Displaying items by tag: Round the Island Race
Big Winds for 80th Round the Island Race
Guests included Commodore of the Race hosts, the Island Sailing Club, Mr Rod Nicholls, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Ben Ainslie, Mike Perham and Jessica Watson, Tom Richardson, Julian Everitt, and Raymarine's weather guru Libby Greenhalgh.
Direct quotes from those interviewed at today's press conference:
Ellen MacArthur
"I think this Race is special because I live on the Isle of Wight, that is a big reason for me. Also, it was one of the first races I did in my Mini Transat boat and it's around the Isle of Wight which is beautiful. I think what has made it special for me over the last few years is because of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and I cannot think of a better way of racing round the Island than with these young people who are a) having fun, and b) truly inspirational.
"The Cancer Trust is a very special charity; we help young people cope with their illness by taking them out on the water and building their confidence. Everyone who sails knows just how special it is to be on the water because it is an amazing feeling of freedom. I think that having 1,908 boats racing tomorrow and if everyone is aware of what we do and supports us in some way, that makes a huge amount of difference.
"First and foremost, the huge benefit the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust gets from this Race is the young people out there having an adventure, and it really is an adventure because it is 50 miles starting and finishing in the same place. It is an amazing opportunity for those people and they love it. But is also important for us to be the official charity for the Round the Island Race because to have the support of the race, thousands and thousands of sailors out there all taking part in the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, and they feel like they are all sailing for the Trust and that was crucial to us and that is something we are going to build up over the years but to be here and have that fundraising in what are difficult financial times is absolutely key."
David Poskitt – EMCT sailor
"I did the Round the Island Race last year so I know more or less what to expect. Sailing with the Trust sort of proves to me that because I have an illness it doesn't mean I can't take part in sports like sailing. Also, because there's a lot of teamwork involved in those you sail with, you build up great friendships."
Gary Copeland from Derbyshire– was the record-breaking entry at number 1876 (final entry figure is 1908)
"We have a Cowes Classic, built in 1962 next to Lallows Boatyard in Cowes. I've never ever done it before but my sister Gill has, so she's the expert. We are really looking forward to being part of this amazing event. Our boat is based at East Cowes but we commute every three weeks from Derbyshire."
Julian Everett – Racing Shallot, sister ship to Glass Onion.
"I have won the Gold Roman Bowl once in Glass Onion in 1982. As far as favourable conditions are concerned I really don't think it matters. It doesn't matter if it is blowing hard or light. You don't race anybody else you just try and get round as fast as you can."
Richard Simmonds: "In some ways over the past 80 years, everything's changed but nothing has changed at all, and a lot of that is due to where we are standing right now and the people of this Club."
The Charity Cup is presented for the most money raised for the charity by an individual. Dennise Shepherd raised £6,000 for Breast Cancer Care for her 201 Race and she wins the Charity Cup. To a round of applause Dennise said, "I feel a bit of a fraud because my husband and my parents did most of the fund raising while I just had a lot of fun."
Gold Roman Bowl winners
Tom Richardson 1965 – "We won on Firebrand which was built in Lallows, Cowes. A beautiful varnished Sparkman and Stephens boat. We had a great race that year and managed to pull of a result and won it. But tomorrow Hamish and I will be racing her again, sadly without Dennis Millar who is no longer with us, but this time with Ed Dubois who now owns her.
Julian Everitt 1982 – won the Gold Roman Bowl on Glass Onion
"We won the event by seven seconds but we didn't know until later. This year we are on the sister ship – Shallot. Potentially competitive but it is all about tidal gate and where you are at the time. You don't race the competitors you just try to sail your own fastest race, and try to avoid everybody. That is the key."
Brian Appleyard 2010 – won the Gold Roman Bowl in 2010
"Interestingly we had no idea how well we were doing. We were in close contact with several boats of a similar handicap all the way round. We thought we'd beaten everything we could see but what the big boats were doing, we had no idea. I think it will be tough again this year because there seems to a lot of small boats with huge amounts of sails and they are going plan away like mad and we don't do that. We are hoping for about 15kts."
