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12:17 Monday 20 Apr 2015 Sue PellingCowes prepares for Summer Fun

As the sailing season gets underway, Cowes is preparing for exciting times ahead writes Sue Pelling. With some of the world’s major events taking place on The Solent this year including the first America’s Cup World Series from Portsmouth (23-26 July), and Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week positioned between the Royal Yacht Squadron’s International BIC Regatta, and the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, Cowes is definitely the place to be to witness some action-packed racing.

The quintessential English town of Cowes, conveniently located in the centre of The Solent, offers easy access and a safe haven for visitors. Steeped in history and sailing tradition, Cowes is a sailing Mecca, with Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week often regarded as the ultimate bucket list event for the racing sailor.

The main attraction to Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, other than its history, which dates back to 1826, and the legendary shoreside social scene, is the competitive spirit. With up to 1,000 or so boats, representing over 30 different keelboat classes, participating, it is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world and offers top class racing in some of the most challenging conditions.

Recognised as a global favourite, Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week continues to attract plenty of international interest with 26 entries signed up so far. In a Rolex Fastnet year (every other year), it is not unusual to see a boost in international entries with many using Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week as the perfect team training/warm-up to the 600-mile blast to the Fastnet Rock and back. This year is no exception.

Overseas entries at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2015 include France, Belgium and the Netherlands as the largest contingent but there are however, entries from much further afield including Australia, the West Indies, Sweden, Germany and the USA.

One of the most interesting entries from overseas this year is Team Legacy from Trinidad and Tobago. This 18-strong team, led by Reginald Williams, is made up mostly from friends and family from the Caribbean who plan to race in rotation during the week.

Legacy, raced successfully for over 30 years with her previous owner – the late Doug Myers (Williams’ uncle), and is making her Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week debut this year. According to Williams, participation at the event is a dream come true.

“My father Mervyn Williams sailed in Cowes 1961. I sailed in The Solent in the mid 1980s as a young officer while attending the Britannia Royal Naval College, but never got the chance to participate. The opportunity to also cross the Atlantic in Legacy was a gift too good to pass up. We named the adventure Operation Southman after our Caribbean first people who traversed our waters for over 5,000 years. We like to believe we're taking their adventure and long tradition of Caribbean seamanship one step further across the Atlantic.”

The seasoned racing crew are making the most of competitive opportunities on their trip to the UK. Williams continued: “Four of us will sail from Trinidad and Tobago to Antigua. From there we’ll head to the Azores (Horta), and we hope to arrive in England by May. For the Antigua to Horta run we are attempting to reduce the national elapsed time set by another locally built boat (Harold and Kwailan La Borde's Humming Bird) in 1960.”

One of the most globally recognised events on The Solent this year is the Rolex Fastnet Race that starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron line on Sunday 16 August, the day after the finish of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. The startline at the Royal Yacht Squadron generates plenty of excitement and provides spectators with the perfect place to watch the Fastnet action unfold.

Another key event to watch out for at Cowes this year is the Royal Yacht Squadron’s BIC Regatta to celebrate the club’s Bicentenary from 25-31 July. Here spectators will have a chance to see the majestic J-Class Yachts Velsheda, Ranger and Lionheart battling it out once again on The Solent. Other interesting entries include a couple of Sparkman and Stephens designs; 48ft Tomahawk built in 1938, and 52ft Dorade, built in 1929, plus the eye-catching 160ft schooner Eleonora.