Skandia Cowes Week

As the sun sets on another hugely successful Skandia Cowes Week, the last with Skandia as title sponsor, it's time to recall just a few of the highlights of this year's action both on-shore and out in the water.

A total of 963 entries experienced some world-class racing during the week and enjoyed an exciting and varied social scene off the water in Cowes. The event is now in its 182nd year and is widely recognised as the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world, staging up to 40 daily races and welcoming in excess of 100,000 spectators.

The outline below, along with our 100-strong photo gallery, provide an 'at-a-glance' insight into the exciting daily racing activities coupled with an impressive line-up of entertainment throughout the week on shore, both of which combined together to create an unbeatable festival atmosphere.

Saturday 2nd

Dark and drizzly clouds rolled away to leave the Solent swathed in warm sunshine but light variable breezes made for slow progress for the 968 craft that took to the race track on the first day of Skandia Cowes Week.

Having been crowned the Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes just a few hours before in the pre-regatta event on Friday, Giles Peckham switched from the Laser SB3 to more familiar territory, his 47 year-old Daring Dauntless and immediately demonstrated why he is a champion of champions. Within minutes of the gun, he and the same four crew who have won Skandia Cowes Week for the past two years, had established a healthy 50 metre lead over Christopher Hill's Division Belle, crewed by a group of House of Commons veterans who were joined later on in the week by adventurer Bear Grylls.

Spectators enjoyed a unique view of the racing from Cowes Parade which was also the home for street entertainment, live music, food plaza, the Sail for Gold BBQ and new for 2008, Green's restaurant. Trade and retail stands included Rosemary Vineyard, Snowdonia Cheese, Perfect Pearls, Available Light Photography, St Vakentine's Liquorice, Nanny Cay Village, Liz Earle Skincare and the Ellen MacArthur Trust.

Sunday 3rd

Yachtsmen from across the world are drawn to the Solent for the testing conditions and the second day of Skandia Cowes Week proved more challenging than most as stiff winds converged with strong spring tides to make for some highly eventful and exciting racing.

By early afternoon, the wind instruments were showing 20 knots of breeze, gusting 26 but there were also rain squalls, poor visibility and lumpy seas to contend with, which resulted in a series of collisions and breakages. The first casualty of the day was Oman Sail who returned to the dock with a broken tiller and damage to their back beam after a collision with Volvo Ocean Race. Peter William's quarter tonner Runaway Bus also ended up with a large hole in her starboard side just above the waterline following a collision with Sgt Pepper.

Cowes Yacht Haven was once again on-hand throughout the day to allow professional and amateur sailors, visitors and spectators the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of this historic regatta. With daily entertainment on the stage from mid-afternoon until late, visitors to the Yacht Haven were able to enjoy a glass of Champagne G.H. Mumm at the waters edge, alongside the Pimms tent and wine bars.

Monday 4th

The third day of Skandia Cowes Week belonged to the cannonball crews as perfect sailing conditions propelled the fleet round their courses at breakneck speed.

In the TP52 class, crews reported sustained runs in excess of 22 knots as a consistent Force 5 south westerly pushed the boats to their limits and gave them an exhilarating surf through the Solent. A tantalising battle was seen to develop between the front runners of IRC Class Zero, though Niklas Zennstrom posted his third win of the week in Ran with Charles Dunstone's Rio, finishing just 27 secs behind having registered a fourth and a fifth at the weekend.

There was drama in the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week when JP Morgan Asset Management capsized. Her skipper Shirley Robertson, who was due to fly out to Beijing to commentate on the Olympics that night surrendered the helm to the talented Paul Campbell-James but his bid for honours resulted in a broken rig and a second to last place in the series.

Tuesday 5th

The big boats were ruling the waves on day four of Skandia Cowes Week as the second Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week for Open 60s provided Pindar skipper Brian Thompson a fairytale ending.

Thompson, and a crew that included sailing celebrity Mike Sanderson, took 4 hours 13 minutes and 48 seconds to complete the 50 nm course and beat Seb Josse and Ellen MacArthur on BT into second place with Mike Golding on Ecover 3 in third. There was no stopping Niklas Zennstrom's TP52 Ran which for the fourth consecutive day took honours in IRC Class Zero, though on corrected time it was unbearably close with just 36 secs separating the top three boats.

The youngest skipper at Skandia Cowes Week, the pocket sized Fred Warren-Smith, who is 12 and from the Island, posted his best result of the week with an excellent third place in the Squib class.

Wednesday 7th

The picture across the Solent on day 5 was one of upright masts and idle sails as the fleet in Skandia Cowes Week battled on with gaping holes in the wind and big ripping tides.

