Round the Island Race
Introduction The Round the Island Race 2008, seen from the viewpoint at Blackgang, viewed north-west towards the Needles.Yachts participating in the 2010 eventThe '''Round the Island Race''' is an annual yacht race around the Isle of Wight. It starts and finishes in Cowes, and is organised by the Island Sailing Club. The course is about  long. It was first held in 1931, it was sponsored by JP Morgan Asset Management from 2005 but in 2017 Cloudy Bay took over as the Presenting Sponsor, the 2019 race was sponsored by Helly Hansen, Raymarine, MS Amlin and Chelsea Magazines. The race is generally chosen to be the Saturday in June with the most favourable tides; a date in late May or early July may be chosen if there is no suitable date in June.
History The race was the idea of Major Cyril Windeler, who commissioned a gold Roman-style bowl as prize for the winner. The first race, in 1931, had 25 entries. The silver bowl second prize was introduced a few years later when Chris Ratsey impressed Windeler with his good sportsmanship. The last race before World War II, in 1939, attracted 80 entries. In 2008 a total of 1750 boats took part. In 2022, more than 1100 boats took part.
Course The course runs all the way round the Isle of Wight.The course runs all the way around the Isle of Wight, with a total distance of .The course has varied slightly with buoys tried at the Needles and a requirement to leave No Man's Land Fort to port.
Race record ===Multihull/outright race record===It was in 1961 that multihulls first entered the round the island race and the record has since fallen considerably. Year Time Boat type Boat name Crew Ref20172 h 22 m 23 sMOD 70Concise 10 Ned Collier-WakefieldT Lawson20162 h 23 m 23 sMOD 70Phaedo^3Lloyd Thornburg 2013 2 h 52 m 15 s AC45 catamaran J.P.Morgan BAR Ben Ainslie, helm/skipper 2001 3 h 08 m 60 ft trimaran Dexia Eure et Loire Francis Joyon, skipper  Rodney Pattison, navigator 1986 3 h 05 m 60 ft trimaran Paragon Mike Whipp  Rodney Pattison 1985 4 h 04 m Nigel Irens 60 ft trimaran Apricot Tony Bullimore 1963 5 h 50 m Catamaran Snowgoose of Wight Don Robertson 1961 6 h 00 m Catamaran Snowgoose of Wight Don Robertson 1932–1960 Various Monohulls 1931 9 h 51 m Monohull Thomas White Ratsey===Monohull race record=== Year Time Boat type Boat name Crew Ref 2013 3 h 43 m 50 s 100 ft Farr design canting keel ICAP Leopard Mike Slade 2008 3 h 53 m 100 ft Farr design canting keel ICAP Leopard Mike Slade 2001 4 h 5 m 40 s Reichel Pugh 92 ft maxi Skandia Life Leopard Mike Slade  1931 9 h 51 m Thomas White Ratsey ===Outright record===The outright record as recognised by the World Speed Sailing Record Council on behalf of International Sailing Federation has in the past also been the race record. Year Time Boat type Boat name Crew Notes and refJune 20171 h 17 m 17 sCatamaranRed Jet 6Howard RayCasey SheargoldBen CandyMotorised vessel - not sailing July 2023 1 h 56 m Monohull  Oliver PendletonSimon Schofield Fully electric record attempt August 2012 2 h 21 m 25 s MOD 70 Foncia Michel Desjoyeaux Set during Cowes Week November 2001 2 h 33 m 55 s Catamaran PlayStation Steve Fossett, skipper Stan Honey, navigator Standalone record attempt June 2001 3 h 08 m 60 ft trimaran Dexia Eure et Loire Francis Joyon, skipper  Rodney Pattison, navigator  Set during round the island race 1994 3 h 35 m Trimaran Lakota Steve Fossett, skipper  Set during round the island race
Gallery Image:RoundTheIslandRace2010.jpg|Some of the 1700 boats in the 2010 Round the Island Race.Image:Yachts racing during Round the Island Race 2010.jpg|Yachts flying spinnakers during the 2010 race Image:Round the Island Race 2009 off St Catherine's Lighthouse.jpg|The fleet rounding St. Catherine's Lighthouse in 2009Image:Round the Island Race 2009 off The Needles.jpg|The 2009 race, with yachts seen racing off The NeedlesImage:Round the Island Race 2009 off The Needles 5.jpg|The 2009 race, with yachts seen racing off The NeedlesImage:Round the Island Race 2009 off The Needles 4.jpg|The 2009 race, with yachts seen racing off The Needles
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