The Round the Island Race 2019 is expected to attract thousands of sailors from all over the UK, mainland Europe and the USA, to the Isle of Wight on 29 June 2019.

Entries for the race are now open. Professional sailors, amateurs and first time racers can all take part in the Round the Island Race. Classes include monohulls, multihulls, Gaffers, Classics and dayboats.

Organised by the Isle of Wight’s Island Sailing Club since 1931, the Round the Island Race is one of the UK’s largest participation sporting events and is expected to attract over 1,500 boats to Cowes, where it begins and ends. As in previous years, the race will be supporting The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust as the official race charity.

Spectators will be able to follow the race from St Catherine’s Point, Ventnor, Bonchurch, Culver Down and Ryde Pier, whilst those watching at home can do so on TV or online on the race’s website where they will be kept up-to-date with a live blog over the course of the day. It will also be possible to keep track of specific yachts by downloading the ngTrack app. Sailors can also ‘race’ friends using private groups in the app and see the live progress of their friends’ yachts.

This year two new double-handed trophies have been created for the Round the Island Race: one for the IRC Class and the Multihull Grand Prix and Racing Class. Overall nearly 200 prizes are awarded, with boats of every shape and size competing to win individual class and overall trophies.

Commodore of the Island Sailing Club, David Atkinson said: “The Round the Island Race offers a unique experience for sailors from around the world to race against a range of yachts. It is a true spectacle to see multihull sports boats compete in the same race as Gaffers and dayboats.

“Every year brings an entirely new racing experience for participants, and we hope that this year sees favourable winds and sunshine. The Round the Island Race is often well-attended by families, and for many it will be their only race of 2019. It is a great opportunity to meet like-minded friends and enjoy a fantastic atmosphere offshore, as well as onshore in the race village.”

Spectators attending the event will able to enjoy the festival of sailing at the race village from midday on 28 Friday June 2019.

Those interested in taking part in the event will be able to enter online on the Round the Island Race website here.
Early bird entries can enjoy a discount by registering online until 28 February.

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The post Round the Island Race 2019: Entries open appeared first on YBW.

Greylag, the Contessa 32 yacht which sank when it was hit by the Isle of Wight Red Funnel ferry on Sunday (21 October) has been recovered from Cowes harbour.

The yacht owner, Nigel Minchin, has had Greylag for 40 years and according to the BBC he has asked Red Funnel for a full replacement value of the craft, estimated to be between £100,000 and £200,000.
Minchin said the yacht was in good working condition at the time of the collision.

Greylag has now be moved to a boatyard, awaiting to be examined by the the Marine Investigation Branch (MAIB), as part of their investigation into the accident.

Third Red Funnel ferry collision in less than a month

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Marine Investigation Branch (MAIB) have launched an investigation after a Red Funnel car ferry collided with yachts in Cowes Harbour, sinking a 32ft Contessa, Greylag.

This is the third time Red Funnel has been involved in an incident with pleasure craft in less than a month.

The latest collision happened at just after 8am on 21 October 2018.

Red Funnel has since suspended the master and the mate of the Red Falcon, which it said was ‘normal procedure’, and is now looking at its procedures for operating in limited visibility.

In a statement, Fran Collins, Red Funnel’s CEO said “Our Southampton-East Cowes service is operating as scheduled today following the yesterday’s incident involving Red Falcon. An underwater survey and detailed inspection found that there was no damage to the ship which is back in service and operating normally.”

“Red Funnel has a proactive safety management culture and a detailed internal investigation into this incident has been initiated to identify the root cause. Whilst the investigation is underway, the navigational team involved in the incident will not be rostered on board which is in accordance with best practice.”

“As normal, the investigation will also consider any other similar incidents that have occurred, both internally and industry-wide, and will seek to identify any common factors. Prior to completion of the report, however, and as a precautionary measure, some amendments to our bridge operating procedures in reduced visibility have been made although these changes are not expected to impact on the reliability of the service or the frequency of weather-related cancellations,” added Collins.

The collision left the 4128-tonne car ferry grounded. The ship was later refloated and docked at East Cowes to allow passengers to disembark with their vehicles before an inspection by the MCA.

The car ferry was later cleared to be sailed to Southampton, without any passengers, for a more detailed inspection by MCA surveyors.

No one was injured, although the Cowes and Calshot RNLI lifeboats and a coastguard search and rescue helicopter were scrambled following initial reports of cries for help from the water.

Coastguard Rescue Teams from Bembridge, Needles and Ventnor were also deployed.

Nothing was found, and it was later discovered that the cries for help was a yacht owner who was onboard his vessel and was trying to alert the master of the Red Falcon of its position to the moored craft.

This is the third incident involving a Red Funnel ferry in less than a month.

On 29 September 2018, Red Falcon hit a 31-foot motor yacht, Phoenix at Calshot Spit injuring two people onboard the motor yacht and damaging the boat. None of the ferry passengers were injured.

Both the MCA and the Marine Investigation Branch are investing the incident.

On 27 September 2018, the Red Eagle, whilst departing East Cowes for Southampton in fog, entered Cowes Harbour’s small craft mooring area and hit a number of moored yachts, causing them to be ripped from their moorings. They were lated recovered.

The Cowes Harbour Commission has investigated this incident, and has announced it will also be looking into the circumstances surrounding the latest collision in Cowes Harbour.

Report by Katy Stickland and Stef Bottinelli

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The post Red Funnel ferry collision: Sunken yacht recovered appeared first on YBW.

04 September 2017

The new £3.2 million floating bridge between Cowes and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight has been taken out of service just months after it was launched.

It follows endless problems with the chain link ferry, which is unable to operate at all states of the tide.

In July, three yachts got caught up in the chains of the ferry, which still has to be commissioned.

Last month, the Cowes Harbour Commission announced new navigational clearance depths for sailing over the chains.

The floating bridge has been dogged by problems. Credit: Isle of Wight Council

It also made a formal protest to the Isle of Wight Council over the difficulties with the new floating bridge, asking for confirmation that the council “will restore the navigational clearance over the chains to the previous charted and recorded depths of the old floating bridge.”

In a media statement, the leader of the Isle of Wight Council, David Stewart said a review is now underway, and the council has written to both the designers and builders of the floating bridge demanding that they work together to resolve the issues.

“It is quite clear to me that the floating bridge is not working as it should be. It is simply not acceptable that the vessel still cannot operate at all states of the tide,” said Stewart.

“This makes timetabling the operation of the bridge near on impossible. Therefore, in discussion with officers and the Cabinet, I have taken the difficult decision to remove the floating bridge from service until such time as the issues have been satisfactorily resolved.”

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“The council has also instructed lawyers to advise the council on the various contractual issues relating to the design, build and commissioning of the floating bridge,” he added.

From today (4 September), a passenger only launch service will operate between Cowes and East Cowes during peak periods.

15 August 2017

Sailors planning on navigating the mouth of the River Medina, Isle of Wight, are being advised there are new navigational clearance depths for sailing over the chains of the Cowes floating bridge.

It comes as commissioning work on the £3.2 million chain ferry continues – three months after it went into service.

The Cowes Harbour Commission has now issued a new Local Notice to Mariners after further work was carried out by the Isle of Wight Council.

Hydrographic surveys to measure clearance over the chains have been undertaken and sailors are now advised that the maximum permissible draught is now the actual tide height plus 1.1 metres.

Last month, three yachts got stuck on the chains of the floating bridge, which operates between East Cowes and Cowes.

The Cowes Harbour Commission also made a formal protest to the Isle of Wight Council over the difficulties with the new floating bridge, asking for confirmation that the council “will restore the navigational clearance over the chains to the previous charted and recorded depths of the old floating bridge.”

The council is insisting that it is doing all it can to address, what it calls, the “teething problems”.

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Sailors are being advised that further chain adjustments and survey checks will be carried out in the near future, with the aim of increasing depths over the chains throughout all tidal cycles whilst maintaining a normal ferry service.

The aim of these scheduled works is be to restore navigation clearance depths over the chains to previous reported depths for the previous ferry.

02 August 2017

The Cowes Harbour Commission (CHC) has made a formal protect to the Isle of Wight Council (IWC) over continued difficulties with the new floating bridge between East Cowes and Cowes.

It comes after three yachts got caught up in the chains of the bridge last week, as reported by YBW.com on Friday.

One of the yacht’s caught up in the chains

The council is insisting that it is doing all it can to address, what it calls, the “teething problems” with the £3.2 million chain ferry.

In a statement, the Cowes Harbour Commission said it had requested confirmation from the council that it “will restore the navigational clearance over the chains to the previous charted and recorded depths of the old floating bridge.”

“The Commissioners also reminded the IWC of CHC’s position during the design and consultation stage for the new floating bridge, when the Commissioners had highlighted the importance of maintaining the charted depths of the chains,” said the CHC.

“The Commissioners had also requested that the new floating bridge design would enable the clearance over the chains to be increased, if a capital dredge was carried out to increase the navigational depths, thereby allowing for deeper draught vessels to enter the river and thus future-proofing the harbour and the Island.”

The CHC said it did receive confirmation from the council that “the new floating bridge design would accommodate this potential future requirement”.

YBW.com contacted the Isle of Wight Council which said the three incidents involving yachts getting caught up in the chains was being investigated by the CHC and it was awaiting their report.

It confirmed that some of the “teething problems” with the new bridge and a factor in its grounding and non operation around low water is the problem of too much slack in the chains.

It said the chain lengths will be re-calculated following surveys on 8 and 9 August 2017 (date of the next spring tides), and that resolving this matter was a priority.

CHC has also requested that the council “review other potential modifications, including to the ebb tide check chains that reduce the movement on the main drive chains during periods when the tide is at its strongest.”

The incidents involving the three yachts last Tuesday (25 July) all took place during the end of an ebb tide.

In a statement, the Isle of Wight Council said: “The new bridge is marginally larger than the old one and the council is working with the ship builder and naval architects to resolve the teething problems, ensure that all snagging issues and defects are resolved and that following the successful completion of trials it is handed over to the council.”

Problems with the chains is not the only issue facing the bridge, which only went into service on 13 May.

Since then it has broken down, run aground, been taken out of service during low tide and had its operations suspended by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency over training issues.

Drivers have also complained that their car bumpers are being scraped while getting on and off the bridge.

Operating hours have also been reduced at night because of noise levels and the impact on local residents.