Winds were forecast to be mainly from the south to southwest but clearing skies led to a weak easterly sea breeze developing, which meant that the course setters had to rework many of the courses. The postponements started to come thick and fast due to the wind shifts and lack of breeze, and by mid-morning many boats were drifting backwards at speed unable to stem the tide.

The change in conditions created some shock results throughout the fleet, most notably in IRC Class Zero, which saw Andy Soriano's Mills 68 Alegre cross the finish line half an hour ahead of the TP52 Stay Calm and for the first time this week registered a win on corrected time. His eight minute advantage earned him the coveted Britannia Cup, which the TP52 owners had been eyeing up gleefully before they heard the languid forecast for the day.

Roving kangaroos, Aussie giveaways and special promotions were the focus of the day at Cowes Yacht Haven in celebration of the 'twinning' of Skandia Cowes Week with Skandia Geelong Week; Australia's largest sailing event and one of the nation's oldest sporting events.

Thursday 8th

It was time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women in sailing on Thursday during Liz Earle Ladies Day. Kerry Gruson was awarded the 2008 Liz Earle Ladies Day Trophy by Dame Ellen MacArthur at special prizegiving ceremony. The award is now in its third year, and the prestigious reception was held at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

Kerry was the first disabled woman helm to compete at Skandia Cowes Week. Her condition, termed Anoxia (a lack of oxygen to the brain after being strangled by a Vietnam veteran), has left her with paralysis in the legs and arms requiring her to use a wheelchair for mobility on land. While sailing a boat, Kerry uses a specially designed seat that provides the trunk stability necessary to sail in various wind conditions. Competing in her third Skandia Cowes Week this year, Kerry continues her focus on overcoming her own disabilities and the additional element of recovery from cancer. She is a living illustration of joy and courage in sailing - a highly deserving winner of the Liz Earle Ladies Day Trophy.

The four others on the shortlist included Louise Morton, Sam Davies, Hilary Lister and Katie Miller; details of these nominations are available on www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk

Friday 9th

The penultimate day of Skandia Cowes Week saw the engraver poised to etch names, new and old, on some cherished silverware as the Solent was cleared of racing boats to prepare for a tumultuous fireworks display.

At the start of the day, 17 of the 37 classes had already been decided and six boats out of the 2008 entry of 976 had maintained their remarkable unbeaten records.

Liz and Chris Savage in Savage Sailing Team had made a clean sweep in the J80 class taking their tally of wins to 17 in 20 races in the past three years. Similarly, Jon Powell and Sarah Norbury were undefeated in the Hunter 707s, Edward Donald's Njordic Folkboat Madelaine was invincible in IRC Class 9 and Ian Braham's MG346 Dean & Dyball Enigma had produced a matchless performance in IRC Class 6 to reclaim their 2006 title.

However, by the end of the day, as freaky Friday took its course, five had been beaten to tarnish an otherwise flawless week for their crews. On-shore there was double the excitement with the Red Arrows providing a sensational prelude to the traditional Skandia Cowes Week fireworks display, which was witnessed by an estimated 50,000-plus people.

Saturday 10th

The final overall prizegiving held on the evening of Saturday 10th marked the end of another successful Skandia Cowes Week, and the end of an era as Skandia concluded their 14-year relationship as overall event sponsor.

Hundreds of competitors made their way to the Haven Events Centre at Cowes Yacht Haven to collect their well-earned silverware/Thomas Lyte crystal ware after an extremely tough and competitive week.

Cowes Radio presenter Dick Johnson and Skandia's Sponsorship Manager Tim Sewell carried out the marathon task of presenting competitors with their trophies which included the overall Black Group and White Group Trophy winners.

For further details of all the prizewinners, please visit www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk

Looking to the future: Skandia team up with the EMT for a 'Voyage of Discovery'

Throughout the course of the week Skandia announced where some of their attention will be turned when the association with Cowes Week comes to an end after this year's regatta.

The insurance company have teamed up with the Ellen MacArthur Trust to sponsor a special Round Britain 'Voyage of Discovery' for children recovering from cancer. Starting in Cowes in May 2009 the charity's dedicated yacht, the Scarlett Oyster will visit 20 ports around the UK and finish up back in Cowes in September. Around 100 children in all will take part in the voyage and they will be joined on some of the legs by Dame Ellen MacArthur herself and also by Shirley Robertson.

Next year's Cowes Week will take place from 1 to 8 August.

Skandia Cowes Week Daily News Report's are courtesy of Skandia Cowes Week's Media Centre.

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