Open 60s around the Island

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Will Greenwood MBE to participate in next week's Artemis Challenge

Artemis Investment Management today confirmed that Lady Gabriella Windsor (above) and Will Greenwood MBE will be participating in the upcoming Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week on 8 August. The inaugural charity race has attracted a blend of Royalty and Rugby for the 50 mile sprint aboard Open 60s around the Isle of Wight. The winning team will receive £10,000 from Artemis to donate to a charity of its choice.

Artemis is equally pleased to announce a new entry, boosting the Open 60 fleet to six, as Xavier Lecoeur joins the Challenge on board Mirabaud. Organisers are expecting to announce further entries and additional high profile guests in the next two weeks.

Lady Gabriella Windsor, the only daughter of Prince Michael of Kent and 32nd in the line of succession to the British Throne will be sailing onboard Artemis Ocean Racing with the young British skipper, Jonny Malbon. After studying Comparative Literature at Brown University, USA, Lady Gabriella, known affectionately as Ella Windsor, now works as a freelance journalist, a job which has taken her to all corners of the globe and which has seen her published in leading titles such as The Mail on Sunday and The Spectator.

Will Greenwood MBE will be joining the crew of the brand new Estrella Damm Open 60 with her new skipper Guillermo Altadill. With a Rugby World Cup winner’s medal to his name, Will recently retired from a dazzling career in which he won 55 caps for England (scoring 31 tries), went on three tours with the British & Irish Lions and had stints at both Harlequins and Leicester Tigers. His five tries in the World Cup in 2003 earned him the joint Top Try Scorer award and his influence has been sorely missed since his departure.

Newly entered, the Open 60 Mirabaud is probably the most capped Open 60 in existence, being Christophe Auguin's original Groupe Finot designed 1990-91 BOC Challenge winner, Groupe Sceta, before going on to have a highly successful career as Cacolac d'Aquitaine in the hands of Yves Parlier (1st OSTAR 1992, 1st Route du Cafe 1992, 1st Trans BOC 1994, 1st Route du Rhum 1994, etc) and then Marc Thiercelin as Credit Immoblier de France (2nd 1996-7 Vendee Globe, 2nd Route du Cafe). The boat underwent a full refit in 2005 and has recently been in Valencia for the duration of the America’s Cup. Skipper, Xavier Lecoeur, is the current 747 one design European Champion and has competed in several Trans-Atlantic races

The Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week will start at 10:00 am off the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the winner is expected to cross the finish line in the early afternoon, depending on the weather conditions. With some of the fastest Open 60 boats in the world and an array of high profile celebrities to match, the inaugural Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week is set to be a spectacular event with all competitors pushing their boats to the maximum.

Entries
1. Jonny Malbon on Artemis Ocean Racing, competing for the charity ‘The Ocean Youth Trust’
2. Sam Davies on Roxy, competing for the charity ‘The Bright Side Trust’
3. Guillermo Altadill on Estrella Damm, competing for the charity ‘Africa Viva’
4. Arnaud Boissières on Akena Verandas, competing for the charity ‘A chacun son Everest’
5. Steve White on Spirit of Weymouth, competing for the ‘Royal National Lifeboat Institution’ and the ‘Kingfisher Children's Ward at the Dorchester Hospital’
6. Xavier Lecoeur on Mirabaud, competing for the charity ‘Anthony Nolan Trust’