Powerboat racing will roar back into Cowes over the August Bank Holiday weekend, with high-speed action on the Solent and local crews among those competing.
The Cowes Powerboat Festival returns from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th August, with a packed programme both on and off the water.
Competitors will begin arriving at Cowes Yacht Haven from 13:00 on Friday, before the racing fleet assembles for scrutineering and safety inspections on Saturday.
Spectators will have the opportunity to get a close-up look at the boats in the Yacht Haven throughout Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s racing.
Weather permitting, a parade of boats is also planned ahead of the race starts and can be viewed from Cowes Parade from around 09:30 on Sunday.
The start line for the races will be the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, with spectators able to watch the action from a number of vantage points along the Island’s coastline as competitors race west before heading towards either Poole or Torquay.
The Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race is provisionally scheduled to begin at 10:00 on Sunday, followed immediately by the Cowes-Poole-Cowes race at 10:15. Both start times remain subject to confirmation.
The event has a long association with Cowes and the Royal Yacht Squadron. It was following a gala dinner at the RYS in 2001, held to celebrate the 40th running of the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes offshore powerboat race, that the British Powerboat Racing Club was formed.
This year’s racing will take place under Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) rules.
Among the entries in the 120 class are last year’s winner Good Boy Vodka, alongside Silverline, Notareal, Smokin’ Aces and Double Trouble.
There will also be plenty of local interest.
Wight Knuckle Brewery will compete in the 80 class with owner and driver Jason Field joined by Tom Trotman, while Wight Noise will compete in the 65 class with Adam Leal and Tristan Ormiston at the controls.
Cowes Yacht Haven is expected to be bustling throughout the weekend, just weeks after hosting thousands of visitors during Cowes Week.
Pontoon View will once again be among the venues welcoming visitors, with David Rogers and the All About Catering team returning after operating there and in the Food Court during Cowes Week.
This year’s Cowes Powerboat Festival is being supported by GO GPS.
