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The Royal Southampton makes a tremendous effort to see that Skandia Cowes week gets off to a good start, and will be setting the pace for the week long regatta in the Solent.
The Club is part of a triumverate which organises the yacht racing on the first three days of the event, and traditionally all races on the opening day are organised by the Club.
RSYC Racing Secretary Cathy Crawley reports that at least 20 race officers and officials from the RSYC will be on duty during the first three days.
It involves a oood deal of voluntary hard work by many members of the Club.
But then, Cowes Week is one of the UK’s longest running and most successful sporting events and is a key highlight to the British sporting summer and sailing season. It has been held in early August every year since 1826, except during the two world wars.
Traditionally, Cowes Week takes place after Glorious Goodwood and before the Glorious Twelfth (the first day of the grouse shooting season). Over the years it has attracted British and foreign royalty, the nobility, the rich and the famous.
The first race was for a Gold Cup of the Value of £100, held in 1826 for just seven yachts under the flag of the Royal Yacht Club (which later became the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1833). The next year King George IV indicated his approval of the event by presenting a cup (the King’s Cup, presented at every subsequent event until 1939) to mark the occasion, and the event became known as Cowes Regatta.
This was run as a three-day, then a four-day, event and quickly became part of the social calendar.
Recapturing the early traditions, the Queen's Gold Cup is still the coveted trophy of the first day's racing - now the Royal Southampton's Queen's Gold Cup and was presented to the Club for that purpose by Queen Victoria. Although it was missing from the Cowes scene for a few years, the present Queen Elizabeth gave royal approval that it should be re-instated to its present status.
Cowes Combined Clubs which organises the regatta, and of which the Royal Southampton is an integral part, now stages up to 40 daily races for over 1,000 boats and Skandia Cowes week has become the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world.
It has a great mix of competitive sailing and social activities. The 8,500 or so competitors who will be in Cowes for the racing range from Olympic and world class professionals to weekend sailors. In excess of 100,000 spectators go to the Island to watch the sailing, enjoy the parties and live entertainment, and to experience the unique atmosphere.
A family of sponsors and the event's official charity are planning a wide range of exciting activities at this year's regatta.
Among them, the Island based Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare, the regatta’s Official Skincare Sponsor, is also sponsoring the 3rd annual Ladies Day, taking place this year on Thursday, August 7
