ICAP Leopard sets new Round the Island Race record

by Kate Fairclough on 29 Jun 2008
ICAP Leopard, the 100 foot super maxi yacht owned by Mike Slade this morning broke the JP Morgan Round the Island Race record for the fastest monohull to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight, becoming the first to ever complete the course in under four hours.

Crossing the race finish line at 09:53:05 (local), Mike Slade and the crew of ICAP Leopard shaved 12 minutes off the record set in 2001, by ICAP Leopard’s predecessor, Leopard of London.

With 1875 boats racing round the Isle of Wight in a westabout direction, the JP Morgan Round the Island Race is the largest race of its kind in the world, and was the event at which ICAP Leopard made her debut last year. She has since gone on to break the record for the Rolex Fastnet Race, narrowly missed out on winning the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and broke the Transatlantic speed sailing record for yachts with powered sailing systems on the 3rd June.

Earlier this week ICAP Leopard broke the race record for the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race, and today proved that Farr-designed ICAP Leopard was fully capable of breaking the JP Morgan Round the Island Race record, given the brisk weather conditions. ICAP Leopard was today racing in support of cancer charity ‘Prostate UK’ in recognition of Kit and Susie Hobday’s ‘Ignorance Isn’t Bliss’ Campaign.

In her usual style, ICAP Leopard was skippered by owner Mike Slade, with an impressive professional line-up of America’s Cup and round the world sailors onboard for the JP Morgan Round the Island Race. Mike Slade has now broken the monohull record on four occasions, firstly in 1991 racing Ocean Leopard, aboard Hoya Longobarda in 1996 and then in 2001 aboard Leopard of London circumnavigating the island in four hours, five minutes and 40 seconds.

Mike Slade, Chief Executive of London based property company Helical Bar plc, commented:

'We had an excellent race today; great conditions for us, with a fantastic blast round the back of the island from the Needles right round to St Catherine’s with a top speed of about 25 knots. The great thing about finishing in under four hours is that you are still racing in favourable tide. Today’s wind direction however could have been better, so there’s certainly still room for improving on this record in the future. The JP Morgan Round the Island Race is a wonderful event with boats of all shapes and sizes taking part, and we’re delighted to have been able to raise the bar once more in setting a new record for fastest boat round the island.'

Following the JP Morgan Round the Island Race, ICAP Leopard will compete in several European events over the summer whilst also hosting a large number of corporate sailing days on the Solent.