Michael Perham – British teenage solo sailing star
"We are sailing quite an average boat really and there are lots of average boats out there which can be so competitive so we hope to have a great day."
Jessica Watson – Australian teenage solo sailing star
"First time here. This is also the first time sailing in the UK. We call a big fleet back home a couple of hundred boats but this is amazing."
Richard Simmonds: You are nothing without winning the Gold Roman Bowl to add to your trophy and medal cabinet!
Ben Ainslie
"I have tried to win it lots of times. I feel a bit of a fraud turning up to this event because there are so many winners from the past so I think I need to have a bit of a chat with these offshore experts over here (Ellen, Michael Perham, Jessica Watson). I am on a potentially competitive boat this year – a brand-new Ker 40 KERONIMO which has been going well on the local racing circuit plus we have a really great team onboard including Will Greenwood who knows a bit about winning Rugby World Cups. I think we are going to be quite heavy but by the sounds of the forecast we might be okay tomorrow. We're looking for 25kts."
Libby Greenhalgh – presenting the Raymarine Weather Briefing at the ISC this evening at 1800 hrs
"I think at some point someone will be smiling because the sun will be out at the end of the day. We are expecting a building breeze. It will start out about 15kts and will potentially increase to 20-25kts especially round the back of the Island with the south-westerly creating nice big waves; there'll be plenty of excitement. Definitely put your oilies on!
"Basically you have a low pressure moving in creating a bit of an overcast, drizzly start and as we go through the day and the skies clear, just expect a bit of a thermal enhancement which will add 4-5kts to the forecast, so definitely expecting that to continue, and this will in some ways perhaps favour those smaller boats in the building breeze."
Record-Breaking Round the Island Race Gears Up
This epic event, dubbed 'Britain's favourite yacht race' has attracted a record number of entries this year, now standing at a phenomenal 1,908 since entries closed last Saturday.
Rod Nicholls, Commodore of the Island Sailing Club, reflects the mood of everyone involved in this year's Race, saying, "We're all very excited at the prospect of welcoming a record fleet on the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes early on Saturday morning. We're hoping for good sailing conditions to help get everyone away on time and safely round the Island."
The first start is at 0600 when the gun will be fired by TV personality Denise van Outen to commence a series of class starts lasting one hour 40 minutes that sees eleven different classes of boat set off on their epic one-day racing adventure.
The first finisher, taking line honours, but not necessarily winning the famous Gold Roman Bowl, is expected to cross the finish line back in Cowes at around 0930 after completing the 50 nautical mile westabout course. Lionel Lemonchois, a former winner of the Route du Rhum in 2006 and 2010, could be the first skipper celebrating. He is racing in this year's J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race on the 50ft Trimaran Prince de Bretagne. Another of Lionel's claims to racing fame is as part of the Groupama 3 team that won the 2010 Jules Verne Trophy with Franck Cammas at the helm, racing around the globe in 48 days 7 hours 44 minutes 52 seconds.
A Race for all
After the excitement of congratulating the crew taking line honours, the team at the Island Sailing Club will be finishing boats throughout the day right up until 10pm, the time that every boat needs to have completed the Race in order to qualify for a result.
This Race is a great opportunity to watch world-renowned sailors racing against families and first timers. Although the majority of the fleet will take many hours to complete the Race, the course records stand at 3hrs 53mins 05secs for a monohull boat, set by Mike Slade on ICAP Leopard in 2008, and 3hrs 08mins 29secs for a multihull boat, set by Francis Joyon in 2001.
One of the famous names to look out for on Saturday is Ben Ainslie, triple Olympic Gold medallist, who is setting out with a steely determination to win this year and add to his gold and silverware collection. Ben is being joined on board the Ker 40 Keronimo by ace navigator Mike Broughton and Trimmer Mark Campbell-James amongst others. The ex-World Cup Rugby player Will Greenwood has also signed on as crew and will be lending a hand to this high profile team.
