ROUND THE ISLAND RACE 2009

Race day: Saturday 20 June ‘09
Package: four days 18–21 June
The annual Round The Island Race is one of the highlights of the British yachting calendar, and with Pi Squared you can take part on big, fast, exciting yachts. Our package includes two days training immediately before the race, so that our crews can be genuinely competitive.

This year, we are operating a single four-day weekend, with two training days ahead of the race, to ensure that all crew get the maximum out of the event..

This is the world’s biggest yacht race: something like 1,800 yachts leave Cowes early on a Saturday morning in June (starting in nine groups, spread over a period of an hour and a half) to race anti-clockwise around the Isle of Wight, finishing back at Cowes in the afternoon. We're offering places on our two First 47.7s.

You can book individual places for this exciting event. The only qualification required is enough sailing experience to know that you can handle a full day at sea; given that, everyone is welcome, whether you do or don’t have racing experience. Each yacht will be skippered by an experienced racing yachtmaster, who will be assisted by a competent mate. Everyone will play a full part in sailing the boat, and we go to some lengths to get everyone up to speed during training. The basic idea of this training is simply that by knowing the ropes (and knowing the rest of the crew) everyone will have more fun on the big day; we also hope to get into the top half of Class 1 in the results.

Thursday 18 We will assemble at Ocean Village, Southampton on the Thursday morning. After a detailed safety briefing and dockside spinnaker practice, the boats will head out into the Solent for a day’s basic on-the-water training. We’ll probably spend the Thursday night in Hamble or Cowes.
 

Friday 19 We’ll devote the Friday to practising tacks and gybes, hoists and drops. During the day we’ll sort out what roles people want to play/are competent to play on race day. We will probably spend the Friday night in Cowes.
 

Saturday 20 Saturday is race day. The start sequence kicks off this year at a relatively late 0730, so our start (IRC Group 1) is likely to be approaching 0800. Barring accidents, we’ll finish in time to find plenty of empty berths when we get back to Cowes (the Yacht Haven operates on its usual first-come, first-served basis after the race.) We should be in by mid afternoon. We will have tables reserved for dinner.

Sunday 21 What we do on Sunday is up to the crews, but experience suggests a lazy start and a late breakfast will be followed by an easy cruise to Ocean Village for a late lunch there.

You get 4 days’ sailing with breakfasts and lunches included, and accommodation on board. Foulies and lifejackets are provided. Embroidered crew shirts and jackets/fleeces/gilets are included this year. The cost is £595. Demand always exceeds supply, so book soon

Please see below for a full itinerary for this weekend, but as places are going quickly, you would be recommended to secure your place early!  The cost for the whole event is £595.00 per person; we are accepting bookings on a ‘deposit now and balance later’ basis.  To book and confirm your place, please click on the link to the right.

Weekend Itinerary