J/Teams Collect Major Silverware in Spectacular Round the Island Race
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- “What a weekend! This year’s Round the Island Race is one we won’t forget in a hurry! We’ve been longing for sunshine on race day for a few years now, and this weekend’s weather helped create a truly remarkable spectacle. The spinnaker start at the Royal Yacht Squadron was a sight to behold, and to see over 800 boats make their way round the Isle of Wight on such a stunning day was incredibly special”, said Island Sailing Club’s Race Director Dave Atkinson. “It was an amazing day and an exceptional race. It was just a glorious day, and everyone came off the water feeling a real buzz of being part of such a great race. There were some tricky seas, particularly at The Needles, and some serious tacking required off St Catherine’s. But, Round the Island is about giving our sailors a great test, and this year’s race did that too”.
The various J/Teams loved the conditions sailing the 55.0nm circumnavigation of the famous Isle of Wight. Here’s how it all went down in the various divisions.
IRC 1 Division- 73 entries
Winning this huge division was the J/112E JACK RABBIT from the Netherlands and sailed by Rutger Kruger and Caroline Van Beelen. Then, taking the bronze medal was David Franks British crew aboard his J/112E LEON.
IRC 1A Division- 26 boats
Taking fourth place in this large fleet was Cornel Riklin’s J/111 JITTERBUG.
IRC 1B Division- 20 boats
Aside from winning this division, the J/112E JACK RABBIT led two other sisterships in the top four spots! Third was Franks’s J/112E LEON and fourth place was Alistair Clarke & Will Skinner’s J/112E HAPPY DAIZE. A great showing for this trio!
IRC 2A Division- 31 boats
Winning this enormous fleet was a Spanish team aboard the J/99 JALEO, sailed by Gonzalo Chavarri. They were followed by two more stablemates in the top six, including Adrian Johnson & Neil Angel’s J/105 FLAWLESS J in fifth and Alain Waha & Matt Waite’s J/99 FURTHER WSET in sixth place.
IRC 2 B- 27 boats
Twin J/105s sailed a strong race in the gorgeous conditions. Taking the silver medal was Andrew Roberts’s J/105 JIN TONIC, while Richard Newsom’s J/105 JAVELIN took sixth place.
ISC 4 Division- 72 boats
Winning the massive division was Stuart Bancroft’s J/122E JANGLE, loving the conditions and handily winning the race by 10+ minutes on corrected handicap time. Taking fourth place was Chris Masterson’s J/120 ASSARAIN III, about 10 min behind on corrected time.
J/70 Class- 7 boats
Taking on the challenge of sailing 55.0nm nonstop in a J/70 can appear a daunting task for some or a screaming adventure for others. The sailing conditions presented some long stretches for the J/70s to enjoy planing mode offshore- which would be a blast! In the end, all the boats finished in just over 9 hours and made it back by 1700 hours, in time for a few Pimms to celebrate on the Royal Yacht Squadron lawn party. Winning was Nina Luckmann on GBR 747. She was followed by Claudia Manser’s RYDE SCHOOL I in second place. Nils Theuninck’s Swiss crew aboard LIGHTFOOT finished third. Those results had to be a first for the J/70 class worldwide- two women skippers crushing it on a 55.0nm round island course and sweeping the top of the podium!
For more Round The Island Race sailing information
https://roundtheisland.org.uk/