Cowes Week 2025 Day 1 - Light winds, building breeze and spectacular racing
by Gael Pawson 3 Aug 06:57 AEST
2-8 August 2025
Cowes Week Day 1 © CWL / Martin Allen
The opening day of Cowes Week 2025 dawned with light north-westerly airs. The weather forecast predicted a sharp change in wind direction, with Storm Floris moving in from Iceland later in the day.
The bigger boats were moved from the Squadron Line to a Committee Boat start off Beaulieu, with the remaining committee boat fleets starting just off Thorness. All classes were initially postponed for two hours, moving to a single AP as the breeze slowly made its way up the Solent.
The wind that took its time to build, and kept everyone on their toes as they tried to get the first starts off from the Squadron line. At 1300 the breeze seemed to be building as forecast, and at 1324 call was made to lower the AP.
First off was the 36-strong J/70 Class. The following classes became a bit bunched as the breeze went more east and proved rather fickle for a while. With the SB20s, Sportsboats, Etchells, Daring, Dragon and Flying 15s away, Principal Race Officer Phil Warwick postponed the Sonar, Redwing, Solent Sunbeam, Seaview Mermaid, Victory and XOD fleets to give them a bit of a buffer.
Meanwhile, in the western Solent the larger boats on committee boat starts delayed their first starts until 1425 and were rewarded with a consistent breeze, giving fabulous racing for all the fleets.
Class Detail
As racing got underway with the J/70s, several boats left it a bit late to get the right side of the line after the lengthy postponement, resulting in a general recall. The class eventually got away at 1340, with individual recalls which saw six boats scoring OCS.
As the fleet tacked up the shore, they gave spectators on the shore a fantastic view. Bruce Huber's Endeavour emerged as the early leader, while Sardonyx suffered the misfortune of running aground in front of the crowds. The J/70's course took them round Gurnard, then across to Contessa 32, west to Jane, then Hill Head before finishing at East Knoll. Endeavour took the first race win, followed by Lady Khumbu and Jelvis third.
Faye Chatterton on Lady Khumbu described the start: 'A bit wacky and wonderful as it always is, tide against not a lot of wind... we managed to sneak around the fleet to third from pretty deep off the line. It took a lot of patience.'
The class managed to fit in two further races, both won by Jelvis ahead of Casting Couch, which had been OCS in the first race, giving Jelvis a comfortable lead overnight.
The XODs are synonymous with Cowes Week and as the last class to start from the Squadron line, they enjoyed a steadier wind which simply built as the race unfolded. The XODs made a fine sight as they finally got underway at 1525 after a general recall. Still keen, six boats were OCS on the second start.
Their course took them up the shore to Polly's Challenge, then across the Solent rounding Hamble Yacht Services to port, west to West Knoll, rounding North Ryde Middle to starboard before finishing at the Breakwater line. Winner at the end of the day was Fraser Graham's Astralita, skippered by John Tremlett, followed by Tom Vernon's Silhouette. Adam Bowers aboard Silhouette described their day as 'Classic Cowes Week... short tacking up the green to start then a float around the Solent in quite tricky conditions.'
IRC Zero and the Cape 31s eventually started at 1425 from Committee Vessel 1 just off Beaulieu, followed by IRC1, IRC 2, IRC 3, Performance Cruiser A, IRC 4 and the J/109s at 1500. By this time the breeze had built properly, and they didn't suffer from the lighter, fickle airs that plagued the White Group fleets.
With the Queen's Cup in their sights, the bigger boats were a spectacular sight as they started, heading west for the long beat to Draycott Chartered Surveyors, then downwind for a port rounding at Greenings Fintech. The Cape 31s dominated the fight, with Julian Metherell's Bullit taking the Queen's Cup win ahead of Sandy Askew's Flying Jenny and Ben Ward's Swift Half.
Bullit trimmer Rhos Hawes explained: 'We had a little wait round for the breeze to come, then it was short tacking up the mainland side, sunny, building breeze, a glamour introduction to Cowes Week really.'
Bullit led at the first mark: 'It was a long first upwind, we had a port rounding straight into a hoist, long starboard and we managed to stretch our legs a little bit. We struggled on one of the dog-leg reaches halfway round when Flying Jenny came back into us. They managed to beat us across the line by a couple of seconds, but we beat them on IRC.'
It was an enjoyable battle to the finish: 'As the breeze started to pick up sort of 18-20 knots, that final downwind, that's when these boats really come alive.'
Racing continues with Family Day tomorrow, with plenty of activities ashore including music, entertainers, face painting and glitter tattoos on the high street and a magician on the Parade, see the day's shoreside programme here
Weather-wise, tomorrow looks breezy and cloudy, with a 24-knot south-westerly forecast, and 33-knot gusts. The breeze is due to build until midday, shifting right as the front comes in, anticipated to be around 1400, then shifting left and dropping later.