Cowes Week 2026 - How Did We Get Here?

As we motor into Cowes Yacht Haven to find our berth for Cowes Week 2026, I start to wonder how we got here.  Not in the physical sense, that was easy, I got in the car in Billericay, drove to Gosport, got on the boat and motored over to Cowes. 

No, I mean in the "How on earth did we get here" sense!

When I acquired Aquila, my 1979 Westerly GK29, she was showing her age.  Outdated fittings, rigging in need of renewal, a dodgy old engine at best, saggy sails, more wiring than the space shuttle (as an example, there was a football size blob of wiring including wires that connected to nothing at all and the steaming light positive and negative both connected to a power feed !) but, she was now mine and now we are here.

Over the last 5 years we have new standing rigging, new running rigging, new instrument displays and plotter including a NMEA 2000 network, wiring stripped out and replaced, including the dodgy 240volt set up (gazoiks !), new (2nd hand) engine, new fuel tank and lines, new windows you can see out of, crisp new radial cut sails.  The gas set up has been completely removed including the non compliant, really heavy locker and replaced with a camping simple gas hob which means all in all, we are riding higher in the water by about 2 inches and along with the new paint job (by my own fair hand), we will be  racing.

Phew !

I think she is sailing better now than for a long time and really lifts in 6 knots plus, feeling "light" in the water and easy on the helm.  All we need is a professional crew and not the three old men who are stumbling around, giggling, cursing and offering each other no help at all other than a few smirks and laughs.

Can't wait to get going.   

Reminder to myself - Must not get drunk on the first night of Cowes Week !