Feature
“The Island Sailing Club is
very proud of its flagship
event and want to ensure
all competitors make full
use of the services on offer
to them, including the
fantastic tracker which
allows competitors to
create their own ‘race
within the race’.”
This stood until 2001 when Francis
Joyon and ‘Idec’ recorded a time of of
3 hours 8 minutes and 29 seconds - a
record that was not to be beaten until
2013, when Sir Ben Ainslie helmed his
AC45 catamaran to post the first sub-
three-hour race with an amazing time
of 2 hours 52 minutes and 15 seconds.
Three years later, Lloyd Thornburg’s
Phaedo 3 took an astonishing 30 minutes
off this record - a time that was beaten
again in 2017 by just 60 seconds
when Ned Collier Wakefield finished
the race in just 2 hours 22 minutes
and 23 seconds on Concise 10.
The current record holder, property
developer Mike Slade, has broken the
monohull record on five occasions, firstly
in 1991 sailing “Ocean Leopard”. He then
did 23 minutes better in 1996 sailing
“Hoya Longabarda” and further improved
in 2001 with “Skandia Life Leopard” at
4 hours 5 minutes and 40 seconds. The
lively conditions in 2008 enabled him
to break his own record once more in
“ICAP Leopard”, and the near-perfect
conditions of 2013 allowed ICAP Leopard
to shave a further 10 minutes off her
own record, posting an elapsed time of
3 hours 43 minutes and 50 seconds.
A race for all
Race organisers stress that Round
the Island Race is not just aimed at
elite sailors, and are keen to promote
wider participation from sailors of all
generations and experience levels. As
60
www.visitilife.com
a result, this year’s edition of the race
brings with it the new #ItsYourRace
campaign, encouraging competitors to
create their own ‘race within the race’.
Using the tracker, competitors can
select individual boats to follow and
race against, increasing the competitive
element within a 1600-strong fleet.
Marinas, clubs, friends and families
are all encouraged to create their own
‘race within the race’ under the new
#ItsYourRace campaign, which will be
running alongside the long-standing
message of the race, #RaceForAll.
Commenting on the 2018 race, Dave
Atkinson, Commodore of the Island
Sailing Club, said: “The Island Sailing
Club is very proud of its flagship event
and want to ensure all competitors
make full use of the services on offer
to them, including the fantastic tracker
which allows competitors to create
their own ‘race within the race’.
“We very much look forward to seeing
everyone on the start line on the 7th July
for another great Round the Island Race.”
Spectators can find many vantage
points, both on the mainland and Isle
of Wight, to watch the race progress.
The boats cross the start line at Cowes
in 11 separate groups, starting every
10 minutes from 06.30 until 08.10am,
heading in a westerly direction
towards Yarmouth. You can find more
information about where the boats
typically are at different times during
the day checking the website.
One thing’s for sure, the Race
continues to run true to Cyril Windeler’s
original aspirations – and everybody
still loves it when those small boats,
perhaps finishing well into the evening,
manage to carry off the top prizes.