44Cup World Championship Cowes 2023

The next regatta of the 44Cup will take us to Cowes, a small harbour town on the north side of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. This venue is not only an absolute novelty for the Black Star Sailing Team – it is also only the second time that the RC44 class regatta series will be hosted in this British harbour town.

Although Cowes is fairly new on the 44Cup agenda, it has a long and traditional history as a sailing mecca and regatta venue – and accordingly has everything it needs for a perfect event.

The town at the mouth of the Medina River in the Solent Strait is best known for Cowes Week, a sailing regatta that has been held annually in August since 1826 and attracts countless spectators. Cowes also went down in the history books when the first round of what was to become the America’s Cup passed over the Isle of Wight in 1851. Shortly before the 44Cup event, the 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race will also start from Cowes.
It is therefore no surprise that Team Aqua and the Royal Yacht Squadron 2023 are not only hosting the 44Cup Cowes for the second time, but that this year’s RC44 World Championship will also be held at the same time.

Although this venue is absolutely new for the Black Star Sailing Team, this is not the first time we have sailed in the side arm of the English Channel called “The Solent”. The #27, our RC44 racing yacht, was in dry dock in England, from where we were able to test her extensively in the Solent last late summer.
Like all sailing locations, the Solent has its own specific conditions and corresponding challenges. All the more curious, we travelled to England in July, shortly after the 44Cup Marstrand, to do a test sail before the actual training.

At the beginning of August we will start with the actual preparations on site in order to be able to start with the training in the week of 9 August.
As usual, the individual races of the regatta can be followed on TracTrac.com or on the official 44Cup website.