Cowes Week Review
20th Aug 2013
As we reported before the event took place, a lot of the Ancasta team were taking part in the sailing and we are very pleased to report that they have returned proudly to our fold with their heads held high and some very impressive results.
Sam Pearson, our Race Boat Broker came second in his class. Nick Griffith our M.D. claimed second in his class and Nick Ryley our Brokerage Director came…second in his class! Just when we were wondering if anyone might have an ‘extra special’ result to report, Tony Reeve who manages our Cowes Office announced that his gang came in 15th! Well done to all the guys.
Requiring an ‘on the ground’ investigative ‘spectator’; a member of our Marketing crew bravely stepped up to the plate and said she would ‘take one for the team’ by sacrificing an entire week of office work to test out the entertainment, wine and convenience food on offer.
She was extremely impressed! Cowes was a hive of bustling activity all week, and there was plenty on offer for the discerning ‘socialiser’. Cowes Yacht Haven, really turned it on with an extremely well managed and well staffed bar, right in the heart of the haven. Live entertainment on the stage kept the crowds happy, and the fast food outlets produced aromas that absolutely demanded to be followed up with a trial taster of the fare on offer. For future reference; the fajitas were a particularly welcome treat at the end of the night, when one might have bumped into some old friends and become a little ‘over refreshed’.
The High Street was packed. Day and night. With people walking quite slowly.
Cowes Parade had a brilliant ambience and ‘festival feel’, with fantastic views of the sailing, live music, a massive beer tent, several ‘pop up’ retailers and of course, delicious gourmet grub! Our ‘roaming spectator’ simply cannot describe the deliciousness of the lunchtime burger she bought on the second day. Free range beef, scallops, saffron sauce, asparagus, bacon and rocket. Heaven. And she was choking more because of the voracious enthusiasm with which she ate this delight, rather than the 9 quid it cost her.
But the absolute and total highlight of the spectators Cowes Week ( after the sailing of course! – especially if you know people who came second) just had to be the completely and totally awesome ‘Red Arrows’ who arrived on Friday night. Not a burger in sight, and a lump was brought to the throat. Genuinely. Our Marketeer would like it noted, that very little else could inspire such overwhelming emotion and pride in Great Britain’s ability to turn on a display that is quite simply incomparable. (and she’s half kiwi, and has seen the All Blacks…)
No Cowes Week would ever be complete without the firework finale, and this year was no different. Thousands upon thousands of people made their way to the seafront, and the gardens and roof tops of people with the best view. Here, in a salute to success, we watched a cacophony of colour fill the skies above the water, and herald the end of the most famous sailing regatta in the world.