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August 8 2005
YJA Cowes Week Dinner
More than 100 top names in yachting congregated at Sir Max Aitken's Museum on August 3 during Skandia Cowes Week for a special dinner to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Yachtsman of the Year Award.  Former YOTY winners who attended included double Olympic gold medallists Ben Ainslie and Rodney Pattisson, solo round-the-world record holder Ellen MacArthur, One Ton Cup winner Jeremy Rogers, Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton, Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, gold medallist Iain Percy, former junior world champions Emma and Victoria Rawlinson, match race champion Harold Cudmore and Tony Bullimore.  The dinner repeated the fine dinners that Sir Max used to host for the sport during Cowes Week during the '60s and '70s when he headed Beaverbrook Newspapers and was also a leading competitor in both sail and powerboats. The event, supported by Skandia, Champagne Mumm and Allied Domecq, provided a major networking opportunity for sponsors, sailing organisers and the media and was deemed such a success that it is now likely to become an annual fixture.