Round the Island Race 2011 win a chance to fire starting signal

by Peta Stuart-Hunt on 19 Apr 2011 Round the Island Race 2011 takes place on Saturday 25th June. The 80th Anniversary Race starts and finishes in Cowes, Isle of Wight.

Help the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, the official charity of this year’s J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, raise £31,500 and get six boats with eight crew members virtually Round the Island through its new ‘BUY A MILE’ fundraising initiative.

How does it work?
Each of the 30 young people racing on the six competing Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust yachts in this year’s Round the Island Race will be looking to sell 50 virtual race miles, before they cross the finishing line on Saturday, 25th June.

Every mile purchased will move the chosen virtual yacht forward one mile and you can track each boat’s progress online. Miles can be purchased at different values from £10 - £50 and there is the added appeal that if you buy your mile before 1st June 2011, you could be firing the starting gun on the steps of the Royal Yacht Squadron at 5.50am on the 25th June, with our soon-to-be-announced celebrity race starter.

To make your donation, go to the website and select a boat and crew member you would like to support and buy a virtual mile of the Race. You can also choose to get Trust Patron Dame Ellen MacArthur virtually round the Island, as she will also be joining the young people on the water again this year.

For the 2011 edition of the Race, Ellen will be competing on Moonspray, the Trust’s GibSea 44. Last year she had a great day on the water with the young people from the Trust, finishing 493th overall in the ISC standing and 17th in class. 'It's fantastic to be able to offer 30 young people in recovery from cancer the inspirational experience of competing with up to 16,000 other sailors in Britain’s biggest one day sailing event. I hope through the ‘Buy a Mile’ fundraising we can help many more young people in their recovery from the illness in the future'. Dame Ellen MacArthur

If all the miles are bought, it will enable the Trust to take another 63 young people sailing in 2012, helping them to regain their confidence on their way to recovery from cancer and leukaemia.

Since J.P. Morgan Asset Management became title sponsor of the Round the Island Race £350,000 has been raised for good causes. With the Island Sailing Club and the other race partners involvement, the plan is to increase this to figure to £500,000 by the end of 2011.

The donation process is quick and secure and you don’t require a Facebook account to donate. Alternatively you can phone the Trust and donate directly on +44 (0)1983 297750. Donate online here

Henri Lloyd launches 80th Anniversary Official Race Merchandise Range
Henri Lloyd is proud to be associated with Britain’s favourite yacht race and one of the largest and most popular annual sailing events in the world, the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.

This year marks the 80th Anniversary of the Race and, to mark the occasion, a special commemorative logo has been created and is being used on all items comprising the official 80th Anniversary Race clothing range from the Official Technical Clothing Partner, Henri Lloyd.

The range includes the Cipher Jacket, Cipher Vest, Rigger Hoodie, T-Shirt, and Fast-Dri Cap. 10% of the purchase price of each Cipher Jacket sold will go to the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, the official charity for this year's J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.

The official merchandise range is available from 21st April 2011 to order exclusively online and at selected Henri-Lloyd stores in Cowes, Isle of Wight, Lymington in Hampshire, and Carnaby St, London. There will also be a direct link from the official J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island website.

Standard entries close on 28th May. Round the Island Race website