The town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight is incredibly busy, businesses are gearing up, the doorways and shop fronts are newly painted and hundreds of hanging baskets are planted in readiness for the world’s largest and most exciting sailing regatta.

The first week of August will not just be busy with the usual holidaymakers enjoying some retail therapy in the myriad of fabulous shops on the High Street.  An additional, 1,000 yachts, 8,500 competitors and 100,000 visitors are expected to take part in Skanda Cowes Week 2008.

View Skandia Cowes Week 2008 Video.

Together with all its onshore festival regalia, from 2-9 August, Cowes Week regatta organisers are welcoming back a series of ‘guest’ events this year.

The VW Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week
Laser Performance (Europe) Ltd and Volkswagen are delighted to announce that 2008 sees the return of the Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week regatta being staged on Friday 1st August. The question is, who will be crowned King this year?

The class winners from Skandia Cowes Week 2007 will race in identical Laser SB3s off Cowes in a one-day, three race regatta. Following on from the hard-fought inaugural event held last year, some 32 leading national and international helms will have the opportunity to pitch their skills on the water against each other, to compete for the coveted ‘Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes’ title.

Competition is expected to again be fierce, with prizes of a Volkswagen Touareg, Laser XD and a holiday to Mark Warner up for grabs. More information is available from: available from http://www.kingofcowes.com/

The iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week
The iShares Cup Sailing Series makes its much-anticipated return to Skandia Cowes Week this year, with the exciting Extreme 40 catamarans again bringing their breed of crash-and-burn racing to the first three days of the regatta (August 2-4).

Following a hugely successful event at Cowes last year, this year’s iShares Cup has an even bigger and better fleet. With nine entries so far, including a host of Olympic medallists, America’s Cup winners and world champions among the crews, the UK leg of the 2008 iShares Cup will have its own start at Skandia Cowes Week, racing on short, sharp courses from a committee boat line in the central Solent.   Watch out for some of the high-performance catamarans taking part in Skandia Cowes Week racing during the rest of the week (August 5-9) as well.

Skandia Cowes Week marks the mid-point of the iShares Cup Sailing Series, following the first two events at Lugano in Switzerland and Hyères in France in June. The Extreme 40s then move on to Kiel in Germany in August, before the series finale in Amsterdam in September. Find out more at http://www.isharescup.com/

The Artemis Challenge is back
Artemis Investment Management, one of the UK’s leading investment companies, will be staging the second Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week in 2008, following the phenomenal success of the inaugural event in 2007. The skippers and crews will be competing for a generous prize fund that will be donated to the winning team’s charity of choice. In addition, the winning entry picks up the Artemis Challenge Trophy.

Last year Estrella Damm, skippered by Spaniard, Guillermo Altadill and aided by rugby world cup winner, Will Greenwood, MBE, claimed victory with the charity “Africa Viva” receiving the £10,000 donation.

Artemis Investment Management CEO Mark Tyndall commented, “We wanted to celebrate the presence of the Open 60 Class at Skandia Cowes Week and provide a spectacle for the viewing public. The Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week in 2007 was an enjoyable day for everyone involved and a real crowd-pleaser.

“For 2008, we look forward to welcoming a world-class fleet of yachts, promoting the sport and making a sizeable donation to charity.”

Michelle Warner, the Sales and Marketing Director of Cowes Week Ltd says:

“We are delighted to welcome all three of these events to Skandia Cowes Week. The associations complement our racing programme, providing yet more exciting and spectacular racing for our many thousands of visitors to enjoy.”

So, add these events to your week’s schedule. The first one is being held the day before the regatta officially starts, just to get everyone in the mood!

Further information click HERE:

Isle of Wight Community News @island Pulse.