Big beasts of Britannia Cup take stage as rest of boats bide time
WE could easily feel a bit down now that the Olympic flame has been extinguished in London, but it’s such an uplifting sight to cross the water from the mainland to Cowes on the Isle of Wight and see more than 800 boats out on the water, racing in one of the world’s largest and longest running sailing regattas.
As you pull into Cowes you immediately get swept along in the fantastic atmosphere that characterises Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. The big prize to be won today is the Britannia Cup, which is awarded for the winner of Class 0 – the big boats – a trophy all the owners want their name on. The rest of the fleets will continue racing for overall week honours.
With three out of seven daily races done, the tactics for all boats will still be to put in a solid performance; no one should be looking at overall results yet as it’s too early on in the regatta.
With strong winds forecast for the rest of the week, the main debate in the beer tent after racing tonight will be how ‘big’ tomorrow is going to be.
This afternoon will be about getting out on the water and watching some racing. Tonight I’m looking forward to the Black Knights Royal Artillery Parachute Display Team, who will jump into the water around 7.30pm.
Sarah Gosling is a gold-medal winning former Olympic sailor.