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11:41 Wednesday 12 Aug 2015 Sue Pelling/CWLInternational Youth Day – youth initiative boosts number of young entries to 51

Will Heritage, crewed by his dad David, currently leads the Young Skipper's Trophy – photo Rick Tomlinson/CWL

Aberdeen Asset Management’s Under 25 Youth initiative is always over subscribed and this year is no exception, with a total of 33 contesting the Under 25 Trophy. Not only are the numbers up generally in the youth sector but also the level of competition is exceedingly high.

Designed to inspire young people to race at Cowes Week, the Under 25 Youth initiative offered free entry and free Gill team kit to the first 25 boats to enter the regatta, with crews all under the age of 25. Given its popularity, Cowes Week Ltd stepped in further to offer those who missed the ‘early bird Under 25 entry’ a 50 per cent discount off entry.

The Young Skipper's Trophy – awarded to the skipper, under 25 years old with the best results across the week – has a total of 51 skippers competing. Competition for this award is extremely close at the top with less than two points separating the top two boats – Flying Fifteen (Freddie Flintoff) Will Heritage, and Swallow (Marengo) Hugo Sloper.

Jack Davies who won the Under 25, and the Young Skipper's trophies last year is back to defend his title. Racing his J/70 Jugador with a team of family and friend, Davies said: “Aberdeen Asset Management’s Under 25 Youth initiative has helped us a huge amount, firstly in terms of covering the entry fee and, the fact we get some high quality Gill sailing gear, is just an incredible bonus.

“I remember in the first few years we had maybe 15 or 16 young crews and now we are racing against about 50 young teams, so the level of the competition has gone up hugely, as well as the sense of camaraderie among the young teams.”

Lisa McDannell (22) is racing her third Cowes Week, this time on Swift (Swallow). She says the Aberdeen Asset Management’s Under 25 Youth is a fantastic initiative for young teams like hers who would otherwise not even be able to consider taking part. “The free entry is the main driving factor for us and they give us great kit and help us out.

“Getting the opportunity to sail with your mates at an event as big and as prestigious as Cowes is a great opportunity and we are going to keep doing it for as long as we can.”

Elsewhere on the water today, IRC Class 0 and IRC Big Boat Class are contesting the historic Britannia Cup. This magnificent piece of silverware, presented by King George VI in 1950, is now awarded to the boat with the fastest corrected speed. Last year the Cup was won by Michael Bartholomew’s Tokoloshe II and, with two wins in the bag already this week in IRC Class 0, she is a likely contender to win it again.