THE contrast between the first two days of Cowes Week could not have been more stark — but it's all systems go for racing on Day 3 of the world famous regatta.

Cowes Week 2023 got off to a thrilling start on Saturday with sparkling sunshine and winds gusting well over 20 knots.

Not only did the conditions make for an adrenalin-charged day of racing, for competitors but it also gave the huge number of spectators along The Green plenty of thrills.

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Given the forecast, which was for the wind to increase with gusts up to 30 knots later in the day, the start sequence was concertina'd.

“The idea was to get everyone back on shore by 2.30pm,” said Laurence Mead, the regatta director.

Isle of Wight County Press:

“We added a lot of flexibility to our race strategy and programme. We divided up the starts and we managed to get everyone away by 12.20pm.

"Usually, we’d have another hour and a quarter to go on a normal day of starts but that would have coincided with the big breeze coming in, so we were pleased to have got everyone back on shore before the worst of the wind arrived.”

In the extremely popular Cape 31 class, a 24-strong international One-Design fleet stole the show, with a spectacular downwind start off the Royal Yacht Squadron line, out to the eastern Solent, towards Stokes Bay.

Testament to its super-close racing, the Cape 31 fleet ended the day with a tie between Sandra Askew’s USA-flagged team, Flying Jenny, and Niall Dowling and his Arabella team.

Isle of Wight County Press:

 

The ten-strong Uff Fox-designed Flying 15 was one of the many dayboat classes to race in the relative sheltered Osborne Bay.

Although gusty, it produced the sort of close racing it’s popular for.

In the testing conditions, Rupert Mander and team in Men Behaving Badly (last year’s White Group winner) unsurprisngly won the opening race.

Cowes Week has always been known for its all-inclusivity with high profile professional and Olympic sailors competing equally with club sailors.

To encourage an even broader profile, Cowes Week Limited has this year introduced the Weekend Warrior Cup — open to the Club Cruiser Divisions C and D, run as a three-day mini-series.

Although the inaugural race in the fresh conditions was a real baptism of fire for the Weekend Warriors, it proved successful with Tom Rose’s Beneteau Oceanis 37 C’est Si Bon taking the overnight lead. 

After six or seven years of absence at Cowes Week, the David Thomas-designed Sigma 33 class was back in full flight with a stand-alone fleet within IRC 6 — eight boats racing, most of which were built in the 1980s.

Gary Bowers won the opening race for the Bays Cup aboard Kerry Jeanne.

After a good opening day, racers and spectators were looking forward to more of the same on Sunday.

However, with a weather forecast for conditions deemed unsafe, the plug was pulled on all of yesterday's (Sunday) racing.

Today's racing (Monday), is looking more promising, the Cowes Week meteorologist has said.