#rtir – A Cork based Quarter Tonner yacht will represent Irish hopes in Saturday's Round the Island Race. Jason Lostys Illes Pitiuses, a modified Farroux quarter ton, will compete in the Solent's  Round the Island Race. The boat will be crewed by Cove Sailing club members from Cork Harbour and will also be a warm up for the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup which starts next Wednesday.

#rtir – Peta Stuart-Hunt provides an overview as the countdown to the longest day commences

This Saturday, the 83rd edition of the Round the Island Race, hosted and run by the Cowes-based Island Sailing Club, will commence at 0630. The massive fleet will head off from Cowes on the 50 nautical mile course around the Isle of Wight. The Race, enjoying its 10th year of title sponsorship from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, started in 1931 with 25 boats and on Saturday 21st June - the longest day - there will be in excess of 1580 yachts competing.

The Race has come a long way since those early days and especially over the past ten years under the continuing expert stewardship of the Island Sailing Club, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and the family of Race Partners.

In order to bring the Race alive to its army of supporters around the world, skippers are encouraged to sign up to live tracking rtir.me/tracking, whilst families, friends and followers around the globe can follow the Race progress on the popular LIVE Blog, and there's a constant news output both on the Race website and on social media platforms.
This Race continues to retain a special place in sailors' hearts and its popularity continues to increase as organisers point to a 7% growth in the number of 'first timers' signing up to experience one of the most iconic yacht races in the world.

The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is indeed the largest yacht race of its kind in the world and it is also one of the largest participation sports in the UK attracting over 15,000 sailors to its start line. Entries come in from a wide range of professionals and amateur sailors, across the generations and level of ability... and all competing on equal terms. It's a rare and special thing.

2014's Race is held on Saturday 21st June. The first start is scheduled for 0630.

The 2014 Event is J.P. Morgan Asset Management's 10th year as Title Sponsor and the 83rd edition of this iconic yacht race.
The Island Sailing Club is grateful for the continued support of the Race Title Sponsor, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and the Race Partners for 2014: Dream Yacht Charter, Haven Knox-Johnston, Henri