Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes

Action from the Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes © OnEdition

Alister Richardson takes the crown and a brand new Volkswagen Touareg

Billed as the keelboat champion of champions the Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week delivered everything it promised and more as the 27 competitors kept the watching crowds and media at the edge of their seats in a stunning three-race regatta that was only decided in the final moments.

Raced in one-design Laser SB3's in perfect Solent conditions, last year's Extreme 40 class winner, Alister Richardson took the crown and drove away with the top prize of a brand new Volkswagen Touareg. Despite only pulling his crew together at the last minute and with virtually no practice Alister and his team of Laser SB3 owner Toby Litton plus Rachel Williamson and Dan Johnson put in a stunning performance to snatch the crown in a final race showdown.

David Apthorp, of the J/105 class, with SB3 owner Geoff Carveth had led the fleet going into the final race but he seemed to struggle as the sea breeze strengthened to over 20 knots. His problems were compounded when crewman Matt Adams took an unplanned swim when they were forced to take last minute action to avoid Hill Head buoy, which suddenly appeared in front of them! Despite losing out on first place, Apthorp found his consolation prize of a Volkswagen Eos more than made up for the disappointment.

Russell Peters, last year's SB3 winner at Skandia Cowes Week, who many thought would trounce the opposition despite not sailing his own boat, in fact only made the top three thanks to a second place in the final race. Peters, sailing with owner David Wilkinson and legendary sailor Zeb Elliott, adds another toy to his collection in the shape of a special edition Laser GXD.

With a day packed full of sailing stars and celebrities, from infamous round the world yachtsman Mike Sanderson to BBC sport presenter Gabby Logan, those not likely to make it to the podium took to drastic measures to ensure they were mentioned in the media. The best effort was by Mark Rushall and Martin Payne who both took a plunge during a rather spirited gybe downwind - it seems APP Productions managed to clip the tape and get it on teatime news much to the delight of the crowds.

David Graham, managing director of Performance Sailcraft Europe, underlined his delight in the regatta; "Today's been fantastic for Volkswagen, for Laser and for sailing in general. To have a show down with all the stars from the different fleets at Cowes, with no protests and one general recall, exceeded all our expectations."

Commenting on her first time sailing at Skandia Cowes Week, Gabby Logan crewing for 11 times Cowes winner Graham Bailey, told us she enjoyed the event, "It was a really big challenge but I was with a great team and realised how important it was to them to keep going. I'm delighted we finished 5th, it was a great experience."

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