More than 800 boats took part in this year's Round the Island Race, a 50 nautical-mile course around the Isle of Wight that started in Cowes on July 24, 2026. The fleet raced west toward the Needles, rounded St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy, then returned into the Solent to the finish line.
Daily Mail Science & Technology Editor Shivali Best watched the race from the water aboard a rib, invited by Helly Hansen, the event's official clothing partner.
The Round the Island Race has run for 95 years and is organised by the Island Sailing Club. It annually attracts more than 1,200 boats and around 10,000 sailors, making it one of the largest yacht races in the world and, behind the London Marathon and the Great North and South Runs, the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK.
Start of the race
The boats lined up at the start line at 6:45am, and a cannon sounded at 7am sharp to send the fleet off. As the boats began their journeys around the island, many hoisted spinnakers, the billowing balloon sails designed to catch maximum wind when sailing downwind, in a range of designs and colours.
Tracking down Pip Hare
The rib's aim was to find Pip Hare, a world-class offshore sailor sponsored by Helly Hansen. Although Hare had given her sail numbers in advance, locating her boat proved difficult with hundreds of vessels clumped together in the early stages of the race.
Her boat was eventually spotted near the Needles, a row of three chalk stacks that rise about 30 metres out of the sea. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hare said the race had been part of her sailing calendar since she was 18 and called it a huge mass participation event that is different every year. She said the atmosphere and the number of boats on the water always deliver, describing it as a serious racing event that is also a time to have fun with friends and that makes competitors feel part of a huge community.
Preparation and near miss
Hare said a huge amount of preparation goes into the race, including studying the currents around the island's shore and the forecast weather, including local effects. She said there is a lot of preparation but that sailors cannot prepare for how other boats will interact with them, sometimes forcing them to adapt on the move rather than take the line they want.
Hare said things around the Needles were dicier than they appeared from the rib. She said a boat outside her did not leave enough room to clear the rocks off the lighthouse, forcing her crew to call out for space to pass, adding that it was close and that she could see the rocks under the water.
Finish line results
After leaving Hare to focus on the race, the rib headed back to Cowes to catch the first boats finishing. Pace, owned by Jonny Vincent, was the first boat across the line, with an elapsed time of 06:32:39.
Vincent called it a great day and a great race, saying it was hard work going down the mainland shore at the start and that there was a tricky, funky stretch around the Needles. He said the crew stayed close to the island shore but that it was nice to head back into the sunshine.
Hare finished 10th overall. She said this year's race was long because the wind came from the east, meaning the fleet sailed upwind against the current between St Catherine's Point and Ventnor. She explained that sailors cannot sail directly into the wind, so they must zig zag at about 40 degrees to the wind, known as tacking upwind. Because the current was stronger in deeper water, the crew had to tack every minute in and out of the shore to stay in shallower water, completing more than 40 tacks in an hour.
Race director's verdict
Race Director Dave Atkinson called it an amazing day and a terrific race. He said organisers had been wishing for good weather for years and that this year delivered fantastic sunshine and a good breeze, adding that the sight of all the spinnakers up for the start was one to behold and showed the race in all its glory.
