(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- As Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week
2013 drew to a close on Saturday evening, organisers Cowes Week Limited
(CWL) reflected on another highly successful regatta which saw an
increase in overall entry and visitor numbers, plus online interaction
figures which already surpass the totals seen for the whole of 2012.With the exception of a forced lay-day on Tuesday 6 August, the conditions provided some champagne sailing throughout the Week and at the overall prize-giving on Saturday evening, there were many happy faces. Stuart Quarrie, CEO of Cowes Week Limited commented: “It’s been a fantastic, very rewarding week. The weather Gods have been smiling on us and it’s a testament to the huge efforts of our entire team that this year’s regatta has been so successful”.
Martin Gilbert, CEO of title sponsor, Aberdeen Asset Management, added: “There was a terrific buzz around this year’s event and there was a tremendously exciting atmosphere. Our guests all had a great time and it felt like the event achieved even more positive press coverage than in previous years. We’re all tired but happy after the week, it couldn’t have gone any better.”
Five J One-Design classes participated in this year's Cowes Race Week (J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109, J/111), a record number of fleets for any sailboat brand by a significant margin and in six of the nine IRC handicap racing and cruising classes, J/Teams placed several teams in the top ten plus winning two of them.
Racing in the nine boat J/111 was extremely tight for most of the series
with just twelve points separating the top five in the end. Some boats
started strong but had a few niggles to deal with in their scores,
others started slow and closed with a flourish of good races. Sailing
the most consistently and avoiding any enormous pitfalls was James
Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE, posting a 1-2-3-1-1-4 tally for 8 pts net to take
class honors. Sailing quite fast but dealing with a few niggles was
Duncan McDonald's SHMOKIN JOE, bobbing and weaving to a 2-1-5-3-4-1
record for 11 pts net to snare second overall. Starting out quite
slowly, but clearly finding a second or third gear for the last four
races was TOE IN THE WATER led by Capt Lloyd Hamilton MBE. TOE's
8-7-4-2-2-2 scoreline for 17 pts net was just enough for them to win the
tie-breaker for third overall. Losing the tie-break was past champion
J-DREAM sailed by David & Kirsty Apthorp, posting a 4-4-2-4-3-5
tally for 17 pts net. Also starting fast but having a tough go of it
for the last three races was Tony Mack's MCFLY, having to settle for
fifth with a 3-3-1-10-7-6 record for 20 pts net. Sailing photo credits- Rick Tomlinson For more Cowes Week sailing information
