BCYC Cowes RegattaOFFICINE PANERAI announces sponsorship
The ninth British Classic Yacht Club (BCYC) Cowes Regatta (Isle of Wight, UK) will join the prestigious Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge Circuit (PCYC) from 2010 as part of a three-year sponsorship deal signed this month. The BCYC Cowes Regatta which will take place from Sunday 18th to Saturday 24th July 2010 will be the first UK event to join the Panerai Circuit. In 2009 the circuit included eight of the worlds leading Classic Yacht Regattas, among them the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and Régates Royales in Cannes.
2010 will be the sixth edition of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge and marks the largest and most renowned classic yacht race in the world. The Circuit takes place from April to September and since its inception in 2005, the circuit has been increasingly successful, demonstrated by the growing list of competitors. Each year the Challenge draws yachting enthusiasts from around the globe and the most highly regarded Classic Yachts sailing today, in 2009 over 350 yachts and 1,500 crews competed overall in the Circuit.
The British Classic Yacht Club Panerai Cowes Regatta
The event will now be known as The British Classic Yacht Club Panerai Cowes Regatta - The BCYC Panerai Cowes Regatta is held in the tidal waters of the Solent, a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England. The highlight of the week’s racing is the Classic Round the Island Race, starting on the Royal Yacht Squadron line before racing the 60 mile course either East or West around the Isle of Wight. The 2010 Round the Island race will be held on Tuesday 20th July.
The BCYC and Officine Panerai envisage that the 2010 event will be the largest Classic Yacht Regatta in the UK since the Americas Cup Jubilee Regatta in 2001, and are predicting that over 65 yachts will compete.