IT'S the little and large show as Skandia Life Cowes Week gets under way on the Isle of Wight today.

One of the first to sail into Cowes was this sailing catamaran followed by another much bigger twin-hulled craft, Red Funnel's high speed Red Jet passenger ferry.

The annual regatta is one of the busiest times of the year for the Red Funnel services linking Southampton and the sailing mecca of Cowes.

Many thousands of people will be flocking to the Island over the next seven days to watch hundreds of races on the Solent.