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Round The Island Race 2023

Price: from £699

Location: Starts at our base at Premier Gosport Marina, and rounds the Isle of Wight, returning to Premier Gosport Marina

Duration: 2 Weekends (Practice & Race weekends)

The Iconic Round The Island Race is an event all sailors should do at least once. Our comprehensive race package includes a full weekend of intensive training two weeks before the race in order to prepare you for the big day! Possibly the best introduction to the friendliest race in the Solent, you’ll see multi-million pound racing yachts mixing it in with yachts costing a few hundred pounds. It truly is a race for all and not one to be missed.

Booking details

Event Information

Joining Instructions: Please click here for event joining instructions

Recommended Reading: Island Sailing Club notification of race, RTIR website.

Event Prerequisites: At least RYA Competent Crew with some sailing time

Minimum Age: 18+

This event runs in a single format:

  • First Weekend: 17-18th June 2023 (Saturday – Sunday) Practice
  • Second Weekend: 1-2nd July 2023 (Saturday – Sunday) Race Day & morning after!

Holiday Insurance: We would advise ALL our customers to ensure they have suitable holiday insurance in-place. Yachtsman’s insurance is available from a variety of souces like Topsail Insurance and can cover things like cancellations and personal effects cover.

Who is the event for:

This event is for any competent sailor who wants to give the iconic Round the Island Race a go! So as long as you are at least RYA Competent Crew trained, or have suitable sailing skills, are fit and agile and can adapt quickly during the race this may be the event for you.

Please be aware this race is not a short ’round the cans’ race. It’s a full day of sailing and it starts very early in the morning. The practice weekends are also long and enduring, as the race may take upwards of 9 hours to complete, or longer!

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What we cover on the event:

The weekend prior to the race will cover a general skills review and practice/refresh, typical racing techniques, safety considerations and drills, crew positions and jobs, communication and hierarchy, technical brief and strategy, weather monitoring and considerations and other elements which will all make up a safe and run race. 

On race day we will start early, have a final skippers brief including weather and tide review, final questions session and prepare the boat. We then leave the marina/anchorage and get to the line, ready for the off!

During this event we will include meals on board (breakfast both days, lunch both days, dinner one night), moorings at Cowes on the practice weekend and of course entry into the race itself.

Unlike other training schools we want you to  be completely comfortable, confident and excited about undertaking the Round The Island Race, which is why we include for a full weekends training before the race! As you’d expect from Commodore Yachting, we do things the right way!

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Event formats & details:

This event runs in a single format:

  • First Weekend: 17-18th June 2023 (Saturday – Sunday) Practice
  • Second Weekend: 1-2nd July 2023 (Saturday – Sunday) Race Day & morning after!

Included in the cost is the preparation and practice weekend before the race, and the race day itself.

The actual race day has been confirmed by the ISC as 1st July 2023. This is subject to change however. Our preparation weekend is two weeks before the race, subject to weather. Keep the following weekend free in case we have to reschedule the practice weekend!

On race-day we return to either Hamble or Cowes (Subject to availability of berths) at the end of the race for a good night out and to soak up the post-race atmosphere. The race itself can be exhausting and an evening finish may happen on the day.

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Our Principal says this about the Round The Island Race:

You’ll be part of a truly iconic race known the world over, which attracts everything from multi-million pound race boats, to smaller vessels costing no more than a few hundred pounds. It’s simply a must-do event for every sailor, not one to be missed!

This is quite a commitment to make, as whilst the event is mainly one of fun and a great introduction to longer races, it’s one we like to be competitive with!

Your race Skipper will take you on an intensive training weekend where you’ll learn about race procedures, safety and how to react to quick tacks and gybes, the communication needed on board and how to act as a close-knit race team! It’ll also be a guide to the challenging waters around the Isle of Wight, the hazards and features, plus the tactics to be employed on the day!

It’s definitely one for the bucket list!

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Booking details

Please select your preferred start date below.

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Customer reviews

Fantastic experience. These guys go out of their way to make sure you have a good sailing holiday. Chartered a boat for the first time which was a daunting experience. But we were made to feel totally at ease. Had a great week

thumb Andy York
30th October 2021

Positive: Professionalism ,  Quality ,  Value Had an amazing 5 days doing my competent crew course. Tom was a great teacher and the whole experience was brilliant. Will come back as soon as I can

thumb Simon Bottomley
30th November 2020

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