JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
by Flavia Bateson 24 Jun 2007 00:35 BST
23 June 2007
The 2007 JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race broke the record for the highest number of finishers in the history of the race. In the past ten years, 2001 saw 1,493 finishers. The majority of results have now been processed and show a 2007 figure of 1,559 which may well increase once queries have been resolved.
Provisional results show the top IRC boat on handicap and winner of the Gold Roman Bowl is Edward Donald’s Folkboat Madelaine. The boat and owner have won the Gold Roman Bowl before, in 1999. Edward commented: “We had a taxing day and had to make sure we got out of the tide. Basically we hugged the shore all day long - and saw a lot of the island . Most of the time we were up with the H-Boats and quarter tonners. We had a great day out!”
Edward’s crew for the race were two more “dads” from Winchester , Rob Reed and Dan Rigden, who all met through their children, all at Weston School . The boat is named after “Maddie” Edward’s 10 year old daughter. He would like to dedicate this race to the memory of his elder brother Richard.
Dame Ellen MacArthur, sailing the Extreme 40 catamaran JPMorgan Asset Management, has taken line honours in this year’s race. Her crew included Campbell Fleming, Head of UK, JPMorgan Asset Management who said: “It’s the first time I’ve done this race and to sail with Dame Ellen MacArthur, with such a fantastic crew, in such a great event, is just beyond my expectations. Big thanks to the Island Sailing Club, the organisers, and to all those who have raised funds for charity.”
Dame Ellen said: “Incredible race. Amazing event to be part of. Winds were almost too strong on the south side. These Extreme 40s are built for inshore racing, but today we were almost offshore, in fairly big waves and gusty winds. At one point we thought we might be going for the record but the wind wasn’t quite as much in the north as we needed.
Mike Slade’s brand new 100 footer ICAP Leopard was the first monohull to finish at 09.23.05 just over 18 minutes off the record that Mike himself set in 2001. He said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the new ICAP Leopard. She feels fantastic, really well balanced and for a brand new boat straight out of the box, she performed superbly today. St Catherine’s Point is always tricky but we had a cracking sail round the back of the island to Bembridge with the kite up all the way from The Needles. With today’s wind direction, we had a lot of tacking to do up the Solent, which slows you down, so sadly we didn’t quite beat the record, but we’re not disappointed at all - and there’s always next year!”
The majority of entrants are not regular racers but respond equally to the challenge of this classic event. Many come from a cruising background and bring their wealth of expertise in boat handling. In particular these skippers know just how to get the best from their own cherished yacht. Whilst the specialist racers in the IRC rating system have their own prizes, the Island Sailing Club’s unique handicapping system ensures that non-rated boats from 80 down to 20 footers can compete on a level playing field. This year’s winner of the top trophy Silver Gilt Roman Bowl is Mark Taylor in his 50 year old South Coast One Design Marbella .
Mark, from East Wittering in West Sussex , is Secretary of the South Coast One Design Class Association. He and his boat are the same age. Marbella has been carefully and lovingly restored over the last seven years. Now the skipper says he needs a rebuild! The crew are all friends of the “Inn Shore Cruising Club”.
Five SCODs competed in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race yesterday. Another SCOD, Anjajo, missed the top trophy by just 17 seconds. She is run by a formidable husband and wife team Richard and Vanessa Johnson who have owned her for over 20 years.
Race Control believe the final boat to cross the line was Elektra raced by Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year Katie Miller and Dan Monk. They had encountered problems with gear failure throughout the day but had soldiered on, and in so doing helped The Ellen MacArthur Trust.
Last year the total raised for charity by all the participants was £30,000 and the organisers are confident this has already been exceeded in 2007.
Results can be found at www.roundtheisland.org.uk
In addition to the many photographs sent in for the competition, the professionals were out in force:
Tom Gruitt of Fotoboat
caught the largest yachts beautifully -
see thumbnails
David Harding of Sailing Scenes
was canny enough to snap the IRC winner 'Madeline', along with many of the smaller yachts -
see thumbnails
Rick Tomlinson
included some amazing aerial photos -
see thumbnails
Brian Augustus of Sailing Images
snapped a mixture, obviously enjoying the older boats -
see thumbnails
onEdition
send us their most arty shots -
see thumbnails