The Royal London Yacht Club, organisers of Cowes Classics Week, has taken the sad decision to reschedule this year’s regatta and plan immediately for 2021.

The safety of competitors, plus the large volunteer team who help organise the regatta, is paramount and, with social distancing still very much in force, the organisers felt they could not continue with their plans to host the regatta in July. Cowes Classics Week, which attracts in excess of 140 entries, is not just about the racing.

The wide range of social events bring together all the crews throughout the week and help make the regatta such a success, but with the current restrictions this would not have been possible so the decision had to be taken to cancel rather than try and run a reduced regatta.

Regatta Chairman, David Gower commented: “Whilst we know many competitors will be disappointed, it has become clear that we could not deliver a successful regatta this year and the responsible decision is to cancel. As well as having to ensure the safety of both organisers and competitors, we are also conscious that many Isle of Wight residents are uncomfortable with large numbers of visitors at this time. I wish to thank sincerely our valued volunteers, Royal London Yacht Club staff and our steadfast sponsors who, in some cases, have challenges of their own to deal with. We all look forward to a fantastic regatta in 2021”.

The team at the Royal London will now focus on planning for the regatta in 2021 which will take place on 17 to 23 July with the newly introduced Cowes Classics Day being held on Thursday 22 July 2021. Cowes Classics Day will see a display of over 50 classic cars on The Parade plus classic powerboats berthed on the London Landing and the RYS Yacht Haven. The regatta charity, the Classic Boat Museum, will also have a display of historic classic boats along the seafront.