Multiple J/Crews silver in wet & wild Round the Island Race

Round the Island Race © RTI

It was certainly a race to remember with crews battling the heavy conditions, especially around the Needles and the reach to St Catherine's Point. Most boats could be seen with single or double-reefed mains and J4 jibs or even bright orange storm jibs!

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 Coast Guard teams for their assistance and cooperation 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 the race."

Race Safety Officer and Station Manager at Cowes RNLI, Mark Southwell said: "The sailors who competed made the right call and had a challenging, but no doubt enjoyable race they'll remember. Those who canceled or retired as they sensed conditions approaching the Needles also made the right decision.

"Sailing is a safe sport undertaken by responsible individuals who are more than capable of judging wind, sea state, boat and gear condition, and crew experience and ability, and then deciding whether it is right to put to sea or continue to race. Yesterday was a good day for safety at sea. This is a race for everyone and everyone made the right call. We thank you for that."

Local Cowes resident Peter Morton, owner and skipper of the TP52 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 quarter-tonner called Odd Job which was the smallest boat in the fleet, so this year was very special for me."

As it turns out, it was a race for the few, not the many. There were record retirements across the fleet, not surprisingly given the 20-30 kts gusting higher at The Needles in an adverse current!! Steep, breaking waves of the 10-15 foot variety with "no backs" meant helmsmen had to be careful to not let the boat slam down the backsides.

For those J/Teams that braved the conditions, they ended up doing very well as a whole. In IRC 1A- Uneco de Meester's J/122 OTRA VEZ took second place. In IRC 1B- James Chalmers's J/112E HAPPY DAIZE took the silver medal as well and Andrew Harmer's J/120 J-FEVER took fourth.

In IRC 2A- Alain Waha & Matthew Waite's J/99 FURTHER WEST ended up fourth. Then, in IRC 2B- John Smart's J/109 JUKEBOX was 2nd.

For the J/105 class, it was Richard Newsom's JAVELIN winning, followed by Ian McMillan's ONLY JUST AN EEJIT in 2nd and Jim Wicks's DIABLO-J in 3rd place.

The J/109 class was won by John Smart's JUKEBOX, with Goodman-Simpson/ Mcconnnel/ Clandlion's KARABOUDJAN in 2nd, and Mike Weinman's JE T'AIME JAMI in 3rd position,

Finally, for the all-encompassing J/Boats division, winning was Chalmer's J/112E HAPPY DAIZE, with Smart's J/109 JUKEBOX taking the silver, and Waha & Waite's J/99 FURTHER WEST earning the bronze.

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