Zara Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall were just two of the well-known names competing in yesterday’s race

Sailors competing in Thursday’s Artemis Challenge at Cowes Week had an interesting day’s sailing with a mixture of wind conditions.
 
The race successfully got underway at 10am with VIP guests Zara Phillips, Mike Tindall and Simon Le Bon on board their respective yachts.
 
However, competitors looking to break any records were set to be disappointed as slow progress was made due to mixed wind conditions throughout the day.
 
Speaking after the race yesterday, Zara Phillips said: “It was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the water and I really enjoyed the action at the start.
 
“It was frustrating when there wasn’t any wind but once we got going again it was good fun and I understand that all the racing at Cowes was abandoned due to lack of wind in the Solent so we were really lucky to get going early enough that we could finish.”
 
Wind conditions improved on the south side of the island, which meant trimarans Prince de Bretagne and Oman Sail were able to put some considerable distance between themselves and the monohulls.
 
With the race taking longer than anticipated, the route was cut short at Bembridge Ledge, seeing French team Prince de Bretagne take the eighth Artemis Challenge win in a time of four hours, 16 minutes and 35 seconds.
 
Despite finishing 5th out of the six teams, Ms Phillips was still pleased with the day’s racing: “It was a good race, would have been great to have a bit more wind but I’m really pleased we got to go round the island.
 
“The competitive side of me wants to win, of course, but competing against the bigger boats I know that’s tough. I’m pleased we gave them a good run for their money, especially at the start.”

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