North Sails Cowes Week 2026 - Day 4
by Cowes Week Ltd 5 Aug 22:29 NZST
1-7 August 2026
Day four of North Sails Cowes Week 2026 and some things never change. Much of the regatta has evolved over the last 199 years but the great British summer is still the great British summer - and today it rained!
Not for long and not hard and by the end of the day the sun was back out, allowing all the crews to enjoy the early evening after another brilliantly varied day of yacht racing.
The breeze never got up as much as it was forecast to but with the wind and tide aligned it made for flat water and a great day's racing. For almost everybody the dominant factor for the fleets was beating up the shore against the wind and tide. For the big boats in the western Solent this usually involves one easy leg on the mainland shore with gently shelving sand and mud underneath the keel.
However, a lot of the classes were given a second long beat up the island shore which is dotted with rather large rocks that need to be avoided!
There were wins today in the Solent Sunbeam Class from Calypso and Sky.
Today was Women's Day at North Sails Cowes Week, celebrating the fact that across every fleet in the regatta women are strongly represented whether they're on the bow, on the helm or somewhere in between.
There are 102 boats being helmed by women, some 20% of the overall entries, in the regatta. Included are a handful of all-women teams.
Devon sailor Gavia Wilkinson Cox, a longstanding participant in the Dragon Class, is lying third overall in her Jerboa in this, one of the most hotly-contested fleets here in Cowes.
Teams that are coming to Cowes from all over the world include top female sailors. Lijia Xu won Olympic Gold for China back at London 2012 and is now a regular fixture on the international circuits. She is leading the all-women Magenta Project crew here at North Sails Cowes Week, before she goes on to compete in the New York Yacht Club invitational women's event in September, representing the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.
Closer to home Jacinda Hamilton-Love is new to elite racing and is taking part in her second Cowes Week where she has assembled a strong crew and is looking to dedicate herself to moving up the overall leaderboard on J/70 Lady Khumbu, having managed to score first place in one of today's races.