Now in its third year, the Artemis Challenge has become a regular fixture on the IMOCA 60 calendar, drawing celebrities and sailing stars. What makes it so special?
A small island off the south coast of England holds a special significance among sailors. The Isle of Wight, just south of Southampton, is quintessential yachting country. And Cowes, a small town in the north of the island, is yachting HQ. The town is steeped in sailing history, and every year is host to dozens of regattas and sailing competitions, including the world-famous Cowes Week.
Believed to be the world’s largest annual regatta, Cowes Week is one of the UK’s longest running sporting events, held every year (except for wartime) since 1826. The event welcomes hundreds of boats of all sizes, thousands of competitors and hordes of spectators, all packed into bustling marinas and quaint pubs, lining the historic seafront and turning the Solent into a froth of waves. Ashore there are exclusive black-tie balls, bustling beer tents full of sailors catching up with old friends, and street performers, all adding up to a festival atmosphere.
Since 2007 the Artemis Challenge has been a special addition to the week. Against the fantastic backdrop of Cowes Week, the Artemis Challenge sees a fleet of IMOCA 60s charging around the Isle of Wight in a unique race, raising money for good causes.
Racing Hard
The course around the Isle of Wight is a perfect, natural race-track. Every June around 1,500 yachts set off from Cowes to complete the circumnavigation as part of the annual Round the Island Race, making for a spectacular sight as the Solent fills with sails at dawn on one of the longest days of the year.
The most famous trophy in sailing – the America’s Cup – also originated here when the Royal Yacht Squadron held a race around the island back in 1851. The race was won by the schooner America. Legend has it that when Queen Victoria, who was watching in Cowes, asked who was second, she received the reply, “Your Majesty, there is no second.”
The IMOCA 60s in the Artemis Challenge will be racing just as hard around the Solent. They’ll need their wits about them too – the 50-mile course is strewn with hazards such as low-lying rocks, shifting sandbanks, and even the wreckage of an old steamship just off the iconic Needles rocks and lighthouse. The Artemis Challenge has already seen its fair share of events; in 2007 one of the IMOCA 60s competing, Pindar, lost its mast and had to be towed home.
Whilst the IMOCA 60 skippers will be used to racing alone, or with just one co-skipper, for the Artemis Challenge they will be joined aboard by an experienced racing crew to help manoeuvre the huge yachts through a crowded Solent, as well as some special celebrity guests. The race has already welcomed royalty, when Lady Gabriella Windsor joined the crew onboard Artemis, The Profit Hunter. Athletes and celebrities have also taken part, with rugby stars Will Greenwood and James Haskell, Commonwealth Gold Medallist Dean Macey, political supremo and former Labour Party spindoctor Alistair Campbell, as well as television star Davina McCall, all joining previous editions of the race.
But the real stars of the show are the IMOCA yachts and the sailors who race them. The Artemis Challenge was set up to showcase IMOCA 60 racing in the UK, and this year the race will have a special draw as a warm-up for the Rolex Fastnet Race – a 607-mile offshore race across the Irish Sea which sets off the day after Cowes Week. Some of the most talented offshore sailors in the business have competed in the Challenge each year, such as Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper Mike Sanderson, and a host of Vendée Globe skippers including fourth-placed Sam Davies, Artemis Ocean Racing’s Jonny Malbon, and Brian Thompson – who won the 2008 race on Pindar.
Charity
Every year Artemis Investment Management donate a charity prize fund of £10,000 for the race, which goes to a charity of the winner’s choice. In 2008 winning skipper Brian Thompson nominated Earthwatch as the recipient of the cash, whilst the race and its celebrity guests also raised money for other causes such as Help for Heroes.
Pindar completed last year’s exhilarating round-the-island dash in 4 hours and 14 minutes – that’s just six minutes short of the current Round the Island Record, set at 4 hours 8 minutes by the 100-foot Maxi Yacht ICAP Leopard. With the right wind conditions, can the IMOCA 60s set a new course record this year in the Artemis Challenge? Find out on 5th August 2009.