The BBC reported that a council environmental health officer who tested noise levels said they were “loud, intrusive and… well above World Health Organisation guidelines”.

In response to this issue, the Isle of Wight Council stated: “Some noise level readings are currently higher than would be preferable; the Isle of Wight Council has taken advice as to how the noise issue can be addressed and will be working with the construction company to ensure appropriate corrective actions are planned and undertaken as soon as possible.”

28 July 2017

First one boat hit the chains of the new floating bridge on the Isle of Wight…then a second and then a third all in less than an hour.

All incidents on Tuesday (25 July) were filmed, with one of the boat owners needing the help of the harbour master boat to get free.

It is the latest issue to hit the troubled £3.2 million floating bridge between East Cowes and Cowes since it went into service in May.

The videos were taken by a member of the so-called Floaty McFloat Farce Facebook group, which monitors the trials and tribulations of the new chain ferry

An experienced sailor, the member said all of the boats were local to East Cowes, and the incidents happened during the end of an ebb tide height of around 0.9-metres.

The Cowes Harbour Commissioners has issued a Local Notice to Mariners over the new navigational clearance depths of the new floating bridge.

It has also publicly stated that “the successful and early resolution of returning navigational clearance depths over the new floating bridge chains to the previous charted depths” is a priority.

Since launching on 13 May, the floating bridge, which is longer than the previous one, has broken down twice (once the day after launching) run aground three times, and has been taken out of service at low tide.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency suspended the service on 15 May due to “training issues” which have since been resolved.

Drivers have also complained that their car bumpers are being scraped while getting on and off the bridge.

Recently, a decision was made by the Isle of Wight Council, which owns the floating bridge, to suspend the service from 10.30pm each night due to noise levels and the impact on local residents, although it will be operating from 5am until 1.50am the following morning on a constant basis during Cowes Week.

Part of the so-called “teething problems” with the new chain ferry and a factor in its grounding and non operation around low water is the problem of too much slack in the chains.

Design engineers have been brought in by the Isle of Wight Council, but finding the optimised chain length is being carried out by trial and error. Further chain adjustments are expected to be made on the next spring tides in early-to-mid August.

YBW.com has asked the Isle of Wight Council to comment on the matter and is waiting a response.

Last month, the council announced that a full review of all the events surrounding the purchase and provision of the new floating bridge will be undertaken by the council.

It will also carry out a complete review of the approach taken to the design, build and introduction of the floating bridge.

At the time, the council’s cabinet member for infrastructure and transport, Ian Ward, said: “The floating bridge is effectively a boat that has not had the benefit of sea trials, conducted in private”

“Its trials have taken place in a very public way with the expectation that things would be perfect from the off. Sadly, this has not proven to be the case, with much more to be done than might have reasonably been expected,” he noted.

The post Cowes Floating Bridge is removed from service appeared first on YBW.

A man, who suffered a head injury after slipping and falling down a flight of stairs on board a pleasure cruise, was evacuated from the vessel yesterday afternoon (20 August) by members of the Gosport & Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS).

The vessel, which had left Portsmouth and was bound for Southampton, was passing Gilkicker Point when the alarm was raised.

The boat’s crew contacted the UK Coastguard which scrambled the crew of the GAFIRS lifeboat just after 4.20pm.

Once the vessel had been located, two crewmen were put on board the boat to assess the 67-year-old man.

“My crew assessed the gentlemen who was complaining of head and neck pain. They administered oxygen and immobilised his neck as a precautionary measure,” explained GAFIRS senior helm, Brian Pack.

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“My crew decided the safest way to get the casualty into the hands of the ambulance service was to divert the vessel to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The lifeboat escorted the vessel into the harbour while my crew continued to monitor the casualty,” he added.

An ambulance crew met the GAFIRS lifeboat and the boat at Trinity Landings, and the crews worked together to evacuate the casualty.

He was taken to St Mary’s Hospital in Newport for further treatment.

The incident was the second medical job GAFIRS lifeboat crews attended in the last five days.

On Wednesday afternoon (August 16), the lifeboat was tasked to assist a crewman who had seriously injured his finger while mooring a motorboat in Portsmouth Harbour.

Lifeboat crews administered first aid, evacuated the casualty to the lifeboat and placed him in the care of ambulance crews at Camber Dock, Old Portsmouth.

The post Man with head injuries evacuated by GAFIRS during pleasure cruise appeared first on YBW.

The Cowes Torquay Cowes Offshore Powerboat Race, known as the Cowes Classic Offshore, promises thrilling action over the Bank Holiday weekend (26-27 August).

According to the organiser’s official website, 10 boats will be racing the 190 nautical mile course from Cowes to Torquay and back again.

Among those racing will be two legendary offshore racing drivers from the United States –  three times Cowes winner Richie Powers and Charlie McCarthy for the ‘Dry Martini’ Cigarette racing team.

A further six teams will be taking part in the Cowes Poole Cowes Offshore Powerboat Race, which will be running at the same time.

It is 57 year since international powerboat racing began off Cowes – the idea of the newspaper tycoon, Sir Max Aitken.

Credit: RYA/Chris Davies

Previous competitors have included the notorious Lord Lucan and his brother-in-law Bill Shand Kydd – who was related through marriage to the late Princess Diana.

Since then it has grown to become one of the leading races in Europe, with comparisons made with motorsport events such as Le Mans and the Indy 500.

All those taking part this year will be looking to beat the course speed record set in 2015.

Peter Dredge, Simon Powell, Mal Crease and David Gandy driving Vector Martini Rosso completed the course with a staggering average speed of 94.55 mph.

This year, the powerboats will start the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race at 9.30am between The Royal Yacht Squadron line and the north of Gurnard North Cardinal Buoy.

The Cowes-Poole-Cowes competitors will cross the start line at 9.45am.

The fastest race boats should be approaching Berry Head by 10.30am and will continue on northward to a mark at the Ore Stone before turning and heading into the finish off Haldon Pier at Torquay.

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At Torquay, the boats will form up and parade past Haldon Pier at 1pm before lining up for the race start back to Cowes at 2pm.

Depending on the conditions the fastest boats should appear back in the Solent from 3pm for a finish off the Gurnard North Cardinal Mark at Egypt Point.

The races form two parts of the RYA National Marathon Championship with the Cowes to Torquay being RYA National Marathon Championship (Heat 3) plus the UIM International Ordinary Race. The Torquay to Cowes race is the RYA National Marathon Championship (Heat 4) and the UIM International Ordinary Race.

The director of the event, Martin Levi, said spectators should expect a “fabulous weekend” of racing action.

“The Cowes Torquay Cowes is a World renowned International powerboat race. We have drivers and teams from Belgium, Italy, Poland, Ireland, and the USA,” he commented.

Viewing Places and Times

Cowes-Torquay-Cowes

09:30 and 15:00 to17:30- Egypt Point, Isle of Wight
09:35 to 10:00 and 14:45 to 17:30 – Hurst Castle
09:35 to 10:00 and 14:45 to 17:30 – Fort Victoria, Isle of Wight
09:40 to 10:10 – Bournemouth & Boscombe Piers
09:55 to 11:35 and 14:30 to 17:15 – Anvil Point
09:55 to 11:35 and 14:30 to 17:15 – St Albans Head
10:00 to 11:45 and 14:30 to 17:00 – Portland Bill
10:45 to 12:40 and 14:00 to 14:30 – Berry Head
10:45 to 12:40 and 14:00 to 14:30 – Daddyhole Plain, Torquay
10:30 to 14:00 Haldon Pier, Torquay

Cowes-Poole-Cowes

09:45 and 10:20 to 12:00 – Egypt Point, Isle of Wight
09:50 to 12:00 – Hurst Castle
09:50 to 12:00 – Fort Victoria, Isle of Wight
09:55 to 11:00 – Bournemouth & Boscombe Piers

Spectators can visit the Cowes Wet and Dry Pits at Vectis Yard, High St, Cowes, with the dry pits available from 9am on Saturday, 26 August to 9pm on Sunday, 27 August.

Torquay Wet Pits at the Haldon Pier, Torquay in Devon will be available from 10.30am to 3pm on Sunday, 27 August.

The post Cowes Torquay Cowes Offshore Powerboat Race: expect thrills this bank holiday appeared first on YBW.

French sailor Didier Gaudoux has been confirmed as the overall winner of the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race, sailing a near perfect race in his JND39 Lann Ael 2. His crew’s performance embodies the skill and determination of the many Corinthian crew in this race – he races with his eldest daughter, Coralie, son Thomas, and friends, including Figaro specialist Fred Duthil.

Guadoux’s victory was part of a dominant performance by French sailors this year. Seven of the  ten classes were won by French crews – eight, if you include the win among the Volvo 65s by Chinese entry Dongfeng Racing, which is skippered by Frenchman Charles Caudrelier.

Lan Ael 2 was designed working alongside naval architect Bernard Nivelt and launched 18 months ago but Gaudoux confesses it has taken time and modifications to realise its full potential.

“It was really difficult. We had to make a lot of changes,” he admits. “We had to have a lot of perseverance.

Didier Gaudoux, overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race 2017 receives the winner’s trophy from Michael Boyd, commodore of the RORC

Gaudoux is a lifelong sailor who did his first RORC races in 1978 at the age of 20. He says that this boat was designed from the outset for offshore racing and particularly with the Fastnet Race in mind.

“You have to be a bit lucky with the weather to win but I am very proud to have designed a boat with Bernard Nivelt to win the Fastnet. This has been my target for the past 20 years, but I never expected to win overall.

Continued below…

“Yes it is job done. But the spirit is important. I don’t want to win with ten professionals aboard. What is important for me is to keep the same guys for years and to build confidence between us. We had a lot of solidarity and a lot of pleasure.”

Among the other winners were double-handers Pascal and Alexis Loison racing their JPK 10.10 Night and Day. The father and son team are already a legend in this race. In 2013, they became the first ever crew to win their class and the Fastnet Race overall.

