Cowes Week 2024: Round-up and Regatta Results

Cowes Week 2024 saw some testing conditions and tight competition, here’s a full racing round-up and the overall results…

Cowes Week 2024: Thrilling Solent Racing

On 27th July, the sound of the start sequence from the Royal Yacht Squadron line marked the beginning of Cowes Week 2024. This historic solent regatta has been running since 1826, but has by no means lost it’s charm or excitement. This year, the sun shone on the Isle of a Wight, a happy change from last year’s antics, and despite occasional race delays and abandonments due to wind conditions, we saw some thrilling and classic solent racing across the board. 

Day 1 saw a standout performance from Peter Morton’s TP52 Notorious in IRC Class 0, which triumphed at the line just two seconds ahead of Tony Langley’s Gladiator team (this year’s winners of the Rolex TP52 World Championship – New York Yacht Club). The excitement continued with the Dragon fleet, which enjoyed a tantalisingly close race, with half the class finishing in a 28 second window. 

The racing got off to a flying start and, though the wind caused some trouble, this year’s Cowes Week did not disappoint! We were treated to some exciting stadium racing off the beach at cowes, and a particularly dramatic display from IRC Class 0, the fastest boats in the regatta, when maneuvering just a few boat lengths off the shore. 

Women’s Day

On the Tuesday, we had Women’s Day at Cowes Week – a day to celebrate the women in sport and the achievements of female sailors. Unfortunately, all classes were abandoned due to high winds, but the inclusive sentiment certainly remained… Marie-Claire Sothcott, in her third year of helming for her family boat (Unity) at Cowes, reported on the Victory Class in their 90th anniversary:

“The Victory class is really welcoming and I appreciate Cowes Week noticing females on the water, particularly those who take the helm,” she says. “We’re brave enough and good enough to keep the guys on their toes on the start line. It’s also good to recognise some really talented female crew as well, which the Victory class has in abundance.”

At the end of Women’s Day, the crowds and competitors, along with many other solent boaters, enjoyed a naval spectacle – the remarkable aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing up to cowes for a ceremonial and salute exchange with the Royal Yacht Squadron.

It was a golden summer’s evening out on the water, and this giant ship’s presence and display was a true highlight of the week.

Youth Day

Following Women’s Day, the Thursday of Cowes Week 2024 was Youth Day, an appreciation for the participation and achievements of hundreds of young sailors competing this week in fleets across the board, including Dragons, J/70s, Cape 31s, Contessa 32s and every IRC class. We saw some tantalising racing from some rising and upcoming stars such as Kai Hockley, the 18 year old student spotted as “a real stand out talent,” according to Sir Ben Ainslie, who has selected him to join his sailing teams’ development programme.

Here’s Ben Ainslie’s Cowes Week podcast with Kai Hockley…

Tight Competition at Cowes Week 2024

Proper racing conditions returned on the Thursday, and given that two racing days had been lost, the competitors were up against the new challenge of counting all races sailed, as opposed to picking their best scores. This tightened the competition significantly, leaving many separated by just a couple points. 

As the competition intensified, the atmosphere ashore was also fuelled with excitement, and competitors embraced the buzzing social side of the regatta, from the legendary red cap Mount Gay Crew Party (Cowes Yacht Haven), to the Cowes Week Regatta Village and live music on the main stage.

The final day of Cowes Week 2024 saw some brilliant tactical racing, and over a week of varied conditions, it certainly ended on on a high.

It wasn’t all plain sailing this year, but for the competitors, it seemed to make the triumphs all the sweeter… After racing for 24 years, Mark Downer, with his wide Jo and son Alex, finally won this year – he said: 

“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.”

Speaking of the conditions this year, 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.”

Cowes Week 2024 Overall Results

Here are the overall winners from Cowes Week 2024! You can view full overall results from each class on the Cowes Week 2024 website.

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