Feature
It was a mischievous idea from Major Cyril
Windeler back in 1930 that led to the birth
of the iconic Round the Island Race that
we know today. The Major, a keen member
of ISC, was the one who suggested a
handicap race around the Isle of Wight to
cater exclusively for smaller boats, from five
to 25 tons. It may have been a quiet joke at
the expense of the Royal Yacht Squadron
- who had specified that their members
must own a yacht of a minimum 30 tons.
But whatever the Major’s private
motivation may have been, the first
race duly took place in 1931, with just
25 entries – and it was indeed one of
the smaller boats that won: a 22-foot
Cornish fishing boat named Merry
Conceit, skippered by Peter Brett, who
had bought it with his friend Henry
Trefusis for the princely sum of £45.
The winners became the first to be
awarded the now-legendary Gold
Roman Bowl, which was copied from
the one that Major Windeler had seen
on display in a goldsmith’s near the site
of a Roman wharf in London, having
been dredged up from the River Thames.
The Major loved the design so much
that he ordered a replica to be made
by Bruce Benzie, the Cowes jewellers.
It wasn’t until 1939, though, that
Major Windeler finally managed to win
the trophy himself, sailing a seven-ton
auxiliary cutter Kalliste. After his triumph,
there followed a break of seven years
for the race, during the period when all
private and leisure sailing was banned
for the duration of World War II.
The race resumed in 1946 under Major
Sir Philip Hunloke as Commodore,
and from that time, entry numbers
steadily increased, from 105 in
1950, to 1,309 in the mid 1980s.
A superb turnout of 1,813 was seen in
1989, the Centenary of the Island Sailing
Club - but even that total was exceeded
in 2008, with a record 1,875 entries.
Handling the details
Until the mid 1970s, the event
demanded maximum dedication from the
race officers, as the race had no specified
time limit. In fact, senior Island Sailing
Club members have vivid memories of
keeping a lonely vigil in a launch until
long after dark, awaiting the stragglers! In
those days, three green lights on a pole,
powered by a car battery, marked the line.
Nowadays, the ISC race management
team, afloat and ashore, numbers over
160, whilst the race itself regularly attracts
over 1,400 boats and around 15,000
sailors - making it one of the largest
yacht races in the world and the fourth
largest participation sporting event in
the UK, after the London Marathon
and the Great North and South Runs.
Competitors come from all over the UK,
other parts of Europe and as far away as
the USA to follow the 50 nautical mile
course round the Island. Starting on the
famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in
Cowes, the fleet races westabout, to The
Needles, round St Catherine’s Point and
Bembridge Ledge buoy, and back into
the Solent to the finish line at Cowes.
For spectators, it’s a great opportunity
to watch elite sailors racing against
less experienced enthusiasts,
families and sailing clubs – from
vantage points both on the Isle of
Wight and over on the mainland.
Techno-transformation
Race management procedures have
also become unbelievably faster over
the years. In the early 1970s, the General
Electric Information Service Company
began to organise race results, which
meant the onerous task of calculating
times and rating factors did not have to be
carried out manually. A week before the
race, the hefty GEISCO equipment would
arrive to be installed in the Club’s reading
room and it would take engineers a full
day to set up the system and connect it
to lines specially provided by the GPO.
Results would not be calculated until
the final deadline of 9.30pm, with the
lucky winners being called out by the
Club Secretary the following morning.
Thanks to the latest technology,
though, even those who can’t get
to watch in person can keep an eye
on the race’s progress on the ISC
website, via a live text commentary
and unique boat tracking facility.
These days, the results are processed
by Next Generation Results who can
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