Trophy and Rolex watch for the winner of the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race

PROVISIONAL RESULTS:

IRC Z: 1. Privateer – Cookson 50, Ron O’Hanley (USA); 2. Lady Mariposa – Ker 46, Daniel Hardy (GBR); 3. Bretagne Telecom – Mach 45, Nicolas Groleau (FRA)

IRC 1: 1. Lann Ael 2 – JND 39, Didier Gaudoux (FRA); 2. Pata Negra – Lombard 46, Hermann de Graaf (NED); 3. Ino XXX – HH42, James Neville (GBR)

IRC 2: 1. Pintia – J/133, Gilles Fournier / Corinne Migraine (FRA); 2. Lisa – First 44.7, Michael Boyd (IRE); 3. Elke – First 40, Frans and Carla Rodenburg (NED)

IRC 3: 1. Dream Pearls – JPK 10.80, Arnaud Delamare and Eric Mordret (FRA); 2. Timeline – JPK 10.80, Marc Alperovitch (FRA); 3. Bellino – Sun Fast 3600, Rob Craigie (GBR)

IRC 4: 1. Night and Day – JPK 10.10, Pascal & Alexis Loison (FRA); 2. Foggy Dew – JPK 10.10 (FRA), Noel Racine; 3. Cocody – JPK 10.10, Richard Fromentin (FRA)

IRC Two-Handed: 1. Night and Day – JPK 10.10, Pascal Loison (FRA); 2. Ajeto! – J/122e, Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre (NED); 3. Bellino – Sun Fast 3600, Rob Craigie and Deb Fish (GBR)

VO65: 1. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN) – Charles Caudrelier; 2. MAPFRE (ESP) – Xabi Fernandez; 3. Team Brunel (NED) – Bouwe Bekking

IMOCA 60: 1. SMA – Paul Meilhat/Gwenole Gahinet (FRA); 2. StMichel-Virbac – Jean-Pierre Dick/ /Yann Eliès (FRA); 3. Malizia – Yacht Club de Monaco – Boris Herrmann/Pierre Casiraghi (MON)

Class40: 1. V and B – Maxime Sorel (FRA); 2. Imerys – Phil Sharp (GBR); 3. Campagne de France – Halvard Mabire (FRA) and Miranda Merron (GBR)

MOCRA Multihulls: 1. Concise 10 – MOD 70 trimaran, Tony Lawson (GBR); 2. R-six – HH66 catamaran, Robert Szustkowski (POL); 3. Hissy Fit – Dazcat 1495, Simon Baker (GBR)

Report by Elaine Bunting, Editor of Yachting World

The post French crews dominate to take top trophies and overall win in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race appeared first on YBW.

10 August

Another Rolex Fastnet Race entrant has been rescued off the coast of west Cork in Ireland.

Baltimore RNLI went to the aid of 13 crew on board a 45-foot yacht in the early hours of yesterday morning (9 August).

The skipper had contacted the Irish Coast Guard at around 2am after the vessel lost its rigging.

The yacht was 26 miles south east of Baltimore, west Cork.

On arrival at the scene just after 3.30am, the lifeboat crew found that the rod rigging on the vessel was still standing.

However, part of the outer rigging had failed and the mast was in danger of coming down.

The crew of the yacht informed the lifeboat crew that their fuel had been contaminated, and they were running on a small container of spare fuel which they estimated would only give them an hour’s motoring time.

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Conditions at the time were choppy with a north westerly force 4 wind and 1-1.5 metre swell.

The crew on the yacht agreed that a tow would be best, so while the lifeboat stood by, they secured the rig as best they could.

As soon as the lifeboat sent over the tow line, the engine of the yacht cut out.

The tow was established and the lifeboat started to bring the yacht back to Baltimore.

During the tow, due to the unstable nature of the mast, the lifeboat crew advised everyone to stay below deck in case the mast came down.

The lifeboat towed the casualty vessel to the fishing pier in Baltimore Harbour, arriving at 10am.

Speaking following the callout, Baltimore RNLI’s coxswain, Kieran Cotter, said: “Thankfully the rigging held and the experienced crew aboard the yacht managed to do the best that they could do to avoid injury and to secure and preserve the yacht’s rig under difficult circumstances”.

9 August

The crew of a 40-foot yacht competing in the Fastnet Race are now safely in Courtmacsherry inner harbour in Ireland after the vessel dismasted in the early hours of this morning.

The dismasted yacht. Credit: Courtmacsherry RNLI

The Courtmacsherry Harbour RNLI Lifeboat was called out just after 3.20am to assist the 10 people on board.

The yacht was approaching the famous Fastnet Rock when it dismasted, around 20 kilometres off Galley Head in west Cork.

The lifeboat crew found the yacht in the darkness, established a line and then proceeded to tow the vessel at a slow pace into harbour.

The boats arrived around 8am.

There are no reports of any injuries on board the disabled yacht.

Weather conditions at the time were reporting as force 3-4 north-west wind.

The identity of the yacht and the crew is not known at this time.

7 August

Royal Cork David Kenefick’s class 40 yacht lost its mast due to gear failure during the Fastnet Race, the helmsman told Afloat.ie .

The crew have however managed to get the mast back onto the boat, but they had to retire the vessel in Weymouth.

It’s a disappointing turnout for Kenefick who in July ranked 31st in the Gold fleet at the 2017 Garda Moth Worlds in Lake Garda, Italy.

4 August

Alex Thomson will be racing in his local playground this weekend when he competes in his 10th Rolex Fastnet Race which kicks off on Sunday, 6 August.

He will be battling it out against the other boats as they leave Cowes to race the 605-nautical miles around the Fastnet Rock before finishing at Plymouth.

Thomson said: “I’m excited to be back racing this weekend in the Fastnet and it’s great to see a good turnout of IMOCA boats on the start line, with some new competitors on the circuit. It’s fantastic for the sport to see so many boats on the water.”

Racing onboard his record breaking HUGO BOSS IMOCA 60, Thomson will be joined onboard by Irish sailor Nicholas O’Leary. As a young talent in short-handed ocean racing, O’Leary has ambitions to race in the Vendee Globe himself in the future and is looking forward to gaining experience racing with Thomson onboard HUGO BOSS.

The race, which is held every two years, has seen record take up for the 2017 edition.

Fastnet Rock. Credit: Rolex Fastnet Race

Thomson, who earlier this year came second in the gruelling 2016-17 Vendée Globe, will no doubt be looking to improve on the time set by Fastnet’s last winners in the IMOCA 60 class.

340 boats register for 2017 Fastnet Race in less than five minutes

2004 Vendée Globe winner Vincent Riou and America’s Cup helmsman Sebastien Col on PRB set a time of 3d 0h 9’ 53’’ when they crossed the finish line at 12:19:53 BST on 19 August 2015.

The pair managed to claw back the lead set by SMA, the former MACIF – winner of the 2012 Vendée Globe and the IMOCA 60 class in the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race – after it rounded the Fastnet Rock first.

However, SMA was forced to retire when it missed the Bishop Rock mark of the course.

The 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race, which is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in Cowes, starts on Saturday, 6 August.

For this edition, RORC has relaxed the limit of a maximum monohull length of 100ft (30.48m), following interest from a number of superyacht owners and skippers wishing to take part in the classic offshore race.

In the last Rolex Fastnet Race, there were two monohulls at this upper limit of 100-foot: Mike Slade’s British Farr 100, Leopard, who was competing in his 5th consecutive race, and from the United States Jim and Kristy Hinze Clark’s Maxi, Comanche.

Mike Slade’s British Farr 100, Leopard

The 100ft Comanche was the fastest monohull finisher in 2015, but narrowly missed the chance to break Ian Walker’s VO70’s 2011 monohull race record of 42 hours 39 minutes.

When the entry list opened on 9 January, spaces sold out faster than a Rolling Stones farewell concert. The 340 boat limit reached, incredibly, in just 4 minutes and 24 seconds.

And this figure excludes the non-IRC fleets which will include a giant international turn out of Class40s and significantly, will be the first occasion the eight VO65s, set to compete in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race, will line up in anger.

When the Rolex Fastnet Race set sails from Cowes, close to 400 boats will make up the combined IRC and non-IRC fleets – the largest ever entry in the race’s 92 year history and a significant step-up from 356 in the last race.

Meanwhile,  some of the world’s most prominent grand maxis will be competing in the main IRC fleet.

The longest is the Judel Vrolijk 115 Super Maxi, Nikata, while Ludde Ingvall is bringing his radical DSS-equipped 100 footer CQS all the way from Australia.

One of the race favourites will certainly be George David’s Rambler 88, that just missed out on line honours in 2015.

The 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race sets sail from the Royal Yacht Squadron line to the north of Cowes at 1200 BST on 6 August.

The post Fastnet Race: 13 rescued after yacht loses rigging appeared first on YBW.

Line honours in one of the lightest wind Rolex Fastnet Races in recent years were claimed at dawn yesterday morning (8 August) by Ned Collier-Wakefield and the crew of MOD70 Concise 10.

The big trimaran shaped a lonely course at the head of fleet, unchallenged by any yachts of her speed. The light winds and upwind course right to the Fastnet Rock meant the record of 32h set by 130ft trimaran Banque Populaire V was always going to be unattainable. Concise 10 crossed the finish line in an elapsed time of 42h 55m.

The crew sailed a storming long upwind leg beating all the way up to Land’s End and across the Celtic Sea, defying preconceptions that multihulls are not upwind boats.

Concise 10 was the first round the Fastnet Rock on 7 August. Credit: ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo

Owner Tony Lawson commented: “Everyone thinks multihulls can’t go to weather, but we led three state of the art monohulls around the Rock by about 100 miles and we led them into Plymouth by 200 miles. So if you want to go fast you have to get yourself a multihull!”

Ned Collier Wakefield explained that, upwind to the Rock, the boat was typically making 21 knots at 50°.

“The MOD70 is an amazing machine. Every time we go out we still come back smiling.”

MOD70, Concise 10, crosses the finish line of the Rolex Fastnet Race in Plymouth. Credit: ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi

Among the crew were Paul Larsen, the world’s fastest sailor (who sailed Vestas Sailrocket 2 at 65.45 knots average over 500m in 2012) and Finn Gold medallist and Land Rover BAR crew Giles Scott, sailing his first offshore race.

“It was really good,” said Scott. “Upwind, it felt like a long way out to the Fastnet, although I know a lot of the fleet have still got to go through all of that. On the turn round, when we started ripping downwind, Land’s End didn’t feel that far away at all. The fastest speed I saw was 36 knots.”

Rambler 88 taking the monohull line honours.Credit: Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex

American George David’s Rambler 88 took the monohull line honours.

The silver maxi crossed the finish line off Plymouth breakwater at 22:14:21 BST yesterday (8 August) in a time of 2 days 9 hours 34 minutes and 21 seconds.

