Pairing announced for Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes

The announcement of the helm and owner pairings for the 2008 Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week regatta on Friday 1 August, has provoked speculation, heated discussion and even argument amongst the UK's sailing community. Everyone has their favourites and their own opinion on who the 'dream teams' might turn out to be. One thing is clear however, predicting a winner at this early stage is simply impossible.

Just as last year, the 2008 Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week will be an exciting, three race shoot out, sailed in Laser SB3's - the UK's most dynamic one design class. This unique event pits the major class winners at Skandia Cowes Week 2007 in a head to head battle for a chance to be crowned as 2008 King of Cowes and to pocket the keys to a shiny new Volkswagen Touareg into the bargain.

2007 Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week winner, Xtreme 40 Catamaran helmsman Alistair Richardson, had this to say about his experience: 'What an event! The concept is simple but brilliant - invite the winners, level the playing field and let battle commence. Despite the enormous logistics Volkswagen Touareg pulled it off with sheer class. The standard in 2008 looks to be extremely high as all the helms are already used to winning. Good luck to everyone who is competing.'

Following on from Gabby Logan's participation last time, to add to the excitement this year, there will be no less than three celebrities taking part in the racing. Kirsty Gallacher, Colin Jackson and Jonathan Edwards will be competing at their first ever competitive sailboat regatta. All three have recently taken part in an intensive one-day training session, courtesy of the LaserPerformance coaching team. Under the watchful tutorage of experienced SB3 helmsman Jono Shelley, of Team Touareg, the celebs were given a crash course on the theory of sportsboat racing followed by an action packed on the water session, where they were introduced to the concepts of tacking and gybing along with the pitfalls involved in hoisting and retrieving the SB3's huge gennaker. To round off their day, the celebrity yachties got a chance to put their newly acquired skills into practice, with a short windward leeward race. The coaches all commented on the high level of commitment and enthusiasm shown by the trio of the celebrities. Colin Jackson, in particular, showed considerable aptitude during spinnaker hoists - powering the sail to the top of the mast quicker than some seasoned professionals. All three are said to be looking forward to getting to know their teams and for the chance to compete for real on the day.

Unfortunately, Glenn Bourke, who won the Laser SB3 Class at Skandia Cowes Week last year, will not be able to compete at Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week this time, but sends his best wishes to all the competitors. 'I am extremely sad that pressure of work means I will not now be able to take part in this year's Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week. Last year's event was fantastic fun and I was very much looking forward to competing again, but I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the competitors good luck for what I am sure will be another great day.'

Since the pairings announcement, most owner/helm combinations have been in close contact, formulating potential strategies and discussing their training plans. None more so than legendary one design sailor Geoff Carveth, paired with Cork 1720 class winner Mark Greenway. Carveth who has both National and European and Laser SB3 titles under his belt is clearly delighted with his allocation 'When I first looked at the list of potential helms, Mark was one of the ones I thought would be great to race with. His 1720 background gives him vital asymmetric experience and I know he has sailed SB3's before. Also his weight means that we should be able to sail with four people rather than three, which will help too'. Renowned for his meticulous preparation, Carveth is clearly focused on giving his helm the best possible chance of winning.

'This is serious stuff and I am preparing in the same way as if I was going to be helming' he said. 'We will get as much sailing in as we can over the next couple of weekends and will launch the boat early on Thursday to do some final practicing over in Cowes'. Commenting on the high level of competitors at this year's event he went on to say 'Quite a few people are here for the second time so will know better what to expect. The helms are all experienced racers used to winning so it is going to be intense on the water.' Who did he see as the main contenders for the 2008 title? 'There are lots of teams on the list capable of putting together a regatta winning series. If I had to single out one I would say Fumesy (Simon Russell) representing the XOD Class should be competitive. He has lots of small keelboat experience and he knows his way around the waters off Cowes too.'

The draw has thrown up some other interesting owner/helm pairings combinations. Chris Sherlock, skipper of the monster sized super maxi Ocean Leopard, who won Class Zero at Skandia Cowes Week in 2007, will have challenges of a significantly different scale to get to grips with when racing a twenty six foot laser SB3. Sherlock will be sailing on David Atkinson's Liftingsafety.co.uk boat.

Richard Talbot, victorious in the RS K6 class at last year's Skandia Cowes Week, will be steering Ian Southworth and Nigel Smith's Chilli Chaser. Southworth has multiple dinghy titles and a J24 European Championship victory to his name and is renowned for his ability to get the most out of whichever boat he sails. Combining this with Talbot's proven asymmetric and sportsboat experience puts this team squarely on the list of potential winners.

Another team to watch will be 2007 Victory Class winner John Tremlett sailing on Guy Jackson's Helly Hansen. Jackson, who is studying yacht design at Southampton University, told us that before the event he hoped to get at least four full days of training with his guest helmsman. 'Introducing a new driver into the team can potentially change everything so it is vital that we give ourselves as much time as possible to get used to sailing together.' Commenting on his allocated helm he had this to say 'We are delighted to have got someone like John. As well as the Victory sailing he also has a very competitive background in Finns and has been putting in some RS400 hours to sharpen up his asymmetric sailing'.

Daniel Geoghegan also believes he is on to a good thing with his allocated helmsman, Tim Spalding, the owner of last year's IRC 4 Class winner Amey Love Shack. 'Tim is very experienced and competitive so I think we will be in good shape on the day. The important thing is to be able to get off the line cleanly and with a helm like Tim we should be fine' he commented.

In subsequent press releases, as the anticipation builds towards what promises to be another exciting Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week, we will be updating you on the progress of the three celebrity sailors as well as bringing you the stories behind some of the other teams challenging for the coveted 'King of Cowes' title along with the chance to drive away in a brand new Volkswagen Touareg.

Full details on the 2008 Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week including sailor profiles on all the competitors can be found on the official website at www.kingofcowes.com