JP54 is the straightforward name given to a top-of-the-range fast cruiser-racer designed, and skippered in this year's Race, by Jean-Pierre Dick. He has won the 2010-2011 and the 2007-2008 Barcelona World Race as well as wearing the winner's garland at the end of the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2005.
Commenting on his entry into this 80th Anniversary Race, Jean-Pierre Dick said, "I have always really wanted to take part in this very fine event, which is certainly one of the best English yachting races. I will be discovering the Round the Island Race for the first time and I am really looking forward to taking part in this sailing festival. I got a lot of pleasure out of sailing in the Tour de Belle-Ile last May. So I am starting the cruiser racing exercise all over again, since it is particularly suited to the JP54. She is comfortable and fast. It will be simply an enjoyable moment with a crew of friends. Of course, our goal is to sail as fast as possible while enjoying the wonderful landscapes around the Isle of Wight, particularly the huge limestone cliffs. It's a magical island!"
Sir Keith Mills will be joined on board the TP52 Team Origin by double Olympic Gold medallist Iain Percy and Olympic Gold medallist Andrew 'Bart' Simpson whilst one of the world's most famous sailors, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, will be aboard a Clipper 68 for the circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight. Sir Robin was the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world in 1969.
The fairer sex is also well represented with some superb sailing talent in action. Two of the three Women's Match Racing Champions, Kate and Lucy Macgregor, are racing in Laser SB3s along with Hannah Mills who sails with Saskia Clark in the 470 class. They have all qualified for the pre-Olympics test event in Weymouth this August.
Helena Lucas, the 2.4m Paralympic sailor, is skippering a J109 as part of Team Volvo. Paul Goodison, Laser Olympic Gold medallist and 470 sailor Saskia Clark are also on a J109 but they're joined by sailing novices Denise van Outen and her friend, actor Chris Parker. Finally, steering another of the Team Volvo boats is Nick Dempsey, also on a J109 and not in his usual comfort zone! Nick is the Olympic RSX windsurf Bronze medallist and former World Champion, selected for Team GBR at the pre-Olympic test event in Weymouth.
Teenage solo sailing stars Jessica Watson and Michael Perham are teaming up to race together for the first time on a Bavaria 37 Cold Play.
Gipsy Moth IV, the historic yacht that was the home of Sir Francis Chichester when he sailed single-handedly around the world in 1966-67, is to be crewed by young sailors from UKSA.
Dame Ellen MacArthur is sailing on one of six Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust boats competing this year with young people in recovery from cancer, leukaemia and other illnesses. The Trust is the official charity of the Race in 2011 and 2012 and we wish them all well.
Whether they complete the Race in the allotted time or not, every single entrant in this year's historic Race will be awarded a commemorative 80th Anniversary tankard.
Channel 4 to Broadcast Documentary on Britain's Round the Island Race'
'Spectacular', 'awe-inspiring' and 'exhilarating' are all words attributed to the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race and if you were one of the 16,000 sailors who took part this year, you will have the chance to re-live your race through a two-part Channel 4 documentary airing this month. A must-watch for all sports and sailing fans, Part 1 will air Saturday 13th November 2010, at 7.30am on Channel 4 and Part 2 goes out on Saturday 20th November 2010, at 7.30am on Channel 4.
The Race
Every year in June over 16,000 sailors, from Olympic gold medallists and world champions to family crews and those trying their hand at racing for the first time, compete in this unique yacht race around the Isle of Wight that is organised by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes. In most racing events the top prize usually goes to the first entry across the finish line; this is where the Round the Island Race differs. The coveted prize is the Gold Roman Bowl that is won by the crew with the best corrected time, worked out through a handicap system. This means big or small, all boats have the opportunity to win the grand prize.
Highs and lows
The two-part programme, produced by Sunset+Vine|APP in association with Channel 4, tells the story of four very different personalities, each with special reasons to compete in the 2010 race. The first part of the documentary takes the viewer into the day-to-day world of each of the four sailors, as they prepare for the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK. The second part is filmed during the race itself with onboard cameras showing the highs and the lows as they compete against a fleet of some 1,700 boats.
