Cowes Week – The Bicentenary Regatta

Double the Celebrations

Two hundred years after the first Cowes Week was held in 1826, the Solent once again filled with sails this August for a very special edition of one of the world’s most famous regattas.

For the Contessa fleet, there was even more reason to celebrate, with 2026 also marking 50 years of the Contessa 32 having its own class start at Cowes Week.

In 1971, Jeremy and his younger brother Jonathan launched the very first Contessa 32, Red Herring, to compete at Cowes Week and she duly won her class. Just five years later, the growing fleet was given a class start of its own, beginning a tradition that has now seen half a century of close racing, familiar faces and a class that remains every bit as competitive today.

With seven days of racing, some fantastic results and plenty of celebrations ashore, it was certainly a week to remember.

On and Off the Water

Cowes Week has always been about much more than the racing, and this year was no exception. Throughout the week, the town came to life and was full of competitors, families and spectators, with live music and celebrations continuing into the early mornings.

The Contessa 32 dinner at the Max Aitken Museum was also a lovely evening that brought owners, crews and friends together for a fantastic night of food, drinks, stories and a chance to catch up since the last regatta.

Of course, there was plenty happening on the water too. One of the most memorable sights of the week came on Tuesday morning, when more than 20 Contessa 32s gathered off Cowes for a coordinated formation sail before making their way towards the Royal Yacht Squadron line.

In a military-style procession, the fleet was led by Gualin, complete with a bagpiper playing from her foredeck. Seeing so many Contessa 32s sailing together made for quite a spectacle and was a fitting way to mark 50 years of the class at Cowes Week.

Images © Jack De La Hunty

A Week of Close Competition

Anyone familiar with the Contessa 32 fleet will know just how close the competition can be, and Cowes Week 2026 certainly delivered. Across seven days on the Solent, positions were fought for right to the finish, with boats frequently separated by just seconds.

At the end of the week, the crew of Solan Goose, led by Ben Rogers, came out on top, securing the class title. But their success did not stop there. Solan Goose also finished first overall in Black Group, putting a Contessa 32 at the top of the combined standings and rounding off an exceptional week for Ben and his crew.

For a design first launched more than half a century ago, taking the overall Black Group title among some of the Solent’s most competitive racing fleets is something we are incredibly proud to see. It was a brilliant demonstration of just how capable the Contessa 32 remains today.

The crew of Solan Goose at the awards ceremony. Images © Cowes Week

High Spirit takes the Bicentennial Gold Cup

The Contessa success extended beyond the 32 fleet. Andy Maskell and the crew of Contessa 33 High Spirit made an extraordinary start to their week, taking four consecutive race wins.

Those opening three days also earned High Spirit a major honour: the inaugural Bicentennial Gold Cup, created to mark Cowes Week’s 200th anniversary and awarded for the best overall performance across all classes during the opening three days of the regatta.

To see a Contessa 33 take the Bicentennial Gold Cup was a fantastic result in its own right and, alongside Solan Goose’s Black Group victory, made this a memorable Cowes Week for the wider Contessa family.

One to Remember

From the racing on the water to the festivities ashore, there could hardly have been a better way to mark two such significant anniversaries.

Fifty years after the Contessa 32 was first given its own Cowes Week class start, the fleet remains active and, most importantly, great fun to be a part of.

With Solan Goose taking both the Contessa 32 title and Black Group overall, and High Spirit becoming the first winner of the Bicentennial Gold Cup, Cowes Week’s 200th anniversary gave us plenty to celebrate.

Thank you to everyone who raced, supported and joined us throughout the week, and congratulations to all of our Contessa crews.

Take a look at some of our favourite moments from Cowes Week 2026 below.

“Accessible, classic, one-design racing.”

“We’ve got 19 boats racing [in the class] and have had an interesting week. Yesterday was a real calamity for us, but today was absolutely great. We’ve really enjoyed taking part.

There are six of us on board: myself, my wife Elizabeth, our friends James and Kat, who have been permanent crew, then friends Ulrich and Mark have joined us for a couple of days at the end. It’s interesting sailing with four versus six. Sailing with six gives you a lot of hands, but requires a lot of communication.

It’s the first time I’ve done this in about 10 years and it’s been just great.”

– John, Class Captain of the Contessa 32 Association and owner of Coric

John and Elizabeth with crew member James (above)

We’re also extremely grateful to have had an array of excellent photographers attend Cowes Week and share their beautiful Contessa photos with us. Take a look at some of them below.

Images by Paul Smith: https://www.paulsmithphotography.uk/contessa

Paul has been awarded an OBE for his charity fundraising. Proceeds from his images go towards helping an array of charities worldwide so we highly recommend taking a look at his page.

Images by Cowes Week: https://www.cowesweek.co.uk/web/code/php/main_c.php?map=cw-res&ui=cw-res&style=std&override=&section=takingpart&page=photos2026

Images by Martin Augustus: https://www.sail-world.com/photos/contessa32/WEBP/yysw580326.webp