It's Cowes Week

It was as busy in the High Street at Cowes, Isle of Wight today as it was in the harbour and on the waters of the Solent only a few hundred yards away.
But then this is Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, the eight days of the year when sailors and sailing enthusiasts from all round the world gather in the town for the world famous regatta.
Cowes Week is one of the UK's longest running sporting events, having first taken place in 1826. The aspirational and inclusive sailing regatta is the largest of its kind in the world, attracting between 800 and 1,000 yachts in up to 40 classes. Around 7,000 competitors race during the week ranging from weekend sailors to World Champions and Olympic medallists.
But the lively festival atmosphere at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week means there is plenty of social and exciting onshore activities for sailors and the thousands of spectators who visit Cowes each year.
And pack the High Street mid-afternoon right up until late night.   In past years I have been in the High Street just before midnight, and the road and pavements can be even more packed than this.
 
To yachtsmen and women and the thousands of who come to watch, Cowes is a special place.