Boisterous conditions during the 2024 Round The Island Race made for a thrilling race which provided challenges for both competitors and race organisers…
Some years the annual Round the Island Race is a gentle stroll around the Isle of Wight in gentle summer sunshine. 2024 was anything but…
This is the UK’s biggest mixed fleet race on the calendar but Saturday’s race saw strong winds, with gusts of up to lash the south coast meaning that a number of smaller classes were withdrawn before the race and many others retired.
The most extreme conditions were experienced in the pinch point that is the Needles Channel. Gusts of 50kn were recorded and wind over tide conditions at times made for truly intimidating conditions. In the end just 153 yachts completed the course with a remarkable 418 retiring.
In such conditions it was no surprise that big boats came to the fore and it was to be Irvine Laidlaw’s 80’ Gunboat Highland Fling that took line honours, making the circuit in an impressive 3h 39m.
Meanwhile the TP52 Notorious, owned and skippered by Peter Morton took monohull line honours and won IRC on corrected time, scooping the much coveted Gold Roman Bowl in the process.
Peter Morton, owner and skipper of Notorious said: “This is one of the world’s greatest races and every year I look forward to it. I’ve not had the boat that long but I’ve competed in Round the Island Race many times over the last 50 years in various boats I’ve owned.
“Yesterday was special and the toughest one I’ve done. It’s 40 years ago since I won the Gold Roman Bowl on a little 25ft boat called ‘Odd Job’ which was the smallest boat in the fleet, so this year was very special for me.”
An unsettled early summer in the British Isles provided a real headache for the organisers of the annual Round the Island Race, who woke up to the reality on Saturday of extreme conditions, Race Director, Dave Atkinson said: “This race was a challenge for both the competitors and the Race Team at the Island Sailing Club, with the safety and well-being of the crews being the main priority.
“We would like to thank the RNLI, independent lifeboats and coastguard teams for their assistance and co-operation before and during the race on Saturday. Despite the challenging conditions we only had nine incidents connected to the race which is less than previous years, this shows the seamanship of the crews and the correct decision making that went into undertaking of the race.”
For more information and full results, visit the official Round The Island Race website.
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