12Ms to Cowes

Cowes Yachting drum up interest in for a 12M championship to be held in 2006-7

Cowes Yachting is behind a bid to persuade the World Class 12m Yacht fleet to come to Cowes to stage a major Regatta in 2006/7 when there are plans for an ISAF Centennial World Championship. With an enormous amount of goodwill among the 12m owners following the 150th anniversary of the America’s Cup - the Jubilee Regatta in 2001- there is a strong possibility of success for a repeat visit of this spectacular fleet.

Cowes Yachting acts as the umbrella organisation to attract new regattas to Cowes but does not in its own right run and organise such events. It works closely with the Yacht Clubs in Cowes and passes on any prospective new opportunities for the Clubs themselves to put together. In bringing such new business to Cowes, it has at heart the wider interests of all the main players in the town of Cowes, both land and water based. As such it represents the yachting, the business and the tourism interests for the benefit of the town of Cowes and of course the wider Island community.

Contacts have been made with the Class Officers of the 12M fleet in the United States and interest is growing. Alan Wells, Chief Executive of Cowes Yachting said: “It is important to have a long lead time to secure support. The Royal Yacht Squadron is on board as are all the other clubs and support organisations in Cowes. To get sponsorship for the organisation and perhaps some support for shipping (cross Atlantic) takes time. If the fleet does a tour including Northern Europe in the 2006/7 year, it could be of enormous interest to Cowes”

Cowes has proved itself well able to host such an event following the America’s Cup Jubilee in 2001 and there is no doubt that a gathering of this fleet of America’s Cup thoroughbred racing yachts would have enormous support and following in Cowes, the home of the original America’s Cup