Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 M600 LEADERBOARD

2023 Cowes Week Day 7

by Sue Pelling / CWL 4 Aug 2023 15:59 PDT 29 July - 4 August 2022

Cowes Week 2023 finished on a high note today with a northwesterly breeze between 7-12kts allowing all classes to enjoy a glorious day of tactical racing. With so much to play for in what turned out to be a no-discard series (as a result of two days of abandoned racing due to high winds), not only was there plenty of inter-class rivalry, with results going down to the wire, but also with the Black and White Groups, and the overall Cowes Week winner to be decided.

Given the testing light winds and strong Spring tides today, the race committee led by Laurence Mead (Race Director) managed, as far as possible, to set courses to suit each class. And as a final showdown, all classes, except for the XODs, were treated to a Royal Yacht Squadron-line finish.

Back on shore in Cowes this afternoon there was the usual air of excitement among competitors as the much-anticipated results came through announcing the winners of the top prizes. Mark Downer and family sailing the Redwing Enigma not only won White Group but with an impressive and consistent set of results throughout the week, which included four firsts, and one second place, they were also deemed overall winners of Cowes Week 2023.

Mark Downer, who's been racing at Cowes Week for 24 years and who this week raced with his wife Jo and son Alex, said they are ecstatic to have finally won: "We have been competing for 24 years and have never even won our class. It feels as though we have been the bridesmaid for so long and now, we finally get to wear white! We've been competing in the Redwing for three years starting with third place then second place and now finally first place. It feels absolutely amazing."

Commenting on the conditions this week, Downer added: "It has been a tricky week and losing two days of sailing was especially hard, but we knew that it was make or break today and we just feel so happy that it's finally our time. It was pretty tricky out there today especially with the tides. We also had a large container ship coming through the fleet, which made it harder for the fleet as it affected the boats ahead and behind."

In equally testing conditions today there was all to play for in Black Group but after another stunning performance in the light airs today, local hot-shot Jo Richards and his seasoned team including David Rickard, Duncan De Boltz and Sophie Warren on Woof - a 1972-built modified H-Boat - were deemed the overall winners by a narrow margin from Per Roman's JPK 1180 - Garm.

This is not the first time Richards has won at Cowes Week. As well as numerous class wins over the years, he has also won Black Group twice before. A delighted Richards chatting about his win, as he de-rigged his boat this afternoon, said: "We are absolutely delighted to win Black Group again. It was, however, a tough week and exceptionally tiring with the big winds throughout. We were actually rather grateful for the odd day off this week. Today was tricky and we had a bit of a battle on, so had to be ultra conservative at the start given the fact there were no discards. The key today was to keep in the pressure and be on the right tacks because it was very shifty, and it was easy to lose out by being in the wrong place."

Elsewhere today in classes such as the Squib it was a case of sailing safely to secure positions at the top of the fleet. Although Jono Brown and Chris Agar on their 1971-built Lucky Counts had a clear run of first places throughout the week with Steve Warren-Smith lying second in Aquabat, they couldn't afford a poor result. Another first place today, however, was enough to secure an overall class win for Lucky Counts.

IRC 4 has seen a real mix in performance this week with four different winners including some Cowes Week regulars including Peter Rutter's Half Tonner Quokka 9, David Greenhalgh's J/92 J'ronimo, Jon Powell's SJ320 Betty, and David Murrin's Laurent Giles pretty, classic sloop Cetewayo. Cetewayo also won today's light airs race but, the overall winner with a consistent string of results was Quokka 9, with Harry Heijst's S&S 41 Winsome in second place overall.

It was all change in the Seaview Mermaid class today with Steven Stewart's Zara taking today's win while Ben Few Brown's Bluebell finished sixth. In the overall scoring this allowed Charles Glanville's Jade with a final race third place to take over the leading spot for the overall class win.

Other popular winners among presentations this evening included identical triplets Charlie, Thomas and Harry White who, sailing their Squib Kestrel, won the Montgomery Estate Planning Under 25 Trophy for the second year running. Kai Hockley won the Musto Young Skipper's Trophy for his performance helming Palava an Etchells, while the best female helm award for the Ariel Trophy went to Grace Cecil-Wright.

Finally in his closing note as Cowes Week Director, Laurence Mead summed up the week: "Although it is my last day as regatta director running racing at Cowes Week, I'm happy that we made the most of the week, and I hope the competitors enjoyed it. There's nothing you can do in my position when it's 35 gusting 40kts but we got people out racing even in some pretty heavy air conditions at the start of the week and made the most of Thursday and Friday in unstable north-westerly winds. I think everybody had a classic week of Cowes Week regatta racing. It is not a world championship, it is nearly 500 boats enjoying a great week of competitive boat racing on the Solent, racing against respected competitors in a ferocious, but friendly way!

"I will miss being part of the regatta team. My huge thanks to everybody who is part of that team. It couldn't happen without a mass of volunteers and lots of knowledgeable, passionate supporters. Thanks to the competitors for turning up every year for what is, I think, one of the greatest regattas in the world."

Event website: www.cowesweek.co.uk

Related Articles

Introducing the new Absolute 70 FLY
With an array of innovative features, attention to detail, space optimization and immersive lighting The 70 FLY debuts with an array of innovative features and embodies Absolute's signature attention to detail, space optimization, and immersive lighting. Posted today at 5:03 am
A new Freedom debuts
Freedom 345 is making its debut in Fort Lauderdale Grady-White's NEW Freedom 345 is making its debut in Fort Lauderdale. Posted on 31 Oct
48 hours in silence - even on a diesel boat
Introducing the Responsible Power package: all the benefits of hybrid without going hybrid Greenline Yachts is making strides in making their diesel-powered yachts more sustainable by eliminating the need for a generator. Posted on 31 Oct
Introducing the new Absolute Navetta 62
The 62ft Navetta embodies innovative, contemporary features that set new standard in luxury yachting The Navetta 62 is a stunning yacht that embodies the innovative spirit and contemporary elegance of Absolute Yachts. Posted on 31 Oct
Yamarin set to unveil new flagship powerboat
Proud to announce the launch of its largest powerboat yet Yamarin, the premium Finnish boat brand synonymous with elegance, quality, and exceptional handling, is proud to announce the launch of its largest powerboat yet. Posted on 31 Oct
Boston Whaler debuts the all-new 330 Vantage
At the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show Boston Whaler introduced its all-new 330 Vantage (“330”) today, which completes the evolution of the dual-console Vantage family lineup. Debuting at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show Posted on 31 Oct
World Cat debuts new 400DC-X Island
Successor to the 400DC-X launched World Cat has launched the new 400DC-X Island, the successor to the 400DC-X, at the 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Posted on 31 Oct
Quick USA introduces Sanguineti, Nemo and Xenta
Bringing Made in Italy quality and cutting-edge technology to the US boating market From technologically advanced integrated solutions to top quality deck fixtures, fittings and core components, the Italian headquartered Quick Group is one of the world's leading players in marine equipment for the yacht and superyacht sectors Posted on 30 Oct
SunDeck 3200 heralds new dawn for Hurricane Boats
The latest high point of Hurricane Boats' designs Hurricane Boats, legendary innovator in versatile deck boat designs, ushers in the next chapter in its storied history with the launch of its latest model for 2025 - the SunDeck 3200. Posted on 30 Oct
The BB44 Main Deck - Functional excellence
At Boston Boatworks, we're building the next generation of excellence The BB44 combines the amazing ride of a BB advanced-composite Zurn Yacht Design hull with an elegant home-on-the water living space created by Winch Design. Posted on 28 Oct
Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERTrinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay