Planning the best ever Skandia Cowes Week

by Peta Stuart-Hunt on 29 Mar 2007 When it comes to hosting the World’s biggest sailing stars and bringing big boat glamour and excitement to competitors and spectators, this year is no exception.

To coincide with the Rolex Fastnet Race, the biennial institution that lures the big guns to Cowes in early August, CCC, under the guiding hand of regatta director Stuart Quarrie, is running a newly created IRC Class 0 Big Boat Series during Skandia Cowes Week.

This year marks Skandia’s 13th year as the title sponsor of Cowes Week and during this time the Event has witnessed some very positive changes. Skandia's long-term investment - both financially and in terms of the time they put in working with the Event’s organising committee at Cowes Combined Clubs (CCC) - has helped to make Skandia Cowes Week a world-renowned success, both on and off the water.

Skandia’s commitment to sailing as a sport in general has also worked to the benefit of the Event, adding its own glamour, offshore sailing heroes and Olympic stars to the mix of competition, fun and excitement. CCC will continue to work closely with Skandia throughout the remaining two years of its sponsorship to ensure that the eclectic mix of components that make this 181-year old regatta the best in the world is maintained in preparation for heralding a new era in 2009.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]Racing starts early for the new IRC Class 0 Big Boat Series Cowes Combined Clubs has taken the lead in separating out the large boats, and especially those with canting keels, from the mainstream fleet

Any boat of over 14 metres LOA with a rating of over 1.420, as well as any boat over 14 metres LOA with a canting keel (regardless of rating), will only be eligible to race in the new Series takes place over three days and forms part of a larger series incorporating both the Channel Race and Rolex Fastnet Race for the prestigious Seahorse Magazine Trophy.

Close racing between the biggest, most expensive and exciting yachts competing on the global circuit is what the organisers and sponsors of Skandia Cowes Week are hoping for and working towards; indeed the Series is already a talking point amongst owners and skippers of the largest and fastest amongst them as the new IRC Class 0 also meets the demands of the owners of mainstream Class 1 boats to separate canting keelers from boats with fixed keels.

The Notice of Regatta goes online at www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk after Easter and by 16 April.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]Recognising that the majority of the larger boats will only be able to accommodate a few days racing into their schedule prior to the start of the Rolex Fastnet, CCC’s Big Boat Series provides three days of racing encompassing an afternoon of tight round-the-cans Solent racing on Friday, 3 August – the day before the remaining classes start their Week - with the start and finish from the Royal Yacht Squadron line. This is designed to allow some great short-course racing for these super-fast boats without them having to contend with the remaining 1,000+ strong fleet.

The race on Wednesday 8 August is scheduled to be a 50-mile sprint around the Island. As part of this race, the Open 60s among the fleet will race for a prize fund of £10,000 (with the cash being donated to the winning team’s charity of choice), and a trophy - both of which have been donated by Artemis and will be awarded to the first Open 60 to cross the line. Artemis is one of the UK’s leading investment companies. With an established business relationship with Skandia, it is equally passionate about performance both on and off the water.

Thursday’s racing (9 August) is scheduled to be a short coastal race, probably out of the Solent to the west in order to give the skippers and crews a foretaste of the early stages of the Rolex Fastnet Race which starts on Sunday 12 August.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]Further trials for tracking devices

Following the very successful small-scale trial with tracking devices on 20 of the VW Touareg Laser SB3 fleet in 2006, CCC is hoping to take this to the next stage in 2007. Organisers are working with a company called ProSail to enable a further trial. In the future, CCC will have accurate tracking devices on all boats competing at the Event, although how soon this might happen is hard to predict. The necessary technology is improving all the time and is getting cheaper every year.

Looking to the future, and once a full system is in place, it will allow a range of things to happen. For example, via the web spectators will enjoy a truly interactive experience of the Week. In addition, the race officers will know where fleets and/or individual boats are at any given moment, giving a safer environment and allowing much better management of shortening course requirements. The finishes will be timed automatically, and most general recalls will be eliminated since both the race officers and competitors will know which boats were OCS.

Strategy survey results

The detailed survey that was conducted last year showed that, whilst around 40% of entrants were in favour of splitting Cowes Week into separate modern and classic weeks, the majority felt that continuing with an inclusive single week was the best way forward. Thus the basic format of the regatta is not going to change. However, a significant number of other useful suggestions and views resulted and many of these are either being incorporated into the Event or are being considered by CCC.

Class amalgamation

As part of the detailed review of the issues faced by Skandia Cowes Week as a result of its continuing huge success, CCC has looked closely at the classes being offered racing

Everyone wants this Event to remain inclusive so that everyone, ranging from World Champions and Olympians to family weekend racers, can enjoy the Regatta. However, the race organisers also need to be careful that the number of classes being offered their own racing does not increase so much that they can’t manage the fleet properly whilst, at the same time, allowing new classes to be properly dealt with as they emerge.

CCC has therefore taken the decision to amalgamate the Sigma 33, Sigma 38 and ISCRS classes into the mainstream IRC fleet. This will allow the expansion of the number of IRC classes by one, giving closer rating bands, whilst actually reducing the overall number of classes. Any entrants from within these classes who have raced at Skandia Cowes Week for at least the last two years, and who do not have an IRC certificate, are invited to apply in writing to CCC for a one-off free certificate for 2007.

Pre-book your on-water spectator boat experience

Last year’s introduction of a spectator boat service in partnership with Solent Cruises was a huge hit and the Event is again laying on this service through Solent Cruises running from Trinity Landing on Cowes Parade. New for this year is the online advance booking service via the Event website – ticket prices and booking the form will be online from June.

New Lymington-Cowes ferry service for competitors

In partnership with Blue Funnel Cruises, CCC is delighted to announce the introduction of a dedicated ferry service for competitors during Skandia Cowes Week 2007. The service will operate from Sat 4 – Sat 11 August between the Lymington Town Harbour Master’s Jetty (next to the Lymington Town Sailing Club and Harbour Master’s Office) and Trinity Landing, Cowes.

Tickets will cost £15 for a return and £8 for a single. An 8-day ticket will also be available for £107.50.

Advance bookings are possible from the Blue Funnel Offices on: 023 8022 3278 or email: office@bluefunnel.co.uk and tickets can also be purchased on the day. For further details, and for timetable information, please visit the travel section of the Skandia Cowes Week website.

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