From humble beginnings nearly a century ago, Round the Island Race has grown to become one of sailing’s most iconic annual events globally.
1930 A big ideaThe race was the brainchild of Island Sailing Club member Maj Cyril Windeler, who, in 1930, came up with the idea of creating a handicap race around the Island for smaller boats (5 to 25 tons).
The Island Sailing Club’s first race took place in 1931. The event attracted just 25 entries in its first year, with the successful skipper, Peter Brett, sailing to victory in his 22ft Cornish fishing boat, Merry Conceit, which he had bought for just £45.
1933 A dramatic finishDrama unfolded in 1933 when the leading yacht, Isaac Bell’s Rosemary IV, lost her mainsail just before the finish line. By setting a trysail, she just managed to cross the line 46 seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Felise. Meanwhile, Dr R. T. Cooke’s 32-year-old cutter, Enid, sprang a leak and sank off Alum Bay.
Event founder Maj Windeler went on to win the race himself in 1939, before the outbreak of World War II led to a ban on leisure sailing until 1946. The only other year the event has had to be cancelled is 2020, during the Covid pandemic.
By 1950, Round the Island Race had amassed 105 entries and it enjoyed a rapid increase in participation for the next three decades.
1954 First woman to winMrs Tobin, on Barbar, became the first woman to win the prestigious Gold Roman Bowl.
Over the years, many records have been set. Following the introduction of a multihull class in 1961, Don Robertson set the course record the following year at 5 hours and 50 minutes.
1970 In the Seventies, the race attracted the support of the then Prime Minister, Sir Edward Heath, whose boat, Morning Cloud, went on to win the race four times, three of them in consecutive years.
The race became more sophisticated during this time, with the General Electric Information Service Company beginning to organise race results, meaning the onerous task of calculating times and ratings didn’t have to be done manually.
1980 A record entranceParticipation continued to grow and, by the mid Eighties, a huge 1,309 entries were recorded for the race.
On the race’s 50th anniversary, Paragon, sailed by Mike Whipp and Olympic medallist Rodney Pattison, set a new record, finishing in 3 hours, 55 minutes and 28 seconds, which stood until 2001.
1989 The Island Sailing Club’s centenary yearAn incredible 1,813 boats turned out in 1989 for the Island Sailing Club’s centenary year.
Property developer and current record holder, Mike Slade, broke the monohull record on the first of five occasions.
Francis Joyon, on Idec, clinched the course record held since 1986, in a time of 3 hours, 8 minutes and 29 seconds.
2008 A record 1,875 boats turned out for this year’s event.
This year also saw a march forward in technology when declarations could be made by text messaging, sending the floating ‘dec barge’ system into retirement.
Technology continued to evolve year-on-year with the introduction of GPS tracking coming in 2010.
2013 The first sub-three hour winnerSir Ben Ainslie posts the first sub-three hour race to win Round the Island Race in his AC45 catamaran, finishing in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 15 seconds.
2015 Round the Island Race TVThe race’s own dedicated broadcast TV channel launched this year, enabling people to watch the action online from all over the world.
2016 Lloyd Thornburg’s Phaedo 3 slashes an incredible 30 minutes off the existing record to claim the title.
2017 A new recordNed Collier Wakefield, completes the course in just 2 hours, 22 minutes and 23 seconds to claim the course record by just 60 seconds. A record which still stands today.
The race didn’t go ahead in 2020, due to the Covid pandemic - the first cancellation of the event since World War II.
2024 Wet & Wild edition of Round the Island RaceIt was certainly a race to remember with crews battling the heavy conditions, especially around The Needles and the reach to St Catherine’s Point.
