Over 6,000 competitors and 1,100 boats are to race around the Isle of Wight on Saturday 1st July.
The first start for the annual Round the Island Race is scheduled for 08:00 and the starting sequence will be completed by 09:30 as the fleet heads west to the stunning Needles.
At the moment it looks like ideal Round the Island race conditions on Saturday with a strong westerly breeze – so the fleet will be tacking upwind to The Needles and then it’s likely we will see a sea of spinnakers after St Catherine’s Point.
There will almost certainly be fierce competition for Line Honours this year amongst the IRC Division 0 Fleet.
Especially between ‘Notorious’ Mini Maxi Mills 72, (see image) a local Isle of Wight boat, and the two Volvo 70 boats, ‘HYPR’ and ‘Tschuss2’ – we can’t wait to see the action unfold.
The official Weather Briefing will take place at the ISC on Friday 30th June at 18:00, all competitors are welcome.
The session will be live-streamed and available as a recording on the event website – www.roundtheisland.org.uk
Official Race Village
The Island Sailing Club are staging an Official Race Village in the Cowes Yacht Haven.
It is free to enter and will welcome all competitors, supporters, spectators and visitors to enjoy drinks and delicious food from 17:00 on Friday 30th June until late on Race Day.
Race Partners (B&G, Helly Hansen), Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, Project Q and the ISC Club will have stands offering race support, discounts, games and giveaways.
