High Potential Triumphs in Tough Round the Island Race!
The 87th Round the Island Race, one of the toughest on record, has crowned High Potential as overall winners. Ross Applebey and his lymington/" title="Lymington" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Lymington crew battled tricky light winds and tactical challenges to clinch the Gold Roman Bowl with a corrected time of 8:30:03.
‘Everything Turned to Gold’ for High Potential
pAn ecstatic skipper Ross Applebey said: “We are absolutely delighted with the result! It’s been an amazing day of sailing and, this year, everything we did seemed to turn to gold as we approached Ryde.”
He added: “We had a fantastic atmosphere on board all day – my wife Sarah and close friends were with us. After a dozen or so races and the last three with High Potential, it’s brilliant to see our hard work pay off.”
Multihull Madness – Slowest Line Honours Ever?
Ned Collier Wakefield and Irvine Laidlaw’s MOD70 foiling trimaran Concise Fling limped home with a sluggish 8:34:09 finishing time. That’s over six hours slower than last year’s record-shattering effort and may well be the slowest line honours ever recorded, thanks to near windless conditions.
Wind Woes Slam Hundreds at The Needles
The expected seabreeze failed to materialise, leaving hundreds of crews stranded before the tidal gate at The Needles slammed shut early in the race. Those who slipped through faced a punishing, painfully slow, and scorching finish around the island.
Monohull Spotlight: TP52 Gladiator
The first monohull home was Tony Langley’s TP52 Gladiator, clocking in at 8:56:47. Langley admitted: “That was the longest race I’ve ever done – nine hours on the helm is more than enough.”
He described the conditions: “Three tricky wind transitions made it tough. You had to keep the boat moving through light breezes to hold onto any advantage.”
Referring to their bid to catch Concise Fling near the finish, Langley said: “We nearly caught them – they were stuck in the transition longer than us, but it just wasn’t to be.”
Prize Draw Winner Bags Tech Loot
Paul French from Westerly Regatta 290 Temptation scooped the Raymarine Live Weather Briefing prize draw, winning a Raymarine Axiom 9-inch chartplotter and AIS700, worth a whopping £2,390.
