from weekend sailors through to Olympic medallists and World Champions.