News

09:19 Thursday 13 Aug 2015 Sue Pelling/CWLDay 6 preview – exciting times ahead as good, steady breeze builds

Photo – Rick Tomlinson/CWL

Although the forecast is promising bucket-loads of rain over Cowes today, the wind conditions, up to 19kts, couldn’t be more ideal for the 800 plus competitors on Day 6 of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week.

Today also marks the 9^th anniversary of the Artemis Challenge, which will see  16 super fast, high-performance yachts sprint around the island.

IRC Class 0 and IRC Big Boat Class are racing for the prestigious New York Challenge Cup, awarded to the top performing boat in those two classes (fastest corrected speed).

Weather and courses

The weather situation today shows that a recently developed low-pressure system will move north from France. That will bring a number of weather troughs and bands of heavy rain through The Solent area.

While the wind will mostly be 8-14 knots from the east north east, ahead of the rain bands it will back to the north-east and increase, before decreasing and becoming very shifty in the rain. After the precipitation clears away the wind will then return to its east-north-easterly direction and increase back to 8-14 knots.

The first start today will be for the 16 IMOCA 60s, Volvo 65s and giant trimarans competing in the Artemis Challenge at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. They will head west from the outer Royal Yacht Squadron line on their charity dash around the Isle of Wight, with celebrity crews on board. IRC Big Boat class and IRC Class 0, who are competing today for the New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup, will follow in quick succession.

White Group dayboats, apart from the XODs, will start on the Shrape line off East Cowes, before racing mostly on the Hill Head plateau. They will finish either on the Bramble line or the Shrape line. The White Group committee boat, for the XODs will be stationed in Osborne Bay, with boats also having a committee boat finish.

Finally, Black Group yachts scheduled to start on a fixed line will do so on the RYS line, heading towards to the west. The Black Group committee boat will be in the Eastern Solent near Mother Bank, to the west of Ryde. All Black Group boats will finish from the west on the RYS line.