Royal Yacht Squadron to stage Cowes to Santander Race 2016
by Marina Johnson 12 Mar 2016 06:01 PST
15 August 2016
Action at the Royal Yacht Squadron start line © Paul Wyeth /
www.pwpictures.com
The Royal Yacht Squadron, in association with The Real Club Marítimo de Santander and the Royal Ocean Racing Club, is to host a race from Cowes to Santander, Spain starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron's line on 15th August 2016.
The race is open to IRC rated yachts, and the level rated Class 40 as well as MOCRA multihulls rated 1.200 or greater.
The race will take the fleet some 520 nautical miles direct from Cowes to Santander in northern Spain.
Jon Perry, Rear Commodore Yachting at the Royal Yacht Squadron, comments "'We are delighted to be organising this race from Cowes to Santander in co-operation with the Real Club Maritimo de Santander and RORC. "The first Cowes to Santander Race took place in 1929 and the 2016 event sees the return of one of the classic offshore races which has been well documented over the years."
He adds "As this is a non Rolex Fastnet Race year we hope for an international entry list and there has already been interest from Members of our clubs."
Jaime Yllera, President of the Real Club Maritimo de Santander, who last took part in the Cowes to Santander race in 1976, comments "It is very exciting to think that the race will be run again this year. The end of August and the month of September are known to be the best months for sailing in the Bay of Biscay, in fact, in the last race we sailed under spinnaker the whole way!" He adds "The people of Santander are looking forward to greeting the regatta as it is anticipated to be a very important event for the town."
In Santander, the crews will enjoy a warm welcome with a dinner and dance at the Royal Santander Yacht Club on Saturday 20th August while the prize giving will be at the Royal Palace of "La Magdalena", followed by a cocktail-dinner hosted by the Mayor of Santander.