Entries are now open for the 2024 edition of Britain’s Favourite Yacht Race, the Round the Island Race, which is being held on Saturday 15th June 2024. The annual Round the Island Race has become an iconic sporting event with the first race taking place in 1931. Competitors come from all over the UK and worldwide to follow the 50 nautical mile course around the Isle of Wight. Starting on the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes at 06:00, the fleet race westabout to The Needles, pass St Catherine’s Point, round Bembridge Ledge buoy, and back into the Solent to the finish line at Cowes. The race regularly attracts over 1,100 boats and around 7,000 sailors and is 1 of the largest yacht races in the world. The course records stand at 3hr 43min 50secs for a monohull boat, set by Mike Slade on ICAP Leopard in 2013, and 2hr 22mins 23secs for a multihull boat, set by Ned Collier Wakefield on Concise 10 in 2017. Race Director, David Atkinson, says:
“The Race Team are incredibly excited to launch this year’s edition of the race, and with an earlier date, it’s sure is to be an exhilarating start to the 2024 Summer Sailing Season. We carefully choose the start time and date to provide the optimal tidal conditions for the race, and with such a wonderfully varied fleet we want to ensure that all competitors can reach and round The Needles. “The race experience is so different each year and I think this is why our competitors are addicted to returning year after year. Also, I’d say the camaraderie out on the water is unrivalled; it’s such a pleasure to see so many sailors having such a great time.”
This year, the RNLI has been named as the Official Race Charity. All donations raised will go to the 7 stations involved in the race and specifically for the training of their volunteer crews. For more race information and to take advantage of great Early Bird Entry Deals visit the event website www.roundtheisland.org.uk.
