The Island Sailing Club, the organisers of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, are to welcome back last year’s Gold Roman Bowl winner, Giovanni Belgrano and Whooper. This duck-egg blue 1939 Laurent-Giles one-off, is owned and skippered by Giovanni who comments that he is bringing the same group of friends who are eager for another lap of the Isle of Wight on Saturday 2nd July.
Also back on the start line for 2016 is Alex Thomson skippering the 2015 IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss. When Alex competed in 2008 he was joined on board by none other than F1 driver Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2014 & current World Champion) and Ben Ainslie.
Alex’s new 60ft racing yacht has been designed by VPLP/Verdier and the Alex Thomson Racing Team and built at Green Marine in Southampton. The yacht has been built entirely of carbon fibre, using similar technologies to Formula 1, and has taken 40,000 man hours to build. Alex’s goal is to be the first British team to win the Vendée Globe in 2016-17. As it stands today, he is the only British entry for the next edition of the Vendée Globe.
One of British sailing’s golden girls and part of Team Volvo, Helena Lucas MBE, is returning to skipper a chartered Elan 450 Squire Patton Bogs. Helena made history claiming the 2.4mR Paralympic Gold medal at London 2012, becoming the first ever female winner of the male dominated Paralympic class and Britain’s first ever Paralympic sailing gold medallist. She is now continuing on the road to Rio 2016 on a quest for her second gold medal.
Racing in their own new class this year are the Fast 40+ boats of which five are currently signed up with more expected. Currently skippers include Peter ‘Morty’ Morton and Girls on Film, his new Carkeek 40 Mk3 Fast 40, Sir Keith Mills and his Ker40+ Invictus, Tony Dickin’s GP42 Jubileeand Michael Bartholomew’s Tokoloshe II, a 2009 GP42 modified.
They are joined by Andrew Pearce and Magnum 4, the next generation Ker40+ Grand Prix, a completely new hull design for greater stability and buoyancy forward for the downwind sleigh ride so she’ll be up on the plain faster. Andrew says that she’s longer, slightly wider and lighter than the previous Ker40 with an all-carbon construction and more sail area. Her deeper keel and rudder, greater width and 11 heavy weights on the rail, the righting moment will give faster upwind speed as well.
She will stand close to the top of the handicap range for these boats, which is 1.270. They are now over half way through the build, expected on the Hamble in the last week of April and will be ready for their first race in mid-May.
