60 XOD entries so far for Cowes Week competing for the coveted Captain's Cup
by Rory Paton 18 Jul 18:29 BST
XOD smiles at Cowes Week © Paul Wyeth /
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This year there are five youth bursaries entered, teams all under 25. The XOD Class has paid for the mooring and entry, with members kindly lending their boats.
For example, James Harrison has kindly lent the 115 year old X5 Madcap to Alice Lucy and her team, as in the case of several of the bursary boats, Madcap is older than the team's aggregate age. Reflecting the overall Class entry, many of our youth entries have won World, European and National Championships.
Many of the teams are sailing with a team of four this North Sails Cowes Week, taking advantage of a new Class rule which enables crews under 285kg to all sit on the deck. This rule has also encouraged families and more mixed crews to enter.
Like the yellow jersey in the Tour De France, daily leaders get the chance to fly a brand new yellow North Sails Spinnaker, with the winner at the end of the week keeping it. Competition will be red hot with a mixture of Class legends, serial winners and Olympians added to the mix. This is one of the hardest trophies in yacht racing to win. With the centenary of the Captain's Cup to celebrate in 2030 the Class goes from strength to strength.