By Isle of Wight Observer
Visit Isle of Wight is once again helping Cowes Week Ltd spread their
sustainability message. The Island’s destination management organisation has offered the use of their Red Squirrel electric bikes for the world’s most prestigious sailing event.
The ease of use and the environmental benefit of electric bikes meant that Cowes
Week Ltd were keen to continue the sustainability relationship with Visit Isle of
Wight and the Red Squirrel electric bikes.
This year’s competition will see Cowes and surrounding areas throng with
thousands of visitors from around the world. This year, attendance is expected to
be boosted by the competing teams of their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge – William and Kate – on the preceding Friday (9Aug), as
Cowes hosts the Kings Cup.
Back on dry land, the bustling nature of Cowes Week means that using Red
Squirrel electric bikes was an obvious choice for Cowes Week Ltd.
Laurence Mead, Cowes Week Regatta Director explained that the electric bikes
were invaluable:
“It’s a surprisingly long way from one end of the town to the other, particularly
when you’ve got to do it 30, 40, 50, 100 times. We’ve got our regatta office
literally one end of the Medina River and the boats two miles up the river, so
we’re always going up and down it and it’s a great way to get there.”
Laurence said that the environment plays an increasingly large part in the way
Cowes Week operates: “We’re very aware of our place on the ocean. We go up and down, racing our little boats, but the ocean’s a big place, an important place and it’s important to us always that we minimize our impact on the water, both in terms of the fuel we
use, and the amount of plastic we use.
“It’s a huge event with a lot of people coming. Last year we gave away free multi-use water bottles, that also has a big impact.”
Will Myles, MD at Visit Isle of Wight said: “Cowes Week is one of the biggest events on this island during the year, and we’re happy to partner with them, giving them our Red Squirrel electric bikes for the duration, allowing that sustainability message and the ability for their staff to get around the site with minimum carbon footprint on the event.”
Will emphasised that getting around by electric bike on the Island was easy: ‘Our motto is ‘Drive Less, See More’. [With] the Red Squirrel electric bikes, people are hiring them from the Guildhall in Newport, from Route 57 in Shanklin and various different locations across the Island, it’s a great way to get around.’