The Cast
The first to feature is a professional multihull sailor, Loick Peyron. He is skippering the boat that crossed the finish line first in 2009. The team from OMAN SAIL are back to try and make it two in a row, racing one of the world's fastest sailboats. Can Loick repeat the team's success? The pressure is on!
The next character is Welsh surgeon Paul Rhys-Davies. Experience-wise he is a polar opposite to Loick. Paul is a newcomer to the world of sailing and hasn't even entered a race before! He is determined to finish his 50-nautical mile lap of the Isle of Wight with his rookie crew but their pre-race training doesn't go to plan and Paul is so nervous that he is unable to sleep the night before the race.
Having competed in the race numerous times, a man who understands the handicap system well is Cowes-based designer Jo Richards. For the 2010 edition he decided to design and build a small boat to race. He knew it would take much longer than most boats to finish the race, yet owing to its handicap rating, his boat named Moonshadow could still win the coveted Gold Roman Bowl. The story of Jo Richards begins with a race against time to complete the build of his boat, obtain a rating and make it to the start line.
The final competitor is competing not to win but to celebrate beating cancer. Dennise Shepherd is in recovery from breast cancer and has set herself the goal to complete the J.P Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care, the charity that supported her through her treatment. Dennise, from Chester, is used to sailing her tiny Mirror dinghy on a small lake, so competing in a fleet of over 1,700 yachts on open sea will be a massive and emotional learning curve.
Then tune in on the 13th and 20th November to see how they get on and enjoy this 'spectacular', 'awe-inspiring' and 'exhilarating' race from the comfort of your armchair.
Save the dates
Channel 4
Saturday, 13th November 2010 at 7.30am
&
Saturday, 20th November 2010 at 7.30am.
Update: Ireland Going Well In Round the Island Race
Ireland is off to a great start this morning in the Round the Island Race. ICRA Commodore Barry Rose is out by the Needles. He says: "Antix is doing super in Class 1. Mariners is fourth on the water and ahead of most her Class One. Roxy second to Rockall, probably third in class" More as we have it.
keep up to date here:
http://commodorescup.rorc.org/fleet-tracking/2010-live-offshore-tracking.html
Send good luck messages here:
http://www.afloat.ie/commodores-cup/item/13716-commodores-cup-send-your-good-luck-wishes-here/
Sailing Sojourn by BP Oil Boss Not So Slick
The Chief Executive of beleaguered oil giant BP has copped an unmerciful bashing in the press for taking the weekend off to sail the Round the Island Race around the Isle of Wight.
Tony Hayward is a part owner of the Farr 52 'Bob', formerly Bear of Britain, which finished fourth in Class Zero. News sites, blogs and the internet lit up with criticism of Hayward for hob-nobbing with 'millionaire yacht owners' in the Solent while BP's broken rig continued to spew oil into the Gulf of Mexico, with no end to the crisis yet in sight.
His participation even drew comment from the White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who said: "I think we can all conclude that Tony Hayward is not going to have a second career in PR consulting. This has just been part of a long line of PR gaffes and mistakes."
To see the depth of the ire, simply Google 'BP CEO Sailing' and take your pick...
Round the Island Ends on High Note
Everyone is celebrating this year’s Race as being one of the most successful on record. Not only did the weather gods play fair, the racing was extremely close throughout the day proven by the tight finishes in most classes and the competitors came ashore happy and proud of their efforts whether first in class or trailing the fleet.
For once, most of the boats finished before sunset and in a fleet of nearly 1700 boats, that’s pretty unusual.
From the 0500 start off the Royal Yacht Squadron line when ICAP Leopard, the current monohull course record holder powered her way up the Solent to the Needles, right through to the closing stages of the race, there was little time for the race management team at the Island Sailing Club to draw breath in order to record the finish times.
