Cowes Cup
Isle of Wight, 24th-27th June
The JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious yachting events. Starting from Cowes, the Island Sailing Club’s annual race is held on an anti-clockwise lap of the Isle of Wight – on a similar course, but in the opposite direction, to the first race for the America’s Cup back in 1851. The course is tactically challenging, with competitors having to make the best of the strong tide in the Solent and around the course, passing famous landmarks on the way such as the Needles and St Catherine’s Point and the giant forts guarding the entrance to the eastern Solent.
First held in 1931, the race is also one of the world’s most highly attended yacht races, regularly attracting 1,800 boats of all shapes and sizes and around 16,000 sailors.
For the GC32 teams, the Cowes Cup will comprise three days of racing, the event culminating in the Round the Island Race on the final day. Competition over the first three days will also be run by the Island Sailing Club with courses on the Solent – one of the world’s most well-respected regatta venues – or out on the more open waters of Hayling Bay to the east of the Solent.
At 50 miles long, the Round the Island Race will represent something of an offshore marathon for the GC32s, with the possibility of strong winds and large waves, particularly on the south side of the island (especially since last year’s race was one of the lightest ever and this is unlikely to occur two years in a row).
In the right conditions the GC32s stand every chance of not only winning the race on the water, but also setting a course record, currently held by Sir Ben Ainslie aboard his J.P.Morgan BAR AC45 catamaran, who in 2013 set a new time of 2 hours 52 minutes and 15 seconds.
Teams
Alinghi
Armin Strom Sailing Team
Spindrift racing
Sultanate of Oman
Team Argo 32
Team ENGIE
Team SPAX Solution
Team ZouLou
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