Isle of Sheppey Round the Island Race 2026

by Lee Marriott 15 Sep 06:04 PDT 12-13 September 2026

The weekend of the 12th and 13th September was once again the highlight of the sailing calendar for the tiny club with a big personality on the North Kent coast.

A later than usual start time due to tides which clashed with other established events did not deter 32 intrepid sailors to take on the mighty challenge of sailing around the Isle of Sheppey. The weather forecast was far more sedate than last years mega blast, with a SW'ly 10 to 15kts.

Whilst the main event takes place on the Sunday, racing to the north of the club takes place on the Saturday, with 3 races back to back for those that wanted to. The wind was forecasted to be similar to the big day, but clearly came through much stronger than expected. The 11 strong, mixed fleet of cats and monohulls all bar a couple of boats getting caught out by the strong gusts, capsizing or pitchpoling even in the flat water. The Racing was won by Multiple Island race winner Chris Goymer sailing a Sprint 15.

The big day arrived and it started off with zero wind, the anemometer not even spinning and the rain had started. Luckily it did not deter or dampen the mood. Once bacon butties and tea had been served (other refreshments also available) the rain had subsided and, just like a switch being turned on, the wind arrived and the racing set off with only a 5 minute delay to the first start.

With 3 separate starts taking place, slow, medium and fast handicaps each 30 minutes apart the first tranche of boats set off. It was a good clean start by all boats. Lee Marriott sailing a Zenith (155) creeping ahead but was closely followed by James Bell in a Laser/ILCA 7 (141456). The 2 boats made a bee-line for Warden point the first bit of head land 5 miles from the start line. The Aero 7 (4643) of Paul Halliwell took the route hugging the shore, the Snipe (3172) with Joe Warwicker & Andrew Service opting for the middle ground. All three tactics had merit, but neither paid and Two hours later we arrived at the Swale with the Zenith slightly ahead but within reach.

The Medium fleet had by now set off. Using the tracking system provided by TracTrac which had live, corrected to PY race position leader board of boats saw the Scorpion (1984) of Steven McCarthy and Delyth Hopkins claw at the Zeniths lead.

The fast fleet set off one hour after the initial start. Mainly full of fast cats the Nacra 20 FCS (217) of Kevin Dutch & Jason Clarke pushed the hyper space button and shot off with some serious pace, catching the slow fleet by Leysdown. For many it seemed he would have this in the bag... Unfortunately a broke gooseneck forced the boat to stop and conduct emergency repairs round the back of the island allowing the other Nacra 20 of Chris Goymer & Paul Wiseman to catch up and pass. The Goymer/Wiseman Nacra 20 didn't have an easy ride though. Chased down by the smaller Nacra 15 of James Oakley (only 12 years old!) and his dad Dave (not 12 years old!) as crew, managing to overtake them at one point when the Nacra 20 spinnaker exploded leaving just the head attached to the halyard.

The race then turned on its head. Rounding into the Swale boats hardened up into the wind, and from there it became a completely different contest, tacking our way up the channel as the tide finally turned in our favour and began pumping us along. Snaking up the river, tacking on the shifts and staying in the strongest tide, seemed to pay dividends. It was here that the lead of Lee Marriott in the Zenith vanished, not just to the Snipe but the Aero 7 of Paul Halliwell, and later the Scorpion.

Which brings you to the bridge, an obstacle you do not get anywhere else. The Kingsferry Bridge is too low to sail under, so the boats come ashore and a team of volunteers stand in the river, helping you capsize your boat before you wade through the river bed mud until there is water enough to sail out the other side. It is a strange sight in the middle of a national event, and a great experience to have.

The bulk of the fleets arrived at the bridge just before high water and were assisted by the bridge team in capsizing their boats and walking it under. This is one part of the race that makes it unique. The very experienced bridge team guided competitors under the Kingsferry Bridge and allowing them to continue the final 6 miles though the historic village of Queenborough, through Sheerness Harbour and the final run to the finish line.

For many it feels like the home stretch. No more beating, just fast reaching in very flat water. Those who missed the tide had a tough though. First timers Jay and George Brown sailing a Sprint 15 allowed the frustration of light wind sailing against tide get the better of them and hearts sank.

Thankfully young George Brown with his 'Winston Churchill' enthusiasm, and a stern talking to from the safety boat team, refused to give up and made his dad wait even longer for that well deserved beer. Their patience was rewarded with the return of some wind and now the ebb tide taking them home.

Chris Goymer & Paul Wiseman took line honours as first boat home. After five hours of racing, the Snipe, the Aero 7 and the Zenith crossed the line split by less than three boat lengths. Thirty miles around an island, and we were still within touching distance of each other. On a handicap fleet that close, staying with quicker boats was what mattered, and it gave the Snipe of Joe Warwicker & Andy Service the overall win by twelve minutes on corrected time. It is the type of racing you do not get anywhere else.

Paul Halliwell came 2nd in the Aero 7, and Steven McCarthy & Delyth Hopkins 3rd in the Scorpion and Lee Marriott 4th sailing the Zenith.

As Andy Service put it afterwards, "it was one of the best events of the season and one to do if you get the opportunity."

It was once again a challenging but highly rewarding event. If you have never done it then you should at least give it a go. A real tick in the box of life.

We would like to thank TracTrac & RayNet for their support, all the safety boat teams, bridge teams, and of course the kitchen and bar staff who made this such an enjoyable event. As special thanks to Joe Waricker & Jay Brown for their contributions to this report and Alex Creamer along with Romayne Goymer for the pictures.