This was more than six hours faster than they had managed in 2015, but was well outside of the monohull race record of 1 day 18 hours and 39 minutes, set in 2011 by the Ian Walker-skippered VO70, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

“This was our fourth (Fastnet) race,” said George David upon his arrival in Plymouth Yacht Haven.

Continued below…

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“We have had two that were fairly windy and one with no wind, two years ago, and this one with decent wind but a tough windward-leeward course. 360 miles upwind is a challenge and it is cold, but it is okay. We sailed well and we did a good race. We’ll see what happens,” commented David, who almost lost his life in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race when the keel of his Rambler 100 maxi broke.

David and four of his crew were washed overboard and away from their boat. Wearing their full red sailing suits and bright yellow inflatable life-vests, the five linked arms and formed a circle until the crew of Team Phaedo, who had joined in the search, found them via their global positioning system devices.

The remaining 16 crew of the Rambler 100 managed to climb onto the upturned hull, waiting for several hours until they were rescued by the Baltimore RNLI.

Among the Volvo 65s, which are competing in the race’s Leg Zero, it was a thrilling finish, with China’s Dongfeng Race Team taking line honours just 56 seconds ahead of MAPFRE in the early hours of this morning (9 August).

Dongfeng lead in Leg Zero, Rolex Fastnet Race. Credit: Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race

Victory for Charles Caudrelier’s team keeps it tight at the top of Leg Zero qualifying for the Volvo Ocean Race – and heralds an epic battle to come when the race around the world begins from Alicante on 22 October.

MAPFRE and Dongfeng had the best start back in Cowes on Sunday, stayed close all the way around the race course and finally finished just metres from each other after fighting all the way to finish line off the Plymouth breakwater.

Dongfeng crossed the line at 04:18:10 local time, with MAPFRE following shortly afterwards at 04:19:06.

Volvo Ocean 65s in the Rolex Fastnet Race:

1. Dongfeng Race Team: 2 days 15 hours 38 minutes 10 seconds
2. MAPFRE: 2 days 15 hours 39 minutes 06 seconds
3. Team Brunel: 2 days 15 hours 45 minutes 47 seconds
4. team AkzoNobel: 2 days 15 hours 52 minutes 40 seconds
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing: 2 days 16 hours 09 minutes 11 seconds
6. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag: 2 days 16 hours 13 minutes 53 seconds
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic: 2 days 16 hours 17 minutes 32 seconds

There are two more races to go in the Leg Zero series of qualifiers. On Thursday, the fleet will race from Plymouth to Saint-Malo in France.

After a non-scoring Pro-Am Race on Saturday, the teams will complete the series with a race from Saint-Malo to Lisbon, starting on Sunday.

While an overall Leg Zero winner will be declared, based on equal scoring for each of the four stages, no points will be carried forward to the Volvo Ocean Race itself.

Report by Elaine Bunting of Yachting World and Katy Stickland of YBW.com

The post Watch: trimaran Concise 10 blasts home to take Fastnet Race line honours appeared first on YBW.

A perfect summer Solent sea breeze gave the 368-strong fleet in the Rolex Fastnet Race a picture perfect start today. In winds of 15-20 knots the fleet began the beat westwards with a strong ebb tide.

This is the largest fleet since the race began in 1925. Some 2,700 crew are taking part in the race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight out to the Fastnet Rock lighthouse off south-west Ireland and back to Plymouth.

The big multihulls such as the MOD70 trimaran Concise 10 were the first away from the Royal Yacht Squadron line. Despite the windward course, Concise passed the first tidal gate at Portland Bill only four hours later.

The multihulls were followed by non-IRC classes including nine double-handed IMOCA 60s including Alex Thomson and Irishman Nicholas O’Leary on Hugo Boss, Tanguy de Lamotte and Sam Davies on Initiatives Coeur and JP Dick and Yann Eliès on St Michel-Virbac.

These three yachts all have foils, but are joined by other non-foil equipped IMOCA 60s such as Paul Meilhat and Gwenole Gahinet aboard SMA which will have an advantage on the upwind march to the Fastnet Rock as they are more weatherly. The question is whether the faster downwind speed of the foil-borne IMOCA will be enough to catch or overhaul them – yesterday Sam Davies predicted it would be.

The largest yacht in the fleet is the Baltic 115 Nikata. Far from a stripped out cruiser, this performance carbon composite superyacht is light but comparatively comfortable.

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The crew of the 45-foot yacht was 26 miles south east of Baltimore, west Cork when it lost its rigging…

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The Fastnet is also the so-called Leg 0 for the Volvo Ocean Race VO65s. Some of the teams, such as David Witt’s Scallywag and Dee Caffari’s Turn the Tide on Plastic are quite late to going and are on a catch up with more established teams such as Dongfeng Racing and MAPFRE.

For updates on the race see www.rolexfastnetrace.com and regular updates and video from the race course on the Yachting World Facebook page.

Rambler 88, Sail No: USA 25555, Class: IRC Zero, Owner: George David, Type: Canting Keel Sloop

Report by Elaine Bunting at Yachting World

The post All-time record Fastnet fleet set off hard on the wind for long beat towards the Rock appeared first on YBW.

The Rolex Fastnet Race makes for a spectacular start, followed by 600-miles worth of tight, tough competition. Here’s how to follow the 2017 Fastnet and keep up-to-date with all the action…

WATCH THE START
The race starts from one of world’s most famous yachting locations: the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes on the Isle of Wight on Sunday, 6 August 2017.

Fastnet TV will cover the entire start sequence live. It will be streamed online from wwww.rolexfastnetrace.com and www.879fm.uk and on RORC Facebook live with expert commentary of the build up and for the entire start sequence, right through to the fleet leaving the Solent.

Spectators watch the fleet set out from Cowes. Kurt Arrigo/Rolex

Fastnet Radio will be broadcasting on the Cowes Radio frequency 87.7FM on start day, Sunday 6 August, and simulcast with Fastnet Radio in Plymouth on 87.9FM.

There will also be a podcast from the skippers’ briefing, held on Saturday 5 August.

The start sequence begins at 1100 (BST) for the 48th edition. The multihulls go off first, followed by the IMOCA 60s and Class 40s.

1100 Multihull
1110 IMOCA 60 and Class40
1120 IRC 4
1140 IRC 3
1200 IRC 2
1220 IRC 1
1240 IRC Zero & VO65

Hurst Castle on the mainland can offer a great vantage point of the race start and boats leaving the Solent. Photo: Kurt Arrigo/Rolex Fastnet Race

Continues below…

Fastnet Race: 13 rescued after yacht loses rigging

The crew of the 45-foot yacht was 26 miles south east of Baltimore, west Cork when it lost its rigging…

340 boats register for 2017 Fastnet Race in less than five minutes

Organisers of the 47th Rolex Fastnet Race saw record breaking take up, with the 340-boat limit reached in just 4…

FROM THE SHORE

The best vantage points of the start will be along Cowes Green and Egypt Esplanade on the Isle of Wight.

The live Fastnet Radio commentary will also be broadcast from speakers along Cowes Parade and The Green.

As the fleet funnels out of the Solent there will also be a good chance to see the yachts from Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, and Hurst Castle on the mainland. Further along the coast Anvil Point, St Alban’s Head, and Portland Bill should each give a good view of the race on its outbound leg.

FOLLOW ONLINE

Yachting World magazine will be covering the race from Cowes to Plymouth, with news, insight from the skippers, and video updates on our dedicated Rolex Fastnet Race page.

Event organisers RORC have a dedicated Rolex Fastnet Race minisite where you can find the latest images and positions of the fleet, blogs from the boats, web updates and daily updates. 

RACE TRACKER

You can follow the Rolex Fastnet Race online with the fleet tracker. Yellowbrick trackers are fitted to every yacht so you can see each boat’s position along the course.

View by class or select your favourites to follow friends and family, check out their boat speed and weather conditions in real time.

VIRTUAL RACE

Armchair sailors will be able to test their skills on the same course as competitors in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race by playing the Virtual Fastnet Race. Details on the race minisite shortly.

Article by Helen Fretter at Yachting World

The post Rolex Fastnet Race 2017: How to follow all the action appeared first on YBW.

She’s done it! Natasha Lambert BEM has entered the history books by becoming the youngest disabled woman to skipper a yacht from Scotland to Ireland.

The 20-year-old started her voyage from south west Scotland on Monday (17 July) at 1030am, triumphantly sailing into Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland six hours later.

Natasha Lambert has artheroid cerebral palsy which affects all of her limbs and her speech, and is unable to use conventional controls.

Natasha Lambert. Credit: Miss Isle’s School of Sip and Puff Sailing

Instead, she steers and controls the sails of her 21-foot yacht Miss Isle Too by sipping and puffing into a single straw.

If that wasn’t challenging enough, Natasha had to deal with light winds and strong tides during the crossing.

“The North Channel certainly lived up to it’s challenging reputation. Natasha had to deal with very light fluctuating winds coupled with strong tides. But we made it and can’t wait to carry the expedition on South to Dublin,” commented Natasha’s mum and chief logistics officer, Mandy Lambert.

Continues below…

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Over the next week or so, Natasha will continue her Sea and Summit Ireland Challenge, and plans to climb the Wicklow Mountains in her Hart Walker.

This device allows her to stand upright which then means she can propel herself forward to make it up the inclines.

Last year, she used the same device to ascend and descend the Cairn Gorm mountain in Scotland – the sixth highest peak in Britain.

Throughout the Irish challenge Natasha will also be raising money for her charity, the Miss Isle School of Sip and Puff is based on the Isle of Wight, which teaches sip and puff sailing. She is also fundraising for the RNLI.

Previously, Natasha has sailed 262 miles from Cowes to London to raise awareness of disabled sailing.

She has also sailed around the Isle of Wight, crossed the Channel, sailed over five hundred miles to Wales and climbed the highest peak in Southern Britain, Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons.

The post Inspirational! Natasha Lambert enters the record books appeared first on YBW.

The Needles Rocks & Lighthouse

Recently voted as one of the most beautiful places in the UK, The Needles is the iconic image of the Isle of Wight and a fantastic place to visit during Cowes Week.

As well as the stunning views of the Needles Rocks, Trinity Lighthouse and coloured sands, there are a range of other attractions at Alum Bay.

