Contessa 32 class at Cowes Week 2025

Carinosa chasing downwind - Contessa 32 class at Cowes Week © Rob Hamlett

The 199th year of Cowes Week is fast slipping astern as the Contessa fleet spreads its summer wings for cruising in and beyond the Solent before returning in September for more closely contested one design class racing, with two events; at Cowes Corinthian followed by the Nationals at Royal London.

This 49th year of class racing at Cowes Week for the Contessa 32s provided some exciting racing and notable performances by Contessa 32s in the winning boats and leader boards for several important trophies including the Musto Young Skipper's Trophy, the Under 25 Trophy and the overall top boats in Black Group. The class was also represented by several boats in the Mermaid Trophy for Women's Day and the Equal Seas Trophy.

The Cowes Week race management team rose to the challenge of some variable conditions setting some classic Solent courses and losing only one day to bad weather on Monday. The Contessa class had 6 days of racing with Committee Boat starts on the Saturday and Wednesday with the other starts on the RYS line. The fleet was berthed together at Sheppard's Wharf providing an ideal venue for crews to mix and of course to enjoy a legendary Contessa pontoon party; this one hosted with panache by the experienced crew of Andaxi.

Saturday's race started in Thorness Bay after a delay waiting for wind. When the wind came, the course was perfectly set for the first day of racing with some great upwind and downwind legs which tested the navigators' skills negotiating the shallows against the tide. One grounding was enough to discourage others but all yachts completed the race with Drumbeat notching her first win of the week, a position she was not to lose until Thursday! Andaxi showed her form in second place with some younger family members crewing, racing with five female crew on most days.

The highly impressive young crew (including two first time sailors from Australia and Norway) on Mary Rose Tudor laid down their challenge to the series leaders in third place, a slot they were able to better later in the week counting a first and a second on Wednesday and Friday seeing them emerge victorious as winners of the Cowes Week Musto Young Skippers trophy and the Under 25 Trophy; a real credit to their skipper, the crew and the class.

The racing continued with a much windier day on Sunday taking the fleet to the eastern Solent and sorting out the crews who had not yet fully developed their spinnaker skills for more wind. But confidence grew across the fleet with Connie, third placed in the 2025 Inshore series scoring a consistent 9th spot which was enough to preserve her impressive series position at the end of the week. This was a good day for Solan Goose visiting from Jersey with a crew of family and friends aboard, scoring second to Drumbeat ahead of Mary Rose Tudor and Andaxi.

Tuesday was Cowes Week Women's Day which saw Connie taking 23rd place as top Contessa in a hotly contested 63 boat fleet for the Ariel Trophy. A few boats were also entered for the Equal Seas Trophy which requires a minimum of 30% female crew for every race of the week. The Contessa 32's were in the top ten for this trophy with Solan Goose and Andaxi in 5th place. Other Contessas, English Rose, Carinosa, Connie and Coh Karek were also in the rankings.

The rest of the week saw racing from a Committee boat start on Wednesday with lighter winds still delivering some competitive racing in the fleet as Drumbeat continued her winning streak with Andaxi second and Mary Rose Tudor in third. Thursday and Friday's starts from the RYS line provided a late challenge to Drumbeat's supremacy as Mary Rose Tudor posted a well-deserved first place with Solan Goose in third.

On Friday's finale Solan Goose took the top spot with the very consistently sailed Gualin, choosing a very well judged north shore final leg to the outer distance mark taking a third, just 6 seconds behind Drumbeat forcing Andaxi back into 5th. The rest of the fleet had chosen the island shore providing a colourful, spectacular (and much Insta'd) downwind finish for the whole Cowes Week fleet.

The overall results showed Drumbeat on top with 6 points followed by Mary Rose Tudor with just one point ahead of Solan Goose on 14 points level with Andaxi. Ben Rogers commented that their week had showed "moments of brilliance and moments of disaster" including a broken spinnaker pole but they always stayed in the top 6. Drumbeat was also 4th placed in Black Group overall, a significant achievement.

The leading boats heading for the island shore - Contessa 32 class at Cowes Week - photo © Rob Hamlett

As the week closed, the class winner, Drumbeat owner Eldred Hinsworth, had this to say: "Drumbeat came into the Week with trepidation having missed out on a podium finish last year so it was a great relief when we managed to nail first spot in the first race by the narrowest of margins. As the week went on time spent by the crew in the beer tent and the Duke of York was kept under control and the boat kept forging ahead. It turned out to be one of the best Weeks we've had with some great racing, good weather and plenty of camaraderie within the fleet. On to the Cowes Corinthian weekend and the Nationals. Also to the bicentennial Cowes Week next year which promises to be an epic!"

Cowes Week is as much about the shore side after party as the sailing and this year was no exception with generous sponsorship from Musto and many others.

The Contessa 32 class can be very pleased with the 2025 edition of the week which provided memorable, highly competitive, very close racing across the fleet whether you were up with the top boats or not. That this classic Cowes Week class provided the winner of both the Musto Young Skipper trophy and the Under 25 trophy is a real credit to George Bell and his brother Theo and their international crew on Mary Rose Tudor.

George Bell, commenting on the Week said that they'd had "multiple close battles" with a couple of the leading boats which made the shore side of the week "even more enjoyable". They were delighted to have narrowly beaten the J80 sailed by Henry Heathcote and Rex Rogers (grandson to Jeremy) in the two youth trophy competitions and hope to tempt them into the Contessa fleet for next year.

There is much to look forward to for the bicentenary year which promises to be a magnet for Contessa 32's celebrating 50 years as a class at Cowes Week. Finally no account of the week would be complete without a reference to the wonderful skirl of the pipes on Gualin coming out to the start line whose piper will hopefully return next year as well.

Contessa 32 series results to date: events2.ksail.co.uk/CO32/2025.html

Cowes Week Fleet Results:

Corafin, Mary Rose Tudor, English Rose and Carinosa in close racing on Friday - Contessa 32 class at Cowes Week - photo © Rob Hamlett