The annual Round the Island Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, is a one-day yacht race around the Isle of Wight. The race regularly attracts over 1,000 boats and thousands of sailors, making it one of the largest yacht races in the world and the fourth largest participation event in the UK after the London Marathon and the Great North and South Runs.
The race continues to live up to its reputation as a ‘Race for All’ – welcoming sailors from all over UK and the world - with professional sailors, keen amateur crews, families and first-time racers competing on the same 50 nautical mile course. Starting on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes early morning on Saturday 11 June, the fleet races around the Isle of Wight in an anticlockwise direction.
Spectators can enjoy a fantastic view of all the action from many points on our island’s breath-taking coastline. The start in Cowes is a sight to see (and hear, with the starting cannons being fired for every fleet start), then the boats pass around the Needles Lighthouse, along the south-west coast of the Island to St. Catherine's Point and up across Sandown Bay to round the Bembridge Ledge Buoy. The fleet then makes its way on either side of No Man's Land Fort and across Osborne Bay to the finish line in Cowes. Those who cannot get to watch in person can always keep an eye on the race's progress on the event website and social media.
For more information visit the event website www.roundtheisland.org.uk and social media @roundtheisland / #RoundtheIsland.
Free for spectators.
For those wishing to participate, see www.roundtheisland.org.uk for race information and to enter.
| Open (11 July 2026) |
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