A spectacular day of racing made for a memorable Cowes Week finale.

The historic sailing event concluded with a classic downwind finish against the tide on the Royal Yacht Squadron line.

Competitors sailed tight into the beach off the Green in a thick and fast procession that lasted for hours.

They were led home by Jo Richards' 27ft H-Boat Woof, which crept along the shore, less than a boat length off the rocks below the RYS Platform, to take line honours in IRC Class 7.

He also won Friday’s race on corrected time; his fourth victory of the week.

However, the overall class winner was Victoria and Chris Preston's 100-year-old classic West Solent One Design Suvretta, while Craig and Emma Dymock's H-Boat Wight Wedding took second place just two and a half points behind.

(Image: Paul Wyeth)

Four boats scored an unbroken run of first places over the first six days of the Regatta: Imogen Watkins' Fareast 28R Mako in the Sportsboat class, Stuart Reed's Sunbeam Firefly, Rupert Mander and Gareth Edwards' Flying 15 Men Behaving Badly, and Richard Dilley's Grand Soleil 46 Belladonna, in Performance Cruiser Division A.

Men Behaving Badly had already won her class with a day to spare, but also won Friday's race, just four seconds ahead of Graham Deegan's Akarana, to seal overall victory in White Group.

Mander and Edwards were also crowned overall Cowes Week winner for the second time in three years and the fourth time in total.

What's the secret behind their success?

"You have to keep as fast as you can and stay ahead of the others, while successfully orienteering around the buoys," Mander said.

On a boat with no electronics and only two people on board, Edwards said this means: "We both note the course and are talking it through all the way, checking the bearings and spotting the marks as soon as possible."

(Image: Paul Wyeth)

After a particularly close battle with David Frank's J/112e Leon during the week, Adam Gosling's JPK10.80 Yes! won IRC Class 3 on Friday, and in so doing, scooped his sixth overall Black Group victory.

On Friday, both boats started side-by-side at the pin end of their committee boat start line, with Leon initially getting away to a narrow lead which she defended vigorously. 

Yes! got past at a windward mark, then stormed away on a tight spinnaker reaching leg before stretching away to the finish.

"It was a lovely race today, in a reasonable breeze with an interesting course that included a reaching leg which suited us well," said Gosling.

"To me Cowes Week differs from most regattas that have windward-leeward courses.

“Here, it's about all points of sailing, with a lot of navigational challenges.

“It's good to have those extra tactical processes and Cowes Week is like a three-dimensional game of chess."