These include a chairlift ride across the beach and the sand cliffs, boat rides out to the rocks, miniature golf, a 4D cinema and demonstrations of glass blowing by some of the island’s craftsmen.

For children, there is a sweet maker and a range of amusements rides, including a carousel.

For more information visit www.theneedles.co.uk

Rosemary Vineyard

Definitely one of the adults! The Rosemary Vineyard has free guided tours every Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Over 30 minutes, visitors can learn about the wine making process and taste the finished product.

As well as English wine, the award winning vineyard also produces liqueurs, juices and ciders. These are all made on the estate from grapes and apples grown on the 30-acre site.

Light lunches and afternoon tea can be purchased from the onsite coffee shop. There is also a gift ship which stocks a range of goods produced on the Isle of Wight.

For more information visit www.rosemaryvineyard.co.uk

Shanklin Beach

If you want to escape the sailing crowd, head to Shanklin Beach at the opposite end of the island from Cowes.

This is one of the Isle of Wight’s best known stretches of golden sands; it even has a traditional English seafront promenade with fish and chip shops and ice-cream sellers.

At the southern end of the esplanade, beach huts line the sea wall and there is the thatched Fisherman’s Cottage pub at the bottom of Shanklin Chine.

At low tide, you can walk from the beach around the headland to Luccombe Beach.

For more information go to www.visitisleofwight.co.uk

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Dinosaur Isle

Learn more about the island’s rich geology and its fossil collection at Dinosaur Isle, a purpose built interactive museum above the Sandown Library.

Designed in the shape of a giant pterodactyl, the museum houses more than 1,000 fossils. An introductory exhibition gallery takes the visitor from the Ice Age of the recent past, back to the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs lived.

This leads to the large dinosaur gallery, which has displays including skeletal re-constructions, life sized fleshed re-constructions and two animatronic dinosaurs.

Open all the year round, the attraction uses clever lighting, artwork, sound, smells and animatronic technology to create an exciting experience for young and old alike.

For more information visit www.dinosaurisle.com

Eat a Minghella ice cream

The Minghella family has been making ice creams on the the Isle of Wight for more than 60 years.

Their range of over 200 ice creams and sorbets has won more than 80 Great Taste awards from the Guild of Fine Food.

Made using milk from Guernsey cows, flavours range from chocolate brandy truffle, Christmas pudding and banana smoothie to the more traditional vanilla and mint choc chip.

You can buy a cone of your favourite flavour at the farm shop at Briddlesford Lodge Farm, where Minghella’s is based.

Alternatively, it is stocked by many shops on the island, including the Bliss Ice Cream parlour in Cowes and the cafe on Osborne Beach.

And in case you’re familiar with the name Minghella, the founders of the ice cream business are the parents of the film director, writer and producer Anthony Minghella.

He is best known for the films Truly Madly Deeply, The Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain and The English Patient.

For more information visit www.minghella.co.uk

Osborne House

The favourite royal residence of Queen Victoria, Osborne House is just a short step away from the sailing action at East Cowes.

It is, unsurprisingly, one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight.

Immerse yourself in the Victorian opulence and extravagant interior of the house, including the Indian décor of the Durbar Room.

Visitors can also explore the private royal apartments including the Queen’s bedroom and royal bathrooms, and The Swiss Cottage, a chalet that was specifically built for the royal children.

The walled Victorian garden and hothouses with exotic plants will keep green fingered visitors happy.

Don’t forget to take in the stunning views across the Solent as you walk through the extensive grounds.

For more information visit www.english-heritage.org.uk

Enjoy a meal at Thompson’s

With a focus on showcasing produce from the Isle of Wight, Thompson’s offers you some of the best cuisine on the island.

It is run by the youngest British chef to ever receive a Michelin star, Robert Thompson.

The contemporary ‘open kitchen’ restaurant offers a delicious modern British menu inspired by the flavours of the island and Robert’s experiences.

Expect light, classically inspired dishes, packed with intense, pure flavours; something that the chef himself would enjoy eating.

The restaurant offers a range of dining options. There is an eight-course tasting menu from £65 per person or the A La Carte experience.

Choices range from lobster poached in Café de Paris butter and harissa spiced rabbit to roasted rump of lamb or cigarette of local “green barn” goats cheese

There is also a lunch menu from £12 for one course. Try the local Laverstoke Park Farm mozzarella, confit leg of local chicken or salt baked carrot salad.

For further information visit www.robertthompson.co.uk

Walk the Warrior Trail

This 6 mile circular trail follows the route the real-life WW1 War Horse, Warrior was once exercised.

Dubbed the ‘Horse the Germans Could Not Kill’ by the newspapers of the time, the Isle of Wight’s most famous equine resident became something of a local hero when it returned to the island in 1918.

The trail runs from Carisbrooke Castle to the beach at Brook Bay, where Warrior was trained to confront the dangers of battle in the surf. Walkers can take in the picturesque villages of Mottistone and Brook, the island’s Neolithic Long Stone and sections of the coastal path.

The route can be done on foot, by bike and even on horseback.

For further information visit www.visitisleofwight.co.uk

Enjoy a spa treatment at The Cabin at Ventnor

Ventnor has a long history of being a spa town, with Victorian visitors coming for the mild climate and pure sea air.

If you fancy a bit of pampering head to The Cabin, which offers a range of spa and holistic treatments.

There are two treatment rooms – one is at beach level, while the other, The Crow’s Nest, is an exclusive cedar wood cabin with stunning sea views.

All treatments use certified organic products where possible. Full or half day packages are also available.

Located on the Western end of Ventnor Esplanade, The Cabin was a finalist in the UK Professional Beauty Awards 2016.

For further information visit www.thecabin-ventnor.co.uk

St Catherine’s Lighthouse

Overlooking the Solent on the southern tip of the Isle of Wight, St. Catherine’s Lighthouse has long been a guide to ships approaching the Solent.

The distinct octagonal tower is also a waymark for vessels navigating in the English Channel.

Although the lighthouse no longer has resident keepers, it still requires care and attention to provide a beacon for sailors.

Tours of the lighthouse last 40 minutes and reveal how old-fashioned technology is still helping to save lives today.

Climb up the 94 steep steps to explore the very top floor, and hear some of the stories from the lighthouse’s past.

For further information visit www.trinityhouse.co.uk

The post 10 Best things to do during Cowes Week 2017 appeared first on YBW.

3 July 2017

The Round the Island Race has a new race record.

The crew of the MOD70, Concise 10, started the iconic Isle of Wight race at 5.40am on 1 July.

The boat made it to the Needles by 6.10am, before rounding St Catherine’s Point at 6.50am.

At times, the crew, which included Land Rover BAR tactician, Giles Scott, were hitting speeds in excess of 40 knots.

The owner of the 70-foot trimaran, Tony Lawson, said it was a thrilling ride.

“It got pretty tense for me when we did 44 knots off St Catherine’s (Point). That is as fast as you would ever want to go I can promise you that. That is faster than Sir Ben (Ainslie in the America’s Cup) by the way,” he stated.

Start line of the IRC Division 1A. Credit: Paul Wyeth

Concise 10 has shaved a whole minute off the record set by the crew of Phaedo3 last year.  It completed the race in 2hrs 22mins 23secs to secure 2017 Multihull Line Honours.

For a long time it looked as though Irvine Laidlaw’s Reichel-Pugh 82, Highland Fling XI would take the coveted Gold Roman Bowl after they took line honours for the monohulls in 4hrs 19mins 44secs..

But, ultimately no-one could match the might of  Adam Gosling’s JPK10.80 Yes! which managed to take victory by just shy of seven minutes on corrected time.

Continues below…

340 boats register for 2017 Fastnet Race in less than five minutes

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The crew of Yes! stormed around the 50 nautical-miles course to win the highest accolade – the Gold Roman Bowl.

While some tasted victory, for others it was a tougher race.

The crew of the yacht, Quokka, had to call for assistance after the boat hit a submerged object just east of the Needles just after 7.15am.

The force of the collision resulted in a crew member sustaining a broken shoulder, and another, minor head injuries.

The Yarmouth RNLI lifeboat went to assist, along with the RNLI’s Lymington lifeboat.

Two Yarmouth lifeboat crew were put aboard the yacht to assess the two injured crew and assist in their safe transferral to the Yarmouth lifeboat, which then returned them to Yarmouth harbour and an awaiting ambulance.

The second call for Yarmouth RNLI came at 8.05am from the 48ft yacht Marathon reporting the collapse of a crew member.

Yarmouth lifeboat crew board yacht Quokka with the help of the Lymington lifeboat. Credit: Yarmouth/RNLI

The lifeboat came alongside the yacht just off Hurst Castle and the sailor, who had a suspected burst appendix, was transferred to the lifeboat from where they were airlifted to hospital by the UK Coastguard’s Search and Rescue Helicopter.

Lastly, at 10.41am the Yarmouth lifeboat was tasked to assist yacht Ajax which had run aground on Atherfield Ledge.

By the time the volunteer crew had reached the scene, Ajax had been re-floated without assistance and was able to continue the race.

30 June 2017

The Race Management team led by Rear Commodore Sailing Dave Atkinson at the Island Sailing Club in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, is making last-minute preparations to welcome 1,342 yachts to eleven individual starts first thing on Saturday morning 1 July. The first start is scheduled for 05:30 and the starting sequence will be completed by 07:10 as the fleet heads west from Cowes to the Needles. 

Among those signed up to race are last year’s Gold Roman Bowl winner, Bernard Langley’s TP52 Gladiator with, fresh from his Land Rover BAR America’s Cup debut, , David ‘Freddie’ Carr on board. The Race also welcomes back the Greig City Academy Sailing Team, the inspirational and ultra-competitive North London inner city state school entry Scaramouche. 

Last year’s runner-up to the record-breaking MOD70 Phaedo^3 who took Line Honours, with the distinctive blue hulls of Concise 10 is back aiming to achieve that accolade this year. The record set by Phaedo^3 was an astounding 2 hours 23 minutes and 23 seconds, smashing the Multihull race record time set by Sir Ben Ainslie in 2013 by a stunning 28 minutes!

Somewhat more sedately but equally competitive, the Cloudy Bay Brand ambassador Ben Fogle is racing with the race sponsor’s guests on board the Farr 52 Bob by Cloudy Bay, skippered by Stephen Durkin.

