ROUND THE ISLAND RACE 2021 Report
Once again the smallest boat in the fleet, the modified twin keel 1964 Alacrity 18 Eeyore has won the 50nM (93km) Round the Island Race.
The Island Sailing Club put on a spectacular 90th anniversary party for Round the Island Race. The huge fleet of over 1200 boats showed how much people love taking part in this event. On the water there was everything from flat calm to 25 knot gusts, fog and sun. As with every Round the Island Race, nothing compares to the sight of the fleet stretched out around the stunning Isle of Wight coast.
Eeyore’s crew with Jo Richards, centre and Pip Har, left
Eeyore, a local Cowes boat, has secured back-to-back victories in the Round the Island Race and retained the prestigious Gold Roman Bowl which she won in 2019.
Owner and skipper of Eeyore, Jo Richards said: “The thing with Round the Island Race is that it’s like buses, you wait years and years and then two come along consecutively. Interesting race yesterday, we had a shocking first leg down to the Needles and luckily there was a little bit of a lull under the cliffs and we got back into our class and from then on it was really tight. When we got to Bembridge Ledge having got the rating list out we knew we had to finish a minute and a half ahead of one boat and three minutes ahead of another boat. It was pretty tense the whole way back and being the smallest boat in the fleet you’ve got no control if a 55ft boat sits on top of you. It was only when we got back to shore and people starting texting that we thought we might have won. A great day out.”
Meanwhile, the Alan Buchanan designed Cherete has won the Silver Gilt Roman Bowl, awarded to the first boat overall in the ISCRS divisions.
Owner and skipper of Cherete, Brian Haugh said: “We had a totally unexpected result and we were late getting to the start line. This was our tenth Round the Island Race, we had a great day and it felt like normality had resumed.”
Cherete crew and Pip Hare taken at the prize giving Sunday 4 July at the Island Sailing Club in Cowes
Peter Cunningham’s multihull MOD70 PowerPlay was the first to finish the race with a time of 4hrs 11mins 01secs. A light start to the race prevented any chance of beating the race record, which was set by PowerPlay, as Concise 10 in 2017 (2hrs 22mins and 23 secs). PowerPlay finished this year’s race ahead of the ULTIM Actual and the 32m trimaran IDEC. T’ala owned by David Collins was the first monohull to finish the race with a time of 6hrs 11mins 36secs.
The Island Sailing Club would like to thank their race partners for their support: Haven Knox-Johnston, Helly Hansen, Marlin Leisure Marine, Raymarine, Chelsea Mugazines and Cowes Harbour Commission. There are openings for new partners in 2022 and beyond; email sponsorship@islandsc.org.uk to start the conversation.
Images © Paul Wyeth
The race in 2022 will be on Saturday 25 June.
Our RTI 2019 report is HERE
Jolie Brise – the 1914 Le havre Pilot Cutter and Fastnet pioneer adding a bit of grace
The fleet passing the Needles going anticlockwise round the Wight