Lendy Cowes Week starts in just 112 days

Sunsail F40 'Lendy' on day 5 Lendy Cowes Week © Paul Wyeth / CWL

Here at Cowes Week Ltd we are excited to look forward to another great year ahead, with Lendy Cowes Week starting in just 113 days.

Cowes Week should be a demanding mix, testing all the skills of boat racing and we are already working on race plans so that we include the usual Cowes Week variety. Beating up The Green, spinnaker finishes off the Castle and some committee boat starts should make for a fun competitive and social week of racing. Our motto is World Class Regatta Racing and that's what we are striving to deliver.

As part of leading the way forward we are delighted to be able to announce our new GRP Classics Class. Specifically for production GRP boats designed before 1974 our objective is to group together similar types of boats (racing under the IRC rule) so that like-minded owners can have a great week of sailing. We have already had requests for another class in this vein in 2020 covering boats from 1975 to 1983 so that's something we can work on for next year already! Making the racing fun, but close and competitive for all types of boats is one of our key goals.

We are planning to run four Cruiser Class divisions this year (up from three) to try to keep this expanding fleet in tight enough rating bands that the boats are similarly matched. We've also written a slightly firmer rule about which boats qualify for the Cruiser Division. Certainly turning up with carbon sails and a modern performance yacht design is not something that we want to see happen in the cruiser class. Carbon sails belong in the IRC divisions! Do get in touch to discuss if you are not sure.

We are also delighted to welcome back Multihulls to Lendy Cowes Week with a MOCRA class which will include a good sized fleet of Diam 24s. We are running the HP30 National Championships as well as offering a mini-series for the J/70 class over the first 4 days. Giving individual classes a little bit of what they want, within the overall theme of Cowes Week, is something we are always keen to do. It's not a week of windward leeward racing but can be adapted around your class preferences.

Making Lendy Cowes Week a bit special this year will be the SailGP event which will run as a feature event on the first Saturday and Sunday. We are working very closely with the team from SailGP and if we are lucky with the wind then it should be possible to complete your Cowes Week race before getting back to watch what will be an amazing spectacle. 50 foot long foiling catamarans racing right off the green! 6 of them doing 45 knots!! It will require a bit of a balancing act to get everything in on the day but we are looking forward to what should be an exceptional weekend.

Entry fees have been held at last year's levels and there are some reductions on the cost of harbour moorings for the White Group boats. As the only true Solent-wide gathering with a strong international attendance we would like Lendy Cowes Week to be the first date in everybody's sailing diary and are working to make it the very best week of racing and social get-togethers that we can.

Finally, and in a significant change, the overall prizegiving will be held on Friday night (Lendy Cowes Week's points series will end on Friday for all classes not just Black Group) and racing will continue on the final Saturday for the Cowes Town Regatta with a separate prizegiving later on Saturday for those trophies. A magnificent Fireworks display will round out the Friday night as usual.

If you have any racing related questions please contact Laurence Mead, Regatta Director by using the 'Ask Laurence' forum on our website or email

If you have a question about your entry please contact

Enter now! Early Bird entry fees end May 10th.

We hope to welcome you to Lendy Cowes Week 2019 later in the summer.