AROUND THE ISLAND IN RECORD TIME!

North-powered clients top the leaderboard in 50-mile race around the Isle of Wight

The Round the Island Race in Cowes, UK is a fun and exciting distance race where sailors from all over the world test their racing skills around the Isle of Wight. This year, 1,342 boats started the counterclockwise race around the island, totaling just over 50 miles. The racing divisions were split into eleven starting groups which rendezvoused off of Yarmouth. With nine observation points, it was easy for spectators to catch the racing action. For many boats in the fleet, this would be their first race against such a large number of overall competitors.

Plenty of wind and a nice ebbing tide made for a quick race for those who had earlier start times and lighter hulls. Congratulations to our clients for a steadfast performance, including a record-breaking course time for MOD70 Concise (2 hours, 22 minutes, and 23 seconds), who took 1st in line honors and raised the benchmark for speed in this iconic offshore race. This year 95% of the boats that entered the race were able to complete it before the time limit.

Highland Fling XI with owner Irvine Laidlaw took 1st in the Monohull Division, winning the Observer Trophy & Decanter. Highland Fling XI also took the Silver Roman Bowl Trophy for placing 2nd in O/A IRC. Yes! with Adam Gosling took 1st Place in O/A IRC, and the Gold Roman Bowl & Cloudy Bay Decanter. Fast 40+ winner on corrected time was Sir Keith Mills’ Invictus, winning the Cloudy Bay Trophy for 1st place overall.

In the IRC division, more classic boat designs were racing for the best corrected time. Some sailors in the IRC divisions had already done this race before this year, so things played out as usual. The dying pressure after the start impeded on some expectations, but IRC sailors that had later start times still enjoyed their race, which for some was nearly 9 hours or so. Mandarin, an International Folkboat who ended up taking the overall win in Class 3, slowly pulled away enough to secure the race win.