Winds of 54 knots really took a toll on the 2024 Round the Island Race – Yachting World fleet

However, the current extreme conditions had greatly reduced the number of starters and finishers, and after eight hours of racing, only 61 boats had completed the course.

The first to complete the course was Irvine Laidlaw’s Gunboat 80 Highland Throwwhich recorded an impressive elapsed time of 3 hours 39 minutes 5 seconds.

Ship captain Xavier Mecoy said after finishing: “[The] The boat is only a year old and this was the first time we had sailed it in a light breeze, we had never had 2 main reefs before so it was quite exciting and we spent quite a lot of time sailing headless. because it’s safer.



“We sometimes charge around the course at a boat speed of 30 knots.

“It’s a fantastic race and attracts a lot of entries, who wouldn’t want to do it if they could? Island Sailing Club puts a lot of effort into making it a great race, thank you.”

The first monohull in existence was the Cowes-based TP52 Famousowned by Peter Morton, who finished more than 40 minutes ahead of the nearest monohull yacht in a time of 4 hours 21 minutes 20 seconds.

54 knots on the Needles

Although the weather initially looked fine when the first fleet departed from the Royal Yacht Squadron at 0600, conditions quickly deteriorated to more extreme than many had anticipated. The Needles Battery wind station recorded a gust of 54 knots from 0700 and steady winds of 39-45 knots from the southwest.

This caused severe sea conditions to the south of the island which caused many boats to start choosing to turn around before the Needle. Fewer than 100 vessels in the IRC and ISCRS fleets (the majority of which are monohull vessels) are listed as going around Jarum.

Many of those retired reported sail damage, especially torn mainsails. There has been at least one collision off the coast of Yarmouth, although no other major incidents have been reported. Local RNLI crews and Independent Lifeboats have been in the waters across the Solent and south of the island to support the fleet throughout the day.

This race usually attracts large groups of families and amateur crews, for many it is the only race they can enter all year. The build-up forecast in the previous week had caused many competitors to withdraw ahead of the race.

2024 Round the Island fleet cancelled

The day before, the organizers had also announced that eight classes would not start. Racing was canceled for Classic Racing Yachts (ISCRS), Diam 2 classes, Gaffers under 23ft, J/70s, both Bridgedeck Multihulls divisions, the smaller Grand Prix and MOCRA Multihulls, and the Sportsboat division.



Race safety officer Mark Southwell said on Friday 14 June, when making the announcement: “We will only cancel a fleet if there is a substantial likelihood that a significant portion of the fleet will experience difficulties and risk injury to crew, a situation that can quickly occur. flooding support services.

“For other fleets, with varying crew experiences and vessel types, each master is responsible for evaluating the crew’s capabilities and the suitability of his vessel to handle the expected conditions (including wind and sea conditions) and making appropriate decisions. decision whether their ships should take part.”

More than 350 ships have so far been reported to have been retired, or not started (DNC) – we will update with further news when we have it.