The iconic Round the Island Race is a one-day yacht race around the Isle of Wight – an island off the south coast of England.
Organised by the Island Sailing Club, the race annually attracts more than 1,200 boats and around 10,000 sailors, making it one of the largest yacht races in the world.
Enter Race Now
Why do I enter the Race? Because I always do! I just love the race. It has to be the greatest spectacle. Long may it last
Behind the London Marathon and Great North and South Runs, it is the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK. Competitors come from all over the world to take on the circular 50 nautical-mile course.
Starting on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, the fleet races west to The Needles, round St Catherine’s Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy and back into The Solent to the finish line at Cowes.
Spectators can enjoy many vantage points, both on the mainland and the Isle of Wight, to watch the race progress. Those who cannot watch in person can keep an eye on the race’s progress on the website, social media and via the boat tracking facility.
Round the Island is a great opportunity to watch world-renowned sailors race against families and first-time racers.
Although the majority of the fleet take many hours to complete the race, the course records stand at 3h 43m 50s for a monohull boat, set by Mike Slade on ICAP Leopard in 2013, and 2h 22m 23s for a multihull boat, set by Ned Collier Wakefield on Concise 10 in 2017.
Nearly 200 prizes are awarded for the event, with boats of every shape and size competing to win individual class and overall trophies.
Nearly 100 trophies and cups are awarded to competitors each year and many of them have been in existence since the very early days of the race. The most famous is the Gold Roman Bowl, which has been awarded to the overall winner of Round the Island since it started in 1931.
There are many other wonderful trophies also up for grabs and their fascinating histories have been documented by two Island Sailing Club members, Rod Nicholls and Reece Nicholls, on a dedicated website.
Read more
