Cowes Week 2011

Will Cowes Week 2011 actually happen? With no keynote sponsor for
the third year in a row how much money have Cowes Combined Clubs got
left? Well as they have numerous full time staff to pay for I guess
the answer may sadly be "Not that much longer". It seems incredulous
that even in this economic climate that no major sponsor has been
found. Cowes week 2011 looks like being the third with no major
sponsor since Skandia pulled out. But you have to remember Skandia
gave Cowes Combined Clubs a full years notice that they were pulling
out. So that effectively makes it four years without a major sponsor
being found. Of note is the Skandia still sponsor Geelong week in
Australia, which is the Southern Hemispheres version of Cowes
Week.Cowes week was the foremost sailing event in the World with over
1,000 yachts taking part and over 10,000 competitors. This combined
with all of the shore side support required in terms of catering,
accommodation and entertainment put on swells the towns population by
around 30,000 for the week, with well over 100,000 people watching on
water or from the shore side each day.The highlight of the week for
many who have been sailing or not is the huge fireworks display on
Friday night which last for around half an hour and is considered to
be one of the finest Worldwide. However at a cost of �50,000 and there
being no major sponsor it has only gone ahead the past two years
thanks to an anonymous donor. My guess is that this cannot continue
and without the fireworks on Friday night will turn into a commercial
disaster with many shops and restaurants requiring this weeks trade to
carry them through the quiet Winter months. Without Cowes week many
shops. bars and restaurants will struggle to survive in this current
economic climate.Is this me being short sighted? But if the Fireworks
do not occur this year the towns of Easy and West Cowes will lose out
on the estimated 200,000 plus people that come to view the Fireworks
of the Friday night? This would be a massive loss of trade. Last year
alone many crew houses were empty for the first time in more years
than people can rememberThis event needs a major sponsor and it needs
one urgently or this World class event is in danger of losing its
World class status. If any outsider I looked at this as a business, in
the words of Lord Sugar on the TV show the apprentice "You are
fired!", and maybe those words might yet be used?Enough of the
negative, I love Cowes week and all that goes with it, and really hope
that it can be built back up into the event it once was, but it needs
sorting quickly to avoid becoming a non-event.For more information on
Cowes and Cowes week visit the link below.