Cowes Week update

Race Director Stuart Quarrie informs us of developments for the UK largest sailing week

Skandia Cowes Week looks set to hit record numbers of entries this August. Last year 985 boats competed. This year the organisers have predicted that the UK's largest sailing week will eclipse their 2001 America's Cup Jubilee year record of 1,008 boats and are currently on course for 1,050 entries. Race Director Stuart Quarrie has based these predictions on the number of one designs racing actively at present. These, he maintains, are significantly up from last year.

"That's as big as we want it to be," reflects Quarrie of this happy predicament. "We can't expand any more."

Among the interesting boats competing this year will be Grant Wharington's Skandia maxi, newly repaired and back in action following her canting keel loss in the Rolex Sydney Hobart last December. While on the website for Robert Miller's 140ft ketch Mari Cha IV it is claimed that they intend to compete (the world's largest racing monohull is also pencilled in for this year's Round the Island Race). "That would be interesting..." says Quarrie.

For 2005 Skandia Cowes Week, running over 30 July-6 August, Quarrie says that the changes they have made have been tweaks rather than ones of huge substance. The West Solent One Design competed last year but won't be back this year, while the Laser SB3s are expecting more than 50 boats to compete and thus gain their own start, separating them from the 1720s. Conversely the Sonatas are dwindling in numbers and will be racing this year in a handicap class.

Cowes Combined Clubs have also had their course setting software entirely rewritten. Traditionally courses are laid out using the fast and dirty practice of a string and board (read more about their practises back in 2001 here) but in recent years the courses have laid out initially on the string and board then the marks have been entered into some bespoke software to calculate estimated mark rounding times. Because the latter process takes longer it can be some time before it is evident that three classes would be rounding a mark to starboard while another three will be simultaneously rounding it to port.



Occasionally there were clashes even using this system, says Quarrie but the 2005 generation software written by Quarrie son-in-law Simon Middlemass has a graphic interface allowing all course setting to be carried out within the computer and any clashes to be recognised immediately.

The program is a sophisticated one and includes estimated polars for each classes and the expected wind speed and course for the day. "There is the ability to tweak each point on the polars if we get more information," says Quarrie. "For example Redwings don’t have spinnakers, so we’ll tweak them downwind so they are not as fast as if they had spinnakers." The software also provides a more detailed breakdown of the weather for the entire Solent.

On the race course time limits have been extended. Traditionally this was set at 1800, but if any class finished between 1700 and 1800 the limit would be extended on by 60 minutes. "It got very confusing," says Quarrie, "so this year, if there is a time limit extension it just goes on until 1900."

With more than 1,000 boats racing there are always some boats missed at the finish line and so to pick these up competitors have had to fill out declarations. Being able to complete declarations on line was introduced in 2003 - in 2004 roughly 10% of declarations were made this way. This year the organisers are truly entering the 21st century enabling crews to make declarations via WAP over their mobile phones.

For the serious race boats Skandia Cowes Week will this year run a dual scoring system under both IRM and IRC. "We've done this for a number of reasons," says Quarrie. "IRM is static in numbers of boats. There are new boats that are pretty racey that don’t fit the IRM moulds. There are things like Swan 45s and DK46s which if they went IRM they would be totally crucified. Also the IRM fleet as it has stabilised is just not big enough. You have three Farr 52s potentially, six Farr 45s, six Farr 40s and a handful of Ker 11.3s. That sounds like a fleet but actually it is several tiny little fleets. So it is good handicap racing it is not good on the water racing."

What Quarrie intends instead is a 45ft boat class one with a class zero above that. "So the 45s would be the Swan 45s, the DK46s, Farr 45s and IMX45s. A twenty boat 45ft boat fleet will have good racing on the water. And then boats that want to go IRM can still do that and we have a dispensation from the Rating Office for crew weight limits to be up to 15% above what it says on the certificate - basically one extra person. So if someone wants to bring their wife/girlfriend/VIP they can still race IRM."

Quarrie believes that with the introduction of the long-awaited Grand Prix rule in 2006, this is likely to be the last Cowes Week where we will see IRM.

Physically Cowes itself continues to change. Quarrie estimates that over the last five years around £30 million have been spent developing Cowes waterfront.

Most evident outside of the Royal Yacht Squadron will be the beginnings of the new Squadron Yacht Haven. This will be not be started before Cowes Week this year but for 2006 a new 80-100m public access pontoon should be in place (this is required under planning permission for it) which competitors can use as a much needed pick-up and drop-off point.

Within Cowes Yacht Haven the seedy thinly-disguised warehouse nightclub is at present being turned into a fully-fledged entertainment centre. Further away from the sea Shepherd's Wharf is nearing the completion of its extension from a 30 boat marina into a 200 boat one. It is due to be finished early next month. Elsewhere 2 two bedroom flats are still up for grabs above the CCC's new Regatta Centre on The Parade.

In addition to all this CCC have appointed a new Commercial and Marketing Manager in Michelle Warner to encourage the development of Skandia Cowes Week particularly with a view to improving the shoreside of the event.

Skandia Cowes Week's official charity, Sail For Cancer intend to carry out a celebrity round the cans fleet race in Fevas featuring most of the Team GBR Olympic medallists. Perhaps the most bizarre development is that a Scottish company have conjured up a unique fizzy drink for Skandia Cowes Week and slurps of this will be available to anyone making a donation to Sail for Cancer.

As previously reported Skandia have entered into an agreement with the UKSA sailing school in Cowes to weedle out those who will make up this year's Skandia Squad with an increased emphasis on region participation in the event. There will also be an opportunity to see Sir Francis Chichester's newly refitted Gipsy Moth IV.

Finally Skandia and the UKSA will also for the first time at Cowes be trying something that is perhaps quite obvious: for non-sailing members of the public there will be boats available to go out and try sailing. The aim is to get 15 new people afloat for an hour at a time with RYA qualified instructors.