The two existing course record holders in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race have again triumphed today as IDEC, the multihull driven by Francis Joyon crossed the finish line at 09.34.05 - so her rounding was in 04h.24m.05s and her course record still stands at 3h.08m.29s. She was closely followed by the four Extreme 40s led by Oman Sail, The Wave Muscat at 09.37.33, then Oman Sail Masirah at 09.37.57, Team Metherell at 09.44.10 and then Ecover at 09.48.45.
ICAP Leopard crossed the line at 10.10.06 so her rounding was achieved in 05h.0m.06s, way outside her record of 03h.53m.05s. The ISC Commodore Bill Pimlott presented Mike Slade with a bottle of Champagne for taking the monohull line honours. Mike, chatting after the race, said: "We've had a glorious day's sailing as always and we're exceptionally pleased with the result considering we got hooked up to a lobster pot on the south of the Island for about two hours. Thankfully we had a young diver onboard who free-dived below and cut it off. We thought we had slowed up and when we saw the size of the obstacle we realised why. Sadly there was nothing in it!"
The exquisite J Class yacht Velsheda finished at 10.45.02. She started at 5am this morning. Built in 1933 in Camper and Nicholsons in Gosport, Velsheda is the most famous of the few remaining J Class yachts left in the world today.
Just after 1pm Simon Judge sailing his Westerly GK29 Growling Kougar was carefully treading his way over Ryde Sands with just one metre of water below the keel. "We're going well and seem to have caught up on some of the Sunsail fleet yachts, and have a few of Sigma 33s close by which is good for us because they rate higher." According to Judge he was currently in line to break his own Round the Island Race record which stood at nine hours. "If all goes well, we'll be in within eight and a half hours." We’re delighted to report that he made it in 8.48.40!
Angus Ball, the Gunboat 66 Coco de Mer skipper in the Multihull-Bridgedeck class, said they had an exciting time and were pleased to be mixing it with some of the Class 0 yachts that started 10 minutes ahead. Ball and his team have been campaigning the year-old boat extensively and have notched up some respectable results including a Gunboat class win at the Heineken Regatta earlier in the year.
The Silver Gilt Roman Bowl and JP Morgan Asset Management Salver for the top yacht in the ISC Rating System Division went to First Knight, a Beneteau First 25.7 owned and skippered by an ENT surgeon, Lindsey Knight, from Leeds.
Next year the race is taking place on Saturday June 25th. Importantly this will be the 80th Anniversary Race and the organisers are anticipating a record entry.
Full results and the Race Progress news from this year are on the Race website at
http://www.roundtheisland.org.uk.
The prizegiving is being held tomorrow, Sunday 20th June at the Island Sailing Club and all are welcome.
Folkboat Wins Round the Island Race
Ten hours since the first gun was fired in the 2010 J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, and finishing yachts are streaming into Cowes with half of the 1754 entries having completed the 50-mile marathon.
Unusually we have the winner of the Gold Roman Bowl, the top prize in the Race for the first overall on corrected time in IRC-rated classes. Nordic Bear is a Nordic Folkboat owned and raced by Brian Appleyard from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. He came second in IRC overall in 2009. This boat has beaten Madelaine who won the Gold Roman Bowl in 2007.
Since Francis Joyon’s IDEC claimed outright line honours as first multihull home in 04. 24.05 and first monohull ICAP Leopard completed her lap of the Isle of Wight half an hour later (05.0.06), the majority of the IRC fleets have also finished.
In IRC 0 the J-Class Velsheda is the provisional winner, with triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie second onboard J.P. Morgan Asset Management Prince’s Trust, and the Swan Desperado in third.
First overall in IRC1 is Willem Wester’s Grand Soleil 43 Antilope, ahead of the J/122 Jinja and Incognito. Antilope also heads up the IRC1A division, Incognito tops IRC1C, whilst IRC1B is led by Andy Iyer’s Beneteau First 40.7 Portia.
David Mcleman’s J/109 leads IRC2 and division 2B overall, with the Grand Soleil 37 Grand Slam topping IRC2A, the well travelled Dutch entry Winsome leading IRC2C, and Dave Cooke’s Sigma 38 Monet first in IRC2D.
