Following a two-hour postponement, over 6,000 sailors were rewarded with definitive Solent conditions.
A building 20-knot sea breeze and more than 640 boats racing across the Solent met the ebb tide to produce the short, steep chop for which the racecourse is famous.
The new Vintage Class opened the racing, followed by a fleet of more than 40 J/70s — a striking display of the variety of boats taking part in this historic 200th anniversary regatta.
The J/70, SB20 and RS21 fleets completed three races on the Bramble Plateau, while the remaining classes tackled classic Cowes Week courses. The larger yachts raced west towards Lymington, while the dayboats battled along the Island shore.
With the tide carrying boats towards the line, several crews were caught on course side at the start. Among them was Ino Veritas in IRC Class Zero, taking the team out of contention for the prestigious Queen’s Cup. The trophy went to Julian Metherell’s Cape 31 Bullet, continuing the team’s strong form following two major trophy victories in 2025.
In the biggest class of the week, the X One Design Astralita, sailed by Fraser Graham, took the Gun as they have so many times before but on this occasion just nine seconds in front of Paul Mitchell’s Lone Star.
IRC Class Three saw Adam Gosling’s Yes! take the win ahead of the Dutch J/112 Jack Rabbit, while only one second of corrected time separated Sam Laidlaw’s Quarter Tonner BLT and Giovanni Belgrano’s classic Whooper in IRC Class Six.
Becci and Roger Wickens claimed victory in the Sunbeam class, finishing six seconds ahead of Robert Coltart’s Peggy after a busy final run through the fleets to the Royal Yacht Squadron line.
The day concluded with hundreds of boats racing past Cowes Green under colourful spinnakers in sparkling conditions.
After some years of declining entries in the wake of Covid, Cowes Week is back to its very best.
Hundreds of boats starting all over the Solent, and with support of great group of sponsors, including new title sponsor North Sails, the event is in great shape after 200 years of annual racing.
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