J/70 World Champion Paul Ward joins Cowes Week Ltd Board

Paul Ward's J/70 Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat - 2020 Landsail Tyres J-Cup © Paul Wyeth / pwpictures.com

Cowes Week, one of the world's best-known regattas, remains at the forefront of the UK sailing scene and indeed is on the bucket list for sailors worldwide. The regatta, which is 196 years young, sees around 700 entries and thousands of sailors and visitors coming to Cowes every August for a celebration of sailing, racing and the famous social scene.

The event is run by Cowes Combined Clubs (CCC), an organisation that brings together nine yacht clubs and over 500 volunteers during the regatta. The day-to-day organisation is managed by Cowes Week Ltd (CWL) and its Board of Directors is delighted to announce that the current J/70 Open World Champion Paul Ward has now joined the Board, representing the Royal Southern Yacht Club, one of the CCC member clubs. Paul and his crew of Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat, are the first British team to win the J/70 Open World Championships, one of the world's most competitive One Design classes.

Regatta Director Laurence Mead, on behalf of the CWL Directors said: "We are thrilled to have a man of Paul's racing calibre and passion for sailing on our board. Our objective is world-class regatta racing, and Paul, who has been a long-time competitor and a great enthusiast of the regatta, will be a very welcome addition to the management team."

Paul Ward said: "I'm delighted to join the team behind Cowes Week. It is different to a One Design world championship but the mix of brilliant and challenging sailing, alongside the fabulous social events that take place every night makes for a great experience. I've participated in Cowes Week many times and look forward to working with Laurence and the team to take the event forward towards the 200th anniversary in 2026."

Cowes Week 2021 takes place July 31st to August 7th with eight IRC classes, 17 one-design classes, four Performance-Cruiser Divisions and two Club-Cruiser Divisions.