It was a Blast, the annual Round The Island Race, conducted by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes, Isle of Wight. Our first report is from the action at St Catherines Point where the waves were epic.
This is your weekly global sailing highlights show, the World on water, June 21, 2024.
Extreme conditions severely depleted the fleet of the 2024 Round the Island Race, with hundreds of boats opting not to compete or retiring in 50-knot winds.
Competitors in today’s 2024 Round the Island Race, an annual 50-mile circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight, faced one of the most severe conditions in years with gusts of over 50 knots recorded at The Needles, the westernmost point of the course.
The Round the Island Race traditionally attracts one of the largest fleets of any yacht race, and this year saw 939 boats originally entered.
However, today’s extreme conditions have severely depleted both the number of starters and finishers, and just 153 yachts completed the race with 418 retiring.
With two wins from two light airs races Doug DeVos’ Quantum Racing powered by American Magic crew made the best possible start to the 52 SUPER SERIES’ first ever races to be hosted by their home yacht club, the New York Yacht Club.
The fives times series champions, now led by tactician Victor Diaz de Leon with Harry Melges IV steering laid down a marker by winning Race 1 from the start line and then passing Race 2 early leader Gladiator on the second round to establish a clear overall lead after the first day of the XS 52 SUPER SERIES Newport Trophy regatta.
Underlining how fortunes pivot from one regatta to the next, Thailand’s Whitcraft family – who were tenth last month at what was for them a disappointing season opener in Palma – today delivered a third and a second – to lie three points behind the leaders.
After 8 days of crossing the Atlantic, the crew of the Maxi Banque Populaire XI succeeded in their mission: to reach Guadeloupe with the Olympic Flame of Paris 2024
Return to this moving arrival with an extraordinary welcome from the Guadeloupeans reserved for the entire crew and in particular for Marie-José Perec, first bearer of the flame on her native island.
Low cloud and a touch of drizzle made for a very atmospheric day in Silvaplana. With the wind not filling in until 14:00, there was sadly no time to run the highly anticipated Golden Ticket long distance race. This meant that Repschlager [Germany] and Jeremiah Mcdonald [New Zealand] could keep their 10th place spots and thus progress into the semi-finals. As the lightwind filled in, the racing was incredibly exciting, with critical importance of staying in the pressure and making no mistakes. Executing this to perfection were our two new European Champions, Mathis Ghio [France] and Maddalena Spanu [Italy]
.Team Vayu, the Whitcraft family crew from Thailand, kept their nerves and seized every opportunity they could, to win the XS 52 SUPER SERIES Newport Trophy today at the end of two dramatic last races contested in light winds off Newport, Rhode Island.
It is a powerful statement result for the crew which finished 10th from ten in Palma in May. With young Don Whitcraft steering, Palma Mallorca ace Manu Weiller stepping in as tactician along with Wales’ Will Best in as substitute navigator, Vayu overturned the three points deficit that they had behind Quantum Racing powered by American Magic going into today to lift the top trophy by two points ahead of Tony Langley’s Gladiator.
The Island Sailing Club is proud to have organised the globally renowned Round the Island Race for over 90 years.
The annual Round the Island Race, is something of a unique event in the sporting calendar and is the fourth largest mass participation event in the UK (after the London Marathon, Great North and South Runs). It’s rare to find a sporting occasion that encourages enthusiastic amateurs to compete against the elite pros and Olympians of a sport, all on an equal footing and around the same racecourse. This race does just that and celebrates the varied collection of sailors that compete, all of whom love to have a cracking day out on the water.
Few things can compare to the sight of hundreds of boats racing, whether you’re within the fleet yourself or spectating onshore from one of the many excellent vantage points on the stunning Isle of Wight coastline.
