The 2017 Round the Island Race in association with Cloudy Bay fleet round the iconic Needles on the Isle of Wight. The 2018 Race will take place on 7 July. Earlybird entries close on 27 January.

Earlybird entries for the 2018 Round the Island Race in association with Cloudy Bay are due to close at midnight on 27 January.

Entries officially opened on 28 December, with an overwhelming number of competitors taking advantage of the post-Christmas holiday period to make their entry.

This year’s race takes place on 7 July, a few weeks later than normal because of a potential clash with the Isle of Wight Festival. Leading the fleet away at 0630 will be the Open 60s, IRC Class 0, Class 40 and the Clipper Yachts. Starts then continue every ten minutes until 0810, when the final group of ISCRS boats cross the start line and begin the first leg of their 50nm course around the Isle of Wight.

New additions for the 2018 race are the Diam 24 multihull sportsboats and the super-fast HP30s, both of whom have their own classes for the first time. They’ll be joining the regular and varied 1500-strong fleet of racing and cruising monohulls, multihulls, Gaffers, Classics and dayboats taking on one of the world’s best-loved sailing challenges – a unique day of fun, excitement, team-spirit and achievement. As usual, friends, family and sailing fans at home won’t be missing out on the action either, with GPS tracking, live TV coverage and regular social media updates keeping everyone up-to-date with progress on the race track.

Commenting on the 2018 race, Dave Atkinson, Commodore of the Island Sailing Club who organise the annual event, said: “The Island Sailing Club is very proud of its flagship event and of the genuine affection that competitors show for the race each year. We’re particularly indebted to our presenting partner, Cloudy Bay, and to our family of Race Partners, including Raymarine, MS Amlin and Helly Hansen, for the support they continue to give this iconic Great British event. We very much look forward to seeing everyone on the start line on the 7th July for another fantastic Round the Island.”

With less than a week to secure the Earlybird entry rate, competitors are encouraged to act fast and take advantage of the discounts on offer.

Competitors can enter the race here: rtir.me/entries

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