Round the Island Race 2014 - The Great Race starts at 0630 on Saturday

by Peta Stuart-Hunt on 18 Jun 2014 Round the Island Race 2014 - Peta Stuart-Hunt provides an overview as the countdown to the longest day commences.

This Saturday, the 83rd edition of the Round the Island Race, hosted and run by the Cowes-based Island Sailing Club, will commence at 0630. The massive fleet will head off from Cowes on the 50 nautical mile course around the Isle of Wight. The Race, enjoying its 10th year of title sponsorship from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, started in 1931 with 25 boats and on Saturday 21st June - the longest day - there will be in excess of 1580 yachts competing.

The Race has come a long way since those early days and especially over the past ten years under the continuing expert stewardship of the Island Sailing Club, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and the family of Race Partners.

In order to bring the Race alive to its army of supporters around the world, skippers are encouraged to sign up to live tracking rtir.me/tracking, whilst families, friends and followers around the globe can follow the Race progress on the popular Live Blog, and there's a constant news output both on the Race website and on social media platforms.

This Race continues to retain a special place in sailors' hearts and its popularity continues to increase as organisers point to a seven percent growth in the number of 'first timers' signing up to experience one of the most iconic yacht races in the world.

The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is indeed the largest yacht race of its kind in the world and it is also one of the largest participation sports in the UK attracting over 15,000 sailors to its start line. Entries come in from a wide range of professionals and amateur sailors, across the generations and level of ability... and all competing on equal terms. It's a rare and special thing.

Weather guru predicts good sailing conditions
http://rtir.me/weather

Weather is such an important factor for organisers and competitors alike. Our Race Meteorologist Chris Tibbs has revealed that the latest long range weather outlook is predicting some good, if light, sailing conditions for the big Race.

'High pressure is expected to stay situated to the west of Ireland over the weekend of the 21st-22nd, blocking the normal progression of depressions and pushing them towards Iceland. To the south over Spain and south Biscay, further low pressure is expected to be stationary.

'We're expecting these settled conditions to give a light NNE-ENE wind, with a light sea breeze developing in the afternoon. There will be plenty of sunny spells, and temperatures should be in the high teens or low 20's ashore and 16°C on the water.

'It's certainly looking good at the moment with the jet stream migrating north - and being high pressure there's reasonable confidence that the pattern will stay for the next week to 10 days.'

Plenty of on-shore action
And so, the team shifts into to gear and headlong into the pre-Race countdown. As well as all the excitement on the water as we welcome back some of the greats such as multihull record-breaker Sir Ben Ainslie (see below), Dame Ellen MacArthur and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, we also look forward to welcoming David Dimbleby, our Race starter, Olympians Luke Patience and Elliott Willis (see below), Pippa Wilson MBE and the foiling talents of the GC32 Team Richard Mille amongst others.

There is also a host of fabulous shoreside activity to keep family and friends of all ages occupied over the Race weekend. The Red Funnel Food Festival with its cookery theatre and the Festival of the Sea being celebrated by businesses al over the Island.

On Saturday, Volvo will have 2012 Silver medallist Luke Patience and his 470 team mate Elliot Willis (2 x World Champion) who are campaigning for Gold in Rio 2016 in the Men's 470 class on their stand signing autographs from 3pm.

Sir Ben Ainslie will also be making a very special appearance on the Henri Lloyd stand in the Race Village between 5-6pm on Saturday.

Capture your Race with Chart Art!
For those of you looking for a unique and attractive way to capture the memory of racing in this year's RTI Race, consider Chart Art!

Celebrate and recall your 2014 J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race with a personalised chart of the Isle of Wight, complete with your yacht's individual race track, the event title, date, yacht's name, class and elapsed time.

Printed under license (UKHO), each chart is custom-made on canvas, stretched over a high quality box frame ready to hang. The colour and detail are amazingly sharp and vibrant, with the route taken from the Race tracker.

To order: Use the form on the website here http://rtir.me/chart
Please note: You must download the tracking app and register your phone before the Race on 21st June.

Free Water Taxis
In the meantime, thanks to J.P. Morgan Asset Management's support, Free Water Taxis will be operating again, throughout Cowes, during Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday afternoon and evening. The Folly Launch will also be free from midday Friday to midday Sunday - all the details are here. http://rtir.me/berthing

Jump on board and be a part of the Great Race!
To follow the Race in all its glory on Saturday, tune in to the Race website for Race tracking, brought to you by Next Generation Results, the Live and interactive Blog from the Media Team, and if you want to dip in and out, there's an hourly news summary.


The Island Sailing Club is grateful for the continued support of the Race Title Sponsor, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and the Race Partners for 2014: Dream Yacht Charter, Haven Knox-Johnston, Henri Lloyd, Nautica Watches, Old Pulteney, Raymarine, Red Funnel, Volvo Car UK.
Official Race website