Many of the larger ISC-rated boats have also finished their race, with first home the Bordeaux 60 Osprey of Nickolas Imregi, which also provisionally leads the ISC4 fleet on corrected time.
However, the winner of the 79th Round the Island Race could well still be racing – many of the Nordic Folkboats, Quarter Tonners and other classes traditionally successful in the competition for the famous Gold Roman Bowl IRC overall prize are currently sailing the final section of the race from Ryde to Cowes, and early indications are that 2010 could be another year when conditions favour the small boats.
Competitors have until 2200 to complete their race within the time limit, but winds in the Solent are still averaging 12-18 knots to speed the fleet home to the Island Sailing Club finish line.
All to Play for Round the Island
Britain’s favourite yacht race, the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race has started. It’s the 79th edition of this great event, the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK. Thirteen classes ranging from grand prix high tech boats such as ICAP Leopard and IDEC to a 20ft Jo Richards design started from 0500 through to 0640 covering a fleet of 1,754 yachts and some 16,000 sailors.
The current monohull record holder, ICAP Leopard helmed by her owner Mike Slade, was the first monohull to round the Needles. The first multihull to round those infamous rocks was the Extreme 40 Oman Sail, The Wave, Muscat skipped Paul Campbell-James. Just after 0600, the record-holding multihull IDEC, skippered Francis Joyon, rounded along with the Open 60 Artemis Ocean Racing and the TP52 Pace.
Dame Ellen MacArthur is on board Moonspray, an Ellen MacArthur Trust boat with a group of kids all in recovery from cancer and leukemia. They're sailing a Gibsea 44. Ellen says “All’s well, we’re passing Yarmouth doing about three knots,” probably the slowest speed that Ellen’s ever raced at! She’s having a lovely time though.
The four SailTime Charity Challenge yachts are racing hard. Mike Perham, the youngest ever sailor to go solo around the world when he was only 17 is racing on board Prostate UK as their newest Ambassador, has been coaching the crew in sail trimming and reckons they’re about an hour from the Needles.
Nellie, the oldest boat in the fleet (built in 1826) is past Hurst Point and doing well. All the crew are in good spirits and enjoying the race so far.
To keep abreast of all the latest Race news follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RoundtheIsland – use the hashtag #RTIR if you are posting tweets please - and keep checking the website for news at http://www.roundtheisland.org.uk
Almost 1,800 Boats to Sail Round The Island
The most popular race in the British Isles takes place tomorrow, with 1,754 boats heading around the Isle of Wight on a chaotic one-lap race. The fleet boasts a huge range of craft, from Francois Joyon's 30-metre trimaran Idec to a fleet of 14 Laser SB3s and everything in between.
Four Extreme 40 catamarans will line out, nine J/80s, three Class 40s, two Volvo 60s, a pair of TP52s and a host of other craft, including two of Ireland's Commodores Cup team, Antix and Roxy 6.
The course couldn't be simpler, one counter-clockwise lap of the Isle of Wight, but with the Solent's famous tides and light airs to contend with, this could be a long and tricky day on the water.
The official website is HERE, and this year the race is using a nifty tracker that utilises iPhones, Blackberries, laptops or other smartphones, with a downloadable app all you need for your boat to show up on the tracker. Details HERE. Very clever.
RCYC holds Irish Examiner Round the Island Race
Royal Cork holds its Irish Examiner Round the Island Race this Sunday, with three different courses for boats of different speed. Warning gun for all classes is 12.55pm.
The courses are as follows:
Optimists, RS Fevas, Taz - Spike Island(P).
Lasers, 420s, 29ers – Spit Lighthouse(P), Spike Island(P).
National 18s and White Sail Cruisers - No 18(P), No 20(P), Spike Island(P).
49ers, Multihulls, Cruisers 1, 2, and 3 - No 18(P), No 20(P), No 15(P), Spike Island(P).
