Cowes Week after its new sponsor, Lendy - The Property Platform. The festival originates from the Prince Regent's interest in yachting which continued after he became George IV in 1820. The first race started at 09:30 on Thursday 10 August 1826 with the prize of a "Gold Cup of the value of £100" and was held under the flag of the Royal Yacht Club, which later became the Royal Yacht Squadron. Another race was held the next day for prize money only (£30 for first place, £20 for second). Until World War I, big cutters and raters were raced by gentlemen amateurs
Cowes West Cowes. In 1895 West Cowes Urban District Council applied for permission to change the name of the town to Cowes officially, and this was granted on 21 August 1895. Whilst the name Cowes has become well established on infrastructure related to the town (including maps, road signage and postal addresses), the name "West Cowes" remained on Admiralty charts, used by sailors, until 2015, when it was corrected following a letter from a Cowes resident. Red Funnel, the Southampton-based ferry company that provides routes from Southampton to both Cowes and East Cowes, has continued to use the name "West Cowes"