Overall Results:

Pos	Fleet	Division	Class	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	PY Number	Start	Finish	Elapsed	Corrected	Pts
1	Slow	Monohull	Snipe	3172	Joseph Warwicker	Andrew Service	Bough Beech Sailing Club	1104	10.05.00	15.04.56	4.59.56	4.31.41	1
2	Slow	Monohull	RS Aero 7	4643	Paul Halliwell			1062	10.05.00	15.04.50	4.59.50	4.42.20	2
3	Medium	Monohull	Scorpion	1984	Steven McCarthy	Delyth Hopkins	The Chase Sailing Club	1042	10.30.00	15.25.18	4.55.18	4.43.24	3
4	Slow	Monohull	Zenith	155	Lee Stephen Marriott		IOSSC	1051	10.05.00	15.04.36	4.59.36	4.45.04	4
5	Slow	Monohull	ILCA 7	141456	James Bell		IOSSC	1103	10.05.00	15.28.14	5.23.14	4.53.03	5
6	Fast	Multihull	Nacra 15 fcs	74	James oakley	David oakley	IOSSC	715	11.00.00	14.31.02	3.31.02	4.55.09	6
7	Slow	Monohull	2000	21003	Alastair Moppett	Sarah Seddon	Bough Beech Sailing Club	1122	10.05.00	15.40.24	5.35.24	4.58.56	7
8	Slow	Monohull	RS200	1721	Mike Warwicker	Ewen Warwicker	Bough Beech	1053	10.05.00	15.21.49	5.16.49	5.00.52	8
9	Fast	Multihull	Dart 18	4718	Jenny Ball	John Ball	Marconi SC	795	11.00.00	15.00.13	4.00.13	5.02.10	9
10	Slow	Monohull	ILCA 6	142204	David Makkink		Essex Yacht Club	1156	10.05.00	15.54.41	5.49.41	5.02.30	10
11	Fast	Multihull	Nacra F20	7727	Chris Goymer	Paul Wiseman	IOSSC	593	11.00.00	14.01.27	3.01.27	5.05.59	11
12	Slow	Monohull	Miracle	2222	mick greenland	Alex Perriman	IOSSC	1196	10.05.00	16.12.22	6.07.22	5.07.10	12
13	Medium	Monohull	Blaze	676	Keith owen		IOSSC	1030	10.30.00	15.47.02	5.17.02	5.07.48	13
14	Slow	Monohull	RS200	532	Luke Gobal	Thomas cave	Netley sc & Calshot sc	1053	10.05.00	15.32.04	5.27.04	5.10.36	14
15	Medium	Monohull	Contender	2709	Rupert Rhodes		Locks SC	973	10.30.00	15.32.19	5.02.19	5.10.42	15
16	Medium	Monohull	Albacore	6504	Steve Bailey	Simon Limb	Nottingham Sailing Club	1037	10.30.00	15.55.33	5.25.33	5.13.56	16
17	Slow	Monohull	Wayfarer	9447	Richard Peats	Dan Burbidge	Bough Beech SC & Grafham Water	1107	10.05.00	15.53.37	5.48.37	5.14.55	17
18	Slow	Monohull	Wanderer	1766	James Buckley	James Ross-Harris	Greenwich Yacht Club	1201	10.05.00	16.27.33	6.22.33	5.18.32	18
19	Fast	Multihull	Nacra F20 Carbon FCS	217	Kevin Dutch	Jason Clarke	IOSSC & Marconi Sailing Club	578	11.00.00	14.08.26	3.08.26	5.26.01	19
20	Medium	Multihull	Dart 15 1 person, 2 sail	1991	Derek Darley		IOSSC	904	10.30.00	15.30.47	5.00.47	5.32.43	20
21	Medium	Monohull	Kestrel	1490	Darren Ray	Tim Ahern	Margate yacht Club	1042	10.30.00	16.18.34	5.48.34	5.34.31	21
22	Slow	Monohull	RS Aero 6	8	Andrew Priechenfried		SYC	1098	10.05.00	16.14.06	6.09.06	5.36.09	22
23	Fast	Multihull	Spitfire	131	Ed Anderson	Jeremy Richardson	Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Sailing Club	745	11.00.00	15.11.22	4.11.22	5.37.24	23
24	Medium	Multihull	Dart 15 1 person, 2 sail	1910	Merlin Hancock		IOSSC	904	10.30.00	15.38.14	5.08.14	5.40.58	24
25	Fast	Multihull	Hobie 16	105036	John patterson	David tugwell	Datchet	817	11.00.00	15.44.11	4.44.11	5.47.50	25
26	Medium	Multihull	Dart 16	1777	Caroline Sted-Smith	Robert Sted-Smith	IOSSC	893	10.30.00	15.50.19	5.20.19	5.58.42	26
27	Fast	Multihull	F16 Goodall Viper	119	Charles Watson	Simon Husler	Halifax SWC	696	11.00.00	15.11.47	4.11.47	6.01.45	27
28	Medium	Monohull	505	8583	Adrian Howe	Fenella Williams	Hayling Ferry SC	892	10.30.00	16.45.25	6.15.25	7.00.52	28
29	Medium	Multihull	Dart 15 2 person, 2 sails	204	James brown	George brown	IOSSC	960	10.30.00	17.27.00	6.57.00	7.14.23	29
30	Fast	Multihull	Hobie 16	114123	Christopher Wragg	Tim Matthews	Marconi SC & Grafham	817	11.00.00		RET		33
30	Slow	Monohull	International 420	46579	Mark Harrington	James Adlington	CYCSA. & Chipstead SC	1110	10.05.00	100:40:39	RET		33

Full results with a break down of times can be found on the IOS Sailing Club website.