Racing for the FAST40+ Class continues with Round Two of the FAST40+ Race Circuit, consisting of one day of Windward Leeward racing today, Friday 30 June, followed by 11 FAST40s racing around the Island on Saturday for the FAST40+ Cloudy Bay Trophy. 

Having previously raced his own boats, a Hustler 35, an SB20 and a J109, this year Rob Bellfield is skippering a Starlight 35, Sea Nymph III, to give a multi-national crew the experience of the Round the Island Race. Rob is Chairman of the GBR 420 Class Association as well as being a serving Royal Navy Captain. The boat has been chartered by the Royal College of Defence Studies YC, an international defence staff college located in Belgrave Square in London. Course members are 75% from foreign nations and are in the UK for a year to learn about strategy formulation at the national level. The crew is multi-national, with British, Norwegian, French, Israeli, Dutch and Spanish members.

The organisers are hosting the pre-Race press conference today at the Island Sailing Club, followed later by the all-important Raymarine Weather Briefing at 18:00 with meteorologist Simon Rowell. There promises to be a marquee overflowing with interesting competitors and a great line-up of stage guests including three members of the British Youth Squad, the 420 sailors Vita Heathcote and twins Milly and Charlotte Boyle, racing a chartered J/70 called Rita on Saturday.

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust also returns this year as the Official Race Charity and has four boats and competing.

For more information visit: www.roundtheisland.org.uk. 

5 April 2017

Since 2005, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has been bringing young people in recovery from cancer to take part in the Round the Island Race .

This year, the charity will be entering four yachts, providing 28 young people with the opportunity to to challenge themselves in a safe and supportive environment.

The annual one-day annual yachting extravaganza sees upwards of 1,500 yachts and 12,000 sailors race around the Isle of Wight.

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The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has been the race’s official charity since 2007, and so far more £266,000 has been raised.

The 2017 race date is Saturday, 1 July with a first start of 05.30.

Race organisers are reporting that entries are coming in steadily and are already at over 600 which is on par with previous years when the race has been held a little later in the Summer, usually owing to tidal conditions.

Phaedo^3 which smashed the multihull record in the 2016 race. Credit: onEdition

TV personality Ben Fogle will be among those taking part in the event this year.

He will be onboard the Farr 52, Bob, which has been entered by the presenting sponsor, Cloudy Bay. It will be skippered by Stephen Durkin.

Ex-Gloucestershire and England off spinner, and the chairman of Cricket for The Lords Taveners, Martyn Ball, will also be taking part – getting his very first taste of yacht racing.

He will be on board the Hanse 385, Mr Blue Sky, skippered by Adrian Page.

“Bally is good friends with all members of the crew, and expressed interest in joining the boat after watching Alex Thomson in the Vendée Globe earlier this year, and feeling the call of the sea grow within him,” explained Page.

“We are all set for competing in the ISCRS class, not expecting to be at the front of the pack for the first leg of the race, but will certainly be competing at the bar later, mixing it up with the other crews,” he added.

Entries for the 2017 Round the Island Race close at midnight on 17 June.

17 January 2017

Entries for this year’s Round the Island Race will open at midnight on Friday, 27 January 2017.

The Island Sailing Club (ISC) in Cowes, which organises the annual competition, has announced that Early Bird entries will close at midnight on Saturday, 18 February 2017, when the standard entry fee will apply.

This year, the iconic race around the Isle of Wight will be held on 1 July.

Last year’s race saw challenging conditions, with gusts of almost 40 knots.

Dramatically, the Dubois half-tonner, Alchemist, sank in 17 metres of water just east of The Needles, after it hit the wreck of the SS Varvassi while competing in the race.

Video: Watch as commodore’s yacht sinks in Round the Island Race

The Junior Offshore Group (JOG) racer belonged to the commodore of the Island Sailing Club, Mark Wynter.

No one was injured in the incident.

The winners of the prestigious Gold Roman Bowl for the first IRC boat on corrected time was Bernard Langley’s TP52 Gladiator.

The crew completed the course in less than four and a half hours.

Lloyd Thornburg’s giant MOD70 trimaran Phaedo^3, tore round the course in two hours 23 minutes and 23 seconds, smashing the record time Sir Ben Ainslie set in 2013 by a stunning 28 minutes.

Gladiator sails past The Needles. Credit: onEdition

The Round the Island Race annually attracts in the region of 1,500 competing yachts and upwards of 12,000 sailors from around the globe.

Last year saw the departure of title sponsor J.P. Morgan Asset Management after 12 years. A new sponsor is expected to be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, Raymarine has signed a new three-year deal as the Race Technical Partner.

The ISC has also confirmed that the official race charity will continue being the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust for a further year.

Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust announces Round Britain ’17

Heading up the race management team, ISC Sailing Flag Dave Atkinson urged people to sign up for the Round the Island Race.

“Whatever the outcome of our sponsorship discussions, we will be running an expertly managed race on 1 July and are looking forward to keeping the RTI flag flying high, so please do sign up from 27 January,” he urged.

Further details will be available online from 27 January.

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The post Round the Island Race race record broken appeared first on YBW.

Luck ran out for two men and their small yacht on the Solent yesterday (26 June).

The pair, who were not wearing life jackets, were caught in the fast-moving tide off Egypt Point after their outboard engine failed.

The yacht under tow. Credit: RNLI/George Chastney

They tried to anchor, but this didn’t prevent the River Medina-based mini-yacht, called Sea Witch, from being swept westwards.

The men were spotted by the crew of a motor boat who contacted the UK Coastguard. They stayed alongside the boat until help arrived.

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The volunteer crew of the RNLI Cowes lifeboat were deployed to assist.

The 18-foot yacht was described as being in a “poor condition” by the Cowes lifeboat helm, Mark Harker.

A tow line was established, before the lifeboat brought the yacht alongside the Island Sailing Club pontoon at Cowes.

The RNLI recommends that life jackets should be worn at all times while out on the water.

The post Two rescued from ‘poor condition’ yacht in the Solent appeared first on YBW.

With hot temperatures all weekend, Gosport & Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS) had their hands full and were called into action seven times in four days to assist boats in trouble.

On Friday 16 June at 9.30pm after a routine evening training session, crews were putting Gosport lifeboat away at Stokes Bay when UK Coastguard called on the volunteers to assist a vessel aground on Bramble Bank in The Solent.

The 30-foot yacht, which had two people on board, had run aground on the bank near Southampton Water.

GAFIRS senior coxswain Brian Pack said: “We were able to get to the scene in less than 10 minutes as the crew and lifeboat was ready to launch, thanks to some evening training.

“When we arrived, I placed a crewman on board the casualty vessel who assessed for any damage. He then rigged an astern tow and we slowly eased the vessel off the bank.”

GAFIRS lifeboat escorted the vessel back towards Cowes, Isle of Wight, to ensure it returned to port safely. The operation lasted two hours.

 At 6am on Saturday, 17 June, GAFIRS was paged by UK Coastguard and asked to assist a second boat that had run aground in Portsmouth Harbour. A crewman jumped on board the yacht, which had six people on board, and the lifeboat pulled the vessel free.

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A few hours later, at 11.08am, UK Coastguard called on GAFIRS to investigate an unmanned tender which had been spotted near Lee-on-the-Solent. Crews found the 8ft vessel was waterlogged and after checking for anybody on board or persons missing, they identified the owner thanks to a sticker on the craft and safely returned it.

Later that afternoon GAFIRS helped a person in their tender get back on their yacht near Seaview on the Isle of Wight after they had been in the water for 20 minutes and became exhausted.

The skipper had been attempting to clear a fouled prop and needed assistance. A paramedic GAFIRS crewman assessed the casualty and decided further treatment was necessary as he had inhaled sea water.

The vessel was towed back to Bembridge and the skipper handed to ambulance crews for further treatment.

The same day, in the afternoon GAFIRS helped a small mirror dinghy and then on Sunday gave first aid to a member of the public who had become unwell at Stokes Bay.

Finally today, Monday 19 June at 9.48pm, Gosport’s inshore lifeboat was tasked to investigate a Personal Locator Beacon that had been activated in Camber Dock, Portsmouth. The reports turned out to be a false alarm.

Mr Pack added: “As the weather hots up, so often does the work of lifeboats in The Solent. So far this year we’ve now tackled 52 incidents and it’s looking like it could be another very busy year for your local independent lifeboat station.”

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First there was controversy over the naming, then it broke down just a day after going into service and now the floating bridge service from East Cowes to Cowes on the Isle of Wight has been suspended.

The suspension of the chain link ferry by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is due to “training issues”.

The Isle of Wight Council said it was consulting with the MCA to resolve the issues with the floating bridge as soon as possible.

The new floating bridge began operating on Saturday (13 May), replacing the older chain link ferry.

On Sunday, an electrical fault caused the vessel to breakdown. Passengers and their vehicles were left stranded for several hours.

Operations began briefly again on Monday before the service was suspended by the MCA.

Continued below…

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A surveyor from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: “We have inspected the ferry this morning (15 May) and have subsequently suspended the passenger service until the company have addressed some training issues we’ve identified.”

“We will be re-inspecting the vessel in due course, subject to these issues being rectified.  We are confident that the company is working hard to bring the vessel into full service shortly,” added the surveyor.

In a statement, the Isle of Wight Council confirmed the suspension of the floating bridge.

“Following an approach from the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) this morning, regarding the teething issues encountered by the floating bridge during the weekend, the service is currently suspended.”

“The council is consulting with the MCA to confirm that all issues have been resolved necessary for the service to resume. The electrical fault that caused issues on Sunday has since been identified and fixed.”

The post “Teething issues” with the new Cowes floating bridge results in shut down appeared first on YBW.

The crew of a speedboat got into difficulty in Wootton Creek on the Isle of Wight after the vessel’s propeller became fouled on a live electric cable.

The skipper contacted the UK Coastguard, which deployed volunteers with the Cowes RNLI Lifeboat at 1.50am on Easter Sunday.

The RNLI crew were initially misdirected to the Folly area of the River Medina before arriving at Wootton Creek, where they found two men on board the 14-foot Hustler.

“We thought it must be a rope causing the problem, but instead found it was an electric cable extending from the shore to a nearby moored empty yacht, and was apparently live,” explained the Cowes lifeboat helm, Mark Harker.

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“It clearly presented a challenge, to say the least, but after quite a struggle – and thankfully with no electric shocks – we managed to untangle the cable, which had also become twisted,” he added.

