Her Majesty The Queen will be visiting Cowes on Wednesday, 25 July as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK.
Cowes Harbour Commission will take a central role in co-ordinating the visit, liaising with the Island’s Lord-Lieutenant, the Isle of Wight Council, and Buckingham Palace.
HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh will sail to the Island onboard the 75m yacht MY Leander G which has been specially chartered for the Diamond Jubilee tour. Aboard MY Leander G, The Royal party will review a Parade of Sail formed by the 11 yachts competing in the Superyacht Cup Cowes.
21 gun salute
Her Majesty will receive a 21 gun salute from the Royal Yacht Squadron cannons before disembarking at Trinity Landing at 10:10hrs where The Queen will be met by the Island’s Lord-Lieutenant, Major General Martin White.
This will be followed by a walk along the Parade to unveil a commemorative plaque and watching children from Cowes Primary School perform a special song. The Royal party will then proceed to the end of The Parade to carry out a ceremony to officially mark the opening of the new Cowes RNLI lifeboat station.
Exhibition at Yacht Haven
Moving through to the Island Sailing Club, next to the Cowes RNLI station, The Queen will board a boat to take her to Cowes Yacht Haven where Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh will view various exhibitions before departing the Island.
Superyacht Cup Cowes
11 world class yachts will be visiting Cowes next week to participate in the first ever Superyacht Cup regatta to be hosted in the UK.
The Superyacht Cup Cowes will take place from 22 to 25 July, and this special event is being held to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics and will form part of the visit to the Island of HM The Queen and HRH Prince Philip with a Diamond Jubilee Parade of Sail.
Cowes Harbour Commission has been responsible for arranging and facilitating all the mooring arrangements for the superyachts working in partnership with the event organisers and the Royal Yacht Squadron. CHC have arranged for the 62 metre Superyacht Athos to be moored at Trinity Landing for everyone to see.
Delighted Cowes has been chosen
Captain Stuart McIntosh, Cowes Harbour Master said: “I am delighted that Cowes has been chosen to host this prestigious event and it is fantastic that we have managed to accommodate all these very large and spectacular yachts in Cowes.
“It will be a great opportunity to view these Superyachts up close when they are moored in Cowes and under sail racing from the Royal Yacht Squadron line and in the Solent.”
The fleet
The Superyacht Cup fleet comprises: Athos, 62 metres in length and with a crew of over 40, Adela at 55 metres, Bare Necessities, Drumfire, Heartbeat, Leopard III, Mari Cha III, Savannah, Seaquell, Unfurled and Hamilton, belonging to Carphone Warehouse’s CEO Sir Charles Dunstone.
Event Director for the Superyacht Cup Cowes, James Pleasance, commented: “Many of the skippers and owners of these Superyachts are used to sailing in the Mediterranean and take part in the annual Superyacht Cup at Palma, but recognise Cowes as the spiritual home of world yachting.”
Three days of racing, including a Round the Island Race (weather permitting) on Tuesday 24th, will take place for the Superyachts. Spectators can watch the race starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron line with the first start due at 1105 on Monday, 23 July.
All this comes at a very busy time for Cowes with the Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup taking place in the same week as Her Majesty The Queen’s visit.
Image: © Royal Household John Swannell
