Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd - For the Obsessed

Cowes Week - history of the event

by Cowes Week on 29 Jul 2010
History of the Event - Cowes Week Beken of Cowes www.beken.co.uk
Cowes Week is one of the UK's longest running and most successful sporting events and is a key highlight of the British sporting summer. It has been held in early August every year since 1826, except during the two world wars.

Traditionally, Cowes Week takes place after Glorious Goodwood and before the Glorious Twelfth (the first day of the grouse shooting season). Over the years it has attracted British and foreign royalty, the nobility, the rich and the famous.

Racing at the Green
The first race was for a 'Gold Cup of the Value of 100', held in 1826 for just seven yachts under the flag of the Royal Yacht Club (which later became the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1833). The next year King George IV indicated his approval of the event by presenting a cup (the King's Cup, presented at every subsequent event until 1939) to mark the occasion, and the event became known as Cowes Regatta. This was run as a three-day, then a four-day, event and quickly became part of the social calendar.

The early 1900's saw Cowes Regatta continue in strength with the graceful 23-, 19- and 15-metre boats racing in all their glory, followed by J-class boats later on in the 1930's.

From 1946, other Cowes-based and mainland clubs organised racing either side of the three days and the regatta grew in size and popularity. The King's Cup was replaced by the Britannia Cup, presented to the Royal Yachting Association by King George VI in 1950.

By 1953 nine days of racing were provided, but with each club running its own event with its own sailing instructions, racing marks and even start and finish lines.

In 1957 the first Admiral's Cup, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, was held during the week to include the Britannia Cup, bringing an international aspect to the regatta. This was later separated from the racing during Cowes Week, and has subsequently reached its demise.

It was not until 1964 that, on the suggestion of HRH Prince Philip (a regular competitor and Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron), Cowes Combined Clubs was formed to run and organise the regatta. This body represented the seven clubs involved in managing the racing (Royal Yacht Squadron, Royal London Yacht Club, Royal Thames Yacht Club, Royal Southampton Yacht Club, Royal Southern Yacht Club, Island Sailing Club and Royal Ocean Racing Club) and Cowes Town Regatta Committee. The Royal Yacht Squadron line became the universal start line and there was one set of sailing instructions and racing marks for the Week.

In 1995, following two years during which Cowes Week was supported by the County Council, Skandia came on board as title sponsors of the event. Around the same time, Cowes Week Sponsorship Limited was formed in order to manage all the sponsorship rights of the event. Over the next 14 years as Skandia Cowes Week, the event developed rapidly as the partnership between Skandia and Cowes Week made possible major improvements to the Cowes infrastructure and a more inclusive event.

In 1998 the Royal Corinthian and Cowes Corinthian Yacht Clubs joined Cowes Combined Clubs and became responsible for organising the first committee boat starts.

In 2004, on its 40th anniversary, Cowes Combined Clubs moved into a new purpose-built Regatta Centre which was officially opened by HRH Prince Philip.

In 2007, Cowes Week Ltd was formed as a single management board with overall responsibility for policy decisions and strategic direction. This management board has representatives from the many aspects of Cowes Week and ensures that the business operation of both the shore-side and racing elements of the event are managed in a more streamlined way.

The regatta has evolved enormously since 1826, and now over 1,000 boats in up to forty different handicap, one-design and multihull classes race every day for eight days. It is this complete mixture of classic and ultra-modern designs that gives the regatta its uniqueness. Several classes that raced more than 50 years ago are still racing today; Dragons, Flying Fifteens, Redwings, Sea View Mermaids, Solent Sunbeams, Swallows, Victories and X-one-designs. New classes such as the Laser SB3s are continually being introduced as they increase in popularity. Indeed, the Laser SB3s have been the largest class of the regatta for the past few years.

Around 8,500 competitors now participate, ranging from Olympic and world class yachtsmen to weekend sailors. The spectacle that the racing provides, together with the vibrant festival atmosphere attracts over 100,000 visitors to Cowes during the event.

Some things still remain however. One of the most endearing traditions of Cowes Week is the spectacular Fireworks display, which has taken place on the final Friday since the very first days of the event.

http://www.cowesweek.co.uk/

Sail Port Stephens 2025MySail SkipperZhik 2024 December

Related Articles

Documenting The Maiden Factor
Kaia Bint Savage shares her story Kaia Bint Savage won the Yachting Journalists' Association Young Journalist of the Year in 2024. She shares the impact of sharing her story with YJA members at a special event at the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London.
Posted today at 2:30 pm
GCCM Gold Coast Mackay Yacht Race entries open
The countdown is on with today marking 175 days to Australia's newest ocean race The countdown is on with today marking 175 days to Australia's newest ocean race, the GCCM Gold Coast Mackay Yacht Race kicks off on the 1st of August.
Posted today at 8:25 am
New Vaikobi V4 PFD
An Evolution in Performance PFDs As the trusted name in PFDs around the world, Vaikobi is proud to introduce the highly anticipated V4 Life Jacket, set to enhance the performance and enjoyment for downwind foiling and paddling.
Posted on 5 Feb
4th ORC Double-Handed Worlds now open for entry
This edition will feature three new divisions and two-race format The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) is excited to announce that entries are now open, and the Notice of Race has been published for the 4th ORC Double-Handed World Championship 2025.
Posted on 5 Feb
YCCS pays tribute to His Highness the Aga Khan
His forward-looking vision led to the founding of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda In 1967, the forward-looking vision of His Highness the Aga Khan led to the founding of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Posted on 5 Feb
Vendée Globe Wednesday 5th February Update
There are still 11 skippers at sea racing While we've now had 22 finishers in the Vendée Globe there are still 11 skippers at sea racing. In this much later than usual daily video we get updates from Kojiro Shiraishi, Oliver Heer, take a look at the tracker, then Conrad Colman concludes our show.
Posted on 5 Feb
NZ Millennium Cup: Kawil makes it a double - Day 3
Kawil takes final race, and the 2025 NZ Millennium Cup comes to a close The final race of the 2025 NZ Millennium Cup has come to a close and Kawil has been named overall series winner.
Posted on 5 Feb
YJA Marks 70th Anniversary
With New Branding and Exciting Events The Yachting Journalists' Association (YJA) is proud to announce its 70th anniversary in 2025, celebrating seven decades of championing excellence in marine journalism.
Posted on 5 Feb
New Traveller Car Systems from Allen
Meticulously engineered to enhance control for dinghies, cats, and keelboats up to 28ft Meticulously engineered to enhance sail control for dinghies, catamarans, and keelboats up to 28ft, these new systems are designed to provide sailors with precise and effortless adjustments, ensuring optimal performance on the water.
Posted on 5 Feb
Successful 90th Anniversary celebrations
A superb weekend for the Australian 18 Footers League The Australian 18 Footers League celebrated its 90th Anniversary and the past weekend with three days of action-packed racing over Sydney Harbour - from east of the Sydney Opera House to Middle Harbour in the north.
Posted on 5 Feb