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The speedboat’s crew disclosed that earlier, after leaving the Sloop Inn in Wootton with the intention of returning to their base in Portsmouth Harbour, they had also gone aground.

With the Hustler now free of the cable, it was towed to the Royal Victoria Yacht Club’s pontoon at Fishbourne, where the men were strongly advised to wait until it was light before proceeding on to Portsmouth.

The lifeboat returned to station at 3.15 am.

Harker said the experience had provided the crew with a salutary lesson. “Never assume that a line fouling a boat’s propeller is just a rope!”

The post Live electric cable found wrapped around speedboat propeller appeared first on YBW.

11.15

The Isle of Wight Council has rescinded on its decision to veto Floaty McFloatface as the name of the new floating bridge at Cowes.

It comes following outcry on social media after a spokesman said the name would not be considered.

A petition was even launched by regular bridge user Martin Linnenbruger to call it Floaty McFloatface, which has so far attracted more than 2,000 signatures.

The council is running a competition to name the bridge, who operates between Cowes and East Cowes.

Speaking to the Isle of Wight County Press Online, the leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Dave Stewart said the name would now be considered.

“When my administration says we’ll ask island residents what they want to call the new floating bridge, we mean it. If Floaty McFloatface is out in front in terms of popularity, that suggestion will not be vetoed by officers.”

“Today our cross-party executive unanimously decided to overturn any decision by officers to rule out Floaty, or any other suggestion provided it isn’t offensive,” he continued.

“Keep the names and the votes coming in, this competition for a new name for boring old Floating Bridge 6 could really put the island on the map,” added the councillor.

Linnenbruger, who lives in Shanklin, told YBW that he wasn’t convinced.

“I guess it could be seen as a small victory but I still don’t think the council will use the name even if it is the most popular,” he said.

0900

First there was controversy over Boaty McBoatface…now a new, admittedly tinier, storm is brewing on the Isle of Wight as locals band together to name the new floating bridge Floaty McFloatface.

It comes as the Isle of Wight Council decided to launch a competition to name the bridge, currently called Floating Bridge number 6.

But according to 46-year-old regular bridge user, Martin Linnenbruger, who has started the petition, the council is not interested in naming it Floaty McFloatface.

So far, more than 1,500 people have signed the petition.

Speaking to YBW, Linnenbruger, who lives in Shanklin, said: “The idea came about when the Isle of Wight Council put out a vote to name the new floating bridge but said they would exclude Floaty McFloatface, so I thought lets start a petition and see what happens.”

Video: First mission for Boaty McBoatface submersible

“Then to have so many people sign it was beyond anything I could imagine, as for what benefits it could have, it could show the island as being a fun place to visit and for sure would put a smile on people’s faces, also the selfie generation posting all over social media could bring publicity for the island,” he continued.

“In this day and age of doom and gloom, a bit of light hearted fun is something everyone could do with,” added Linneenbruger, who admits that he was unaware of the original Boaty McBoatface vote to name the Natural Environment Research Council’s new state-of-the-art polar research ship until it was over.

The Isle of Wight Council issued a press release encouraging people to name the new floating bridge, which operates between Cowes and East Cowes.

A council spokesman was reported as saying that Floaty McFloatface would be vetoed, which caused an outcry on social media.

“We’ll admit, ‘Floating Bridge number 6’ isn’t the most exciting of names for our new state of the art, modern floating bridge; but it is its registered name. Think you can do a better job of naming her? Now is your chance to get involved and think of something more exciting,” wrote the council in its release

“Entries of name suggestions for the new floating bridge are welcomed via the council’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/isleofwightcouncil. Please comment on the ‘pinned post’ at the top of the page. Name suggestions will be accepted before 12 noon on 7 April 2017.”

“Once collated, the best six suggestions will be put to the public vote, again, via the council’s Facebook page; with the winner to be announced on 21 April.”

Meanwhile Linnenbruger is not overly confident that the council will change its mind on Floaty McFloatface.

“Will the council listen? I very much doubt it,” he commented.

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The post Floaty McFloatface? Petition launched to name the new Isle of Wight floating bridge appeared first on YBW.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of drug offences after a motor boat hit a mooring in Cowes Harbour in the early hours of 26 March.

One man was reported missing which sparked a sea search involving the UK Coastguard, a search and rescue helicopter and the crews of the Cowes and Calshot RNLI lifeboats.

The man was later located on shore several hours later and the search was called off.

The other three men managed to navigate the 20-foot boat, called Loose Cannon, to Trinity Landing where they were met by paramedics and taken to hospital with head, spine and chest injuries.

The matter is now being investigated by officers with Hampshire Police.

In a statement, the police said: “At 3.13am on Sunday, March 26 officers received a report of boat accident in Cowes Marina.”

“Police officers arrived at the scene within minutes and assisted ambulance crews treating the injured parties.”

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“Three men were taken to hospital where they were treated for their injuries,” continued the statement. “Three men were subsequently arrested.”

The police have confirmed that one man has now been charged.

“A 39-year-old man from Waterlooville was arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class B controlled drug and being concerned in the supply of drugs. He has been bailed until May 5,” continued Hampshire Police.

A 34-year-old man from Southsea and a 39-year-old from Petersfield were both arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs, but were released with no further action.

The RNLI said boat was badly damaged after it hit the mooring, and then floated down with the tide to Trinity Landing.

In a statement, the UK Coastguard said: “The UK Coastguard received multiple 999 calls at approximately 3.00am on Sunday 26 March after a boat hit a mooring in Cowes Harbour. Three people made it to shore but one person was reported missing.”

“The Ventnor and Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Teams, the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Lee-on-Solent and the Cowes and Calshot RNLI lifeboats were all sent to search the area. Hampshire Police and the Isle of Wight Ambulance service were also on scene.”

“After an extensive search, the missing person was found ashore,” concluded the statement.

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The post Arrests after boat hits mooring in Cowes Harbour appeared first on YBW.

Entry into the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race has surpassed expectations in record-breaking time, with the 340-boat limit reached in just 4 minutes and 24 seconds of registration opening.

The biennial 603-nautical mile race is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC).

“The take-up of entries for the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race has been incredible. We expected to better the time it took to reach the limit in the last race of 24 minutes, but this is amazing,” explained RORC Racing’s Nick Elliott.

“It just exemplifies how sought after the places in the race are and confirms that it is a real sporting institution; one which every sailor wants to tick off their personal ‘bucket list’,” he stated.

The 47th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race will start in the Solent from Cowes, Isle of Wight, on Sunday 6 August, finishing in Plymouth via the Fastnet Rock, the symbol of the race, located off the southern coast of Ireland.

“Seven boats raced in the first race in 1925 and the founding members of the RORC and its flagship event would have been in awe of their creation with 340 boats signing up so quickly today (9 January 2017),” continued Elliot.

“With all this interest, we expect a record-sized fleet to start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line, making the Rolex Fastnet Race by far the largest of the world’s classic 600-mile offshore races, in terms of participation. One not to be missed,” he added.

The First 40, Lancelot II was the first boat to enter the race, signing up just 12 seconds after the online entry system opened.

The next four boats entered shortly after: Arthur Logic, Pelgrim, Jolly Jack Tar and Moana.

Entries from 28 different nations have signed up and include; Great Britain, France (who have dominated the event in the recent years), Netherlands, Germany and USA, with an entry from Korea as well as from Australia and New Zealand.

The race has attracted the usual diverse fleet of yachts, from beautiful classics to some of the world’s fastest racing machines – and everything in between, racing in IRC or selected offshore classes such as IMOCA60, VOR65, Class40 and MOCRA Multihull.

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The post 340 boats register for 2017 Fastnet Race in less than five minutes appeared first on YBW.

16 August

Natasha Lambert, who has athetoid cerebral palsy, has just completed her latest Mountain, Loch, Lock and Sea challenge in Scotland.

The 19-year-old uses a wheel chair and has little control over her movements and speech.

But despite this, she has just climbed the Cairn Gorm mountain, sailed through Lochs and Sounds in the Highlands and negotiated two Scottish canals, the Caledonian and the Crinan.

All the money raised during the challenge will go towards her charity, the Miss Isle School of Sip and Puff.

The school gives young people like Natasha the chance to get out on the water and sail in specially adapted boats.

Natasha controls her own 21-foot yacht, Miss Isle Too, by sipping and puffing on a straw.

The expedition began at Inverness Marina on 18 July after months of planning and training.

To tackle the mountain, Natasha used a Hart Walker.

This device allows her to stand upright which then means she can propel herself forward.

It took Natasha more than five-and-a-half hours to ascend and descend the Cairn Gorm mountain – the sixth highest peak in Britain.

She was supported by a team of people, including her parents, sister and a safety adviser from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

While sailing, Natasha has to use a special canting seat in her yacht.

This proved especially challenging on the canals, where she had to spend hours waiting to go through locks.

Natasha says she undertakes her challenges for two reasons, to raise funds and to raise awareness.

She has already received a British Empire Medal for her previous fund raising efforts.

15 July

Natasha Lambert’s charity teaches sip and puff sailing, where the sailor controls the boat by sipping and puffing on a straw.

Miss Isle School of Sip and Puff is based on the Isle of Wight and was founded by Natasha, who has athetoid cerebral palsy.

The 19-year-old wanted to open sailing up to more people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to the sport.

Natasha has already completed a number of challenges in her specially-designed 21 foot yacht, Miss Isle Too.

The boat’s unique sailing mechanism was pioneered by Natasha’s father, Gary, who spent hours coming up with the system.

Her mother, Amanda, who is also heavily involved with the charity, said she can see the difference sailing has made.

“I have seen first hand the immense benefits sailing has given our daughter; not just the control and freedom on the water, but increasing her self esteem and self worth, and even improving her speech,” she said.

Natasha, who is coached by Phil Devereux, will undertake her latest challenge on 18 July to raise money and the profile of her charity.

Along with her team, she is sailing from Inverness to Glasgow via the Caledonian and Crinan canals.

Not content with pushing herself to her limits on the water, she and her team will also be scaling Cairn Gorm Mountain, the sixth highest peak in Britain.

Natasha on her yacht, Miss Isle. Credit: Miss Isle School of Sip and Puff

For this part of the challenge Natasha will swap her wheelchair for her “Hart Walker”, a stable device which she can propel forward despite having limited control over her movements.

In June 2015, Natasha received the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honour’s List.

This was in recognition of her fundraising achievements.

So far, she has raised £53,000.

In May 2015, she sailed 262 miles from Cowes to London to raise awareness of disabled sailing, and to raise funds to start her charity.

She has also sailed around the Isle of Wight, crossed the Channel, sailed over five hundred miles to Wales and climbed the highest peak in Southern Britain, Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons.

Natasha has also started last year’s Round the Island Race, and has been included in the Independent on Sunday 2015 Happy List.

Natasha said: “I just enjoy doing what I do. It’s great people get behind it, but really anyone could do it”.

The 19-year-old met up with sailors taking part in the Cowes Classic Week before preparing for her Scottish challenge.

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The post Pictures: Miss Isle’s Natasha Lambert completes her Scottish challenge appeared first on YBW.

Twin Wakes was being used as a committee boat for the Island Sailing Club’s J/111 Garmin World Championship when it starting taking on water.

The crew issued a Mayday call as the boat began sinking north of East Bramble Buoy in the Solent.

Cowes, Bembridge and Calshot RNLI lifeboats were all scrambled on 2 August.

The 30-foot Twin Wakes began taking on water on the port side.

The port engine compartment eventually became fully flooded, causing the vessel to lean further over in the choppy sea.

The seven crew were evacuated to the Ministry of Defence Police launch, Endeavour, which had also attended the incident.

They were all taken back to Cowes uninjured.

Portable pumps were put aboard the Twin Wakes by the crew of the Cowes and Calshot inshore lifeboats.

However, they were not powerful enough to pump out the water.

“By then, though, it (Twin Wakes) was close to capsizing,” explained the Cowes helm, Alasdair Boden.

“And the amount of water aboard proved just too much,” he added.

The pump on board Bembridge’s all weather lifeboat was deployed.

It pumped out enough water to make the boat buoyant enough to be towed.

Twin Wakes was towed back to its home port of Cowes by the Bembridge lifeboat.

The Cowes lifeboat followed astern.

At Cowes, the vessel was swiftly lifted out of the water at Cowes Yacht Haven, to undergo a full inspection.

The RNLI said it understand that Twin Wakes is owned by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

The Island Sailing Club’s J/111 Garmin World Championship racing was not affected by the sudden emergency.

The RIB, Golden Toad, filled in for Twin Wakes’ absence on the course.

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The post 7 rescued from Twin Wakes as boat starts sinking in the Solent appeared first on YBW.

Cowes RNLI responded following reports that the 22-foot yacht, International Tempest, had holed and was in danger of sinking in the Solent.

The vessel, which had two men aboard, were reported to be near Bramble Bank at the entrance of Southampton Water.

The volunteer crew from Cowes raced across the Solent just before 3pm on 12 July to assist the two men.

Close up of the hole. Credit: George Chastney/RNLI

On arrival, the RNLI found the yacht was already under tow by the RIB Red Abigail.

International Tempest’s crew were sitting on the yacht’s transom to lift the bow as much as possible out of the water.

Red Abigail continued the tow across the Solent to the Isle of Wight, escorted throughout by the Cowes lifeboat.

Once it reached Cowes, the holed yacht was taken to Shepards Wharf Marina, where it was speedily lifted onto the shore.

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The Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award is the world’s premier photography competition dedicated to the sport of sailing.

It was started in 2010 with the aim of allowing professional yacht racing photographers to share their passion for the sport with a wide community.

See the Top 10 Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2015 gallery below

In order to fit with the latest trend and carry on improving, the event has announced a new set of rules. These have been established with the support of some of the most prominent yacht racing photographers.

The top 80 photographs submitted will be preselected by a panel of three international and well recognised yacht racing photographers and published on the event’s website.

The top 20 pictures selected by the jury will be displayed during the Yacht Racing Forum, on 28-29 November. The winning photographer will receive the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award and at least € 1,000 prize money. Overall, a minimum of € 2,000 prize money will be distributed to the winners.

Two secondary prizes will also be awarded during the Yacht Racing Forum: The Yacht Racing Forum Award, which is selected by the delegates attending the Yacht Racing Forum, and the Public Award which is selected by the votes from the public on Facebook.

Photographers can submit only one photograph, taken between 1 November 2015 and 13 October 2016.

“The world’s most prominent yacht racing photographers didn’t like the fact that too much importance was given to the votes of the public on Facebook”, says the event organiser, Bernard Schopfer.

“We will still use this social network to promote the event, but the winner will be selected by the jury. Likewise, the top 20 pictures displayed at the Yacht Racing Forum will have been selected by the international jury,” he states.

The 2015 Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image uncovered a stunning collection of images sent by 135 professional photographers spanning 29 countries. More than one million people saw their pictures through social networks, whilst 1.5 million page views have been accounted on the event website.

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The sail training bursary called ‘Gosport Marine Futures’ includes a place in the Small Ships Race and all 14-17 years old living in the Gosport area can apply.

“The crew will begin a 6-month course of team building activities and sail training, designed around school commitments, with Gosport’s Little Brigs, Cowes-based UKSA and GAFIRS, the Stokes Bay rescue service. In August, our team will race from Dartmouth to Gosport with Discovery Sailing Project, competing against 150 young crew from around the UK,” explains Councillor John Beavis MBE who, together with the teams at Motiv8 and the Gosport Community Safety Partnership, was Gosport Marine Scene’s inspiration to develop the programme.

Upon completion of the sail training, the crew will earn RYA Competent Crew accreditation, and receive support to join local sailing clubs or the Gosport Sea Cadet Unit, to continue to develop their skills. They will also get the chance to meet local employers for marine work experience and become the Gosport Marine Scene Youth Ambassadors.
On 27th May 2017 those who have taken part in the training will pass on the baton to the next crew at the Gosport Marine Festival.

Speaking at Bridgemary School, to students attending the Gosport Enterprising Women event, Abby Thomson, Founding Director of Gosport Marine Scene said: “We aim to inspire the next generation to take up sailing and careers in the maritime sector. Over 1000 free on-the-water taster sessions have been delivered since 2013. Gosport Marine Futures is the next step for us. This will be an adventure, a challenge, and an experience you will never forget. The skills you learn will help you for your whole life.”

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage added “I hope all the Gosport community will get behind our crew and follow their progress via the Gosport Marine Festival facebook page”.

To apply visit www.gosportmarinefestival.org.uk where you can download full details on Gosport Marine Futures, including dates and an application form. The closing date is 21st February 2016. Sailing experience is not needed but participants must be up for a challenge and be keen to learn. The 10 successful crew, together as a team, will fundraise £150pp, which is the final 10% of the cost of the programme.

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The famous one-day yacht race around the Isle of Wight, the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race takes place on 2 July and participants can start registering from Friday 15th January.

This year the race will start at 8.30am and each group will set off within 10 minutes of each other.

The Race organisers at the Island Sailing Club have announced that the new Fast 40+ Class will be competing in this year’s Round the Island Race. The class will not be eligible to race for the Gold Roman Bowl but is competing for the Turbo UK Cup.

Stuart Childerley, the Race Director of the Fast 40+ Race Circuit said:
“The Fast 40+ Class fleet is delighted to be racing in the 2016 Round the Island Race.  With relatively short upwind legs and plenty of reaching and downwind sailing, the fleet is looking forward to this exciting and dramatic, mid season extravaganza.”

The RIC welcomes back the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust charity in its final year as the Official Race Charity after five successful years and which saw the trust raise £226,364.25. This amount has enabled an additional 334 young people to join the Trust for a four day trip and 95 young people in recovery from cancer to be able to sail in Britain’s Favourite Yacht Race.

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is hoping to raise a further £40,000 through its association with the Race this year.

Competitors come from all over the UK, Europe and the USA to participate in the race and navigate the 50 nautical mile course round the Isle of Wight. It starts on the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, then the fleet races west-about, to The Needles, round St Catherine’s Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy, and back into the Solent to the finish line back at Cowes.

The event is one of a kind and attracts over 16,000 sailors and 1,700 boats.

The ISC is offering one free entry to this year’s Race. The winner’s name will be drawn at random after Early Bird entries close on 13th February. Visit  http://www.rtir.me/entries to register.

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The developers of the new East Cowes marina have revealed that they plan to completely regenerate the area, as part of a £200m masterplan.

Camper & Nicholsons Marinas will be leading the on-water development, which will be called Victoria Marina, in honour of the area’s historic royal connections.

And following the recent completion of the Cowes breakwater, the coast is clear for the developers to press on with their plans for the former GKN Aerospace site.

The new Victoria Marina will feature 400 new berths, measuring up to 25m LOA. What’s more, the project is expected to create 250 new jobs in the area.

On the shoreside, C&N’s partners Westcourt Real Estate plan to refurbish the Columbine Building (pictured above), which is famous for sporting the world’s largest Union Jack.

Other developments include landscaped gardens, office space for local and international businesses, and residential and hospitality properties situated alongside the marina.

Sir Christopher Lewinton, chairman of Camper & Nicholsons Marinas, said: “We will create new public amenities and an attractive place to visit and for the people who live there.

“And we are delighted to be re-establishing a long awaited operational presence in the UK for Camper & Nicholsons.”

Planning permission has been in place for more than five years, but a definitive timeframe for completion has not yet been announced.

The new East Cowes marina is just one part of a wider plan for the region called Solent Gateways, which will also see the expansion of the Red Funnel passenger ferry service.

Story by Chris Jefferies at MBY.com

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The man has been named as Nigel Robert Greenyer.
His body was found on Sunday 29 November. Hampshire police received a call alerting them of the discovery near the floating bridge, the ferry link between East Cowes and Cowes. The cause of death is currently treated as unexplained.

The Cowes RNLI later found a yacht that they believe is linked to Mr Greenyer’s.

“The Cowes RNLI lifeboat was launched to search for a yacht following the discovery of a body of a man close to the East Cowes shore of the River Medina, a few metres from the floating bridge.”, the Cowes RNLI said in a statement.
“The search for the boat was under the direction of Solent Coastguard — taking part were a Cowes Harbour Commission launch and onshore coastguards from Newport and Bembridge.
“Meanwhile the police, initially supported by a police launch, were carrying out detailed investigations in the area where the body was found.
“Later, the lifeboat crew heard that the yacht from which the man was thought to have come was discovered in Cowes Yacht Haven.
“It was ascertained no-one else from the yacht was missing.”

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