Hats off to Stuart Quarrie, race director of Skandia Cowes Week who has remained calm in the rather vitriolic canting keel storm. Sounds pretty obvious to me: get some boats and Stuart will give you a start...can't say fairer than that really. Anyhow here's the latest press release (where even Mike Urwin is lured out of the shadows) that will hopefully put this non-story to beddy-byes: There has been much speculation over the last few days regarding Skandia Cowes Week and canting keelers following an open email from Ger ORourke. I therefore feel it is important to address some of the partly thought-out ideas and comments that have been made, in order to try and lay this matter to rest.  read more »

[Source: BMW Oracle] Valencia, Spain, 1 July 2008: BMW ORACLE Racings sailing will continue a full program of training and competition in RC 44s and Extreme 40 catamarans through the European summer while it waits for delivery of its new Americas Cup multihull boat, skipper Russell Coutts (NZL), said today. As part of a stepped-up multihull program, the team also confirmed today that it will field two entries in the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week 2-4 August, part of the highly-competitive iShares Cup Sailing Series. Coutts and multihull consultant Franck Cammas (FRA) will share the afterguard duties for one entry in the Cowes regatta, with helmsman James Spithill (AUS) and tactician John Kostecki (USA) on the other. Final crew lists will be confirmed closer to the regatta.  read more »

One of the best regatta Directors in world sailing, who rarely takes or makes a decision lightly and without considerable thought, responds to the Ger O'Rourke inspired sh*t-stirring (below). Clearly the canting keel brigade feel that we should all bend over backwards for them, the minority, whilst the rest of us that sail H-Boats, Benesleau's (how rude is that), Sigma's etc are just in it to drink "pink gins". Go and sail an X-boat and see where you come... Open letter re canting keels at Skandia Cowes Week 2008 From Stuart Quarrie , Chief Executive, Cowes Week Limited .  read more »

The big boats were ruling the waves on day four of Skandia Cowes Week as the second Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week for Open 60s gave Pindar skipper Brian Thompson a fairytale ending. Also, Geoff Carveth stormed home to his first win of Skan...

The big boats were ruling the waves on day four of Skandia Cowes Week as the second Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week for Open 60s gave Pindar skipper Brian Thompson a fairytale ending. Thompson, and a crew that ...

At the last count there are well over 80 Js competing at Cowes. The bigger boats are in IRC classes and, for example, there are two J/133s and six J/122s (including two boats from France) racing in IRC ...

The penultimate day of Skandia Cowes Week found the engraver poised to etch names, new and old, on some cherished silverware as the Solent was cleared of racing boats to prepare for a tumultuous fireworks display. At the start ...

I get the monster hump when people criticise Cowes Week because first and foremost I believe that Stuart Quarrie (Cowes Week Director) is totally beyond reproach and has steered the regatta to the very top. I've been a journalist there for years as well as a competitor since before I can remember and I can say, hand on heart, that last year I had the time of my life sailing in lowly Class 9 IRC in my H-Boat. Sure we didn't win but we won one race and had a great week on the water...all the boxes were ticked in my book and the race management was first class - period.  read more »

Just after 7 am on Monday was waiting at the Red Funnel terminal at Southampton, hungry and sleepy having had just a coffee for breakfast. Looking around could see wall to wall Henry Lloyd and Musto, men and women with shorts and red cheeks blasted by the sun. It was time to go sailing. It was time for Cowes week.

I've never done Cowes week before and not sure I can say I've done it now - just visited. There are so many classes and so many races over so many days. But I've got a flavour of being at the centre of British - or even world - sailing, with thousands of boats and their crews rubbing elbows in the bars and hospitality tents.  read more »

Here are the IRC constitution objectives: 3.1 To facilitate handicap racing based on the IRC Rule for a wide range of cruising and racing ballasted monohull keelboats by providing a system of measurement to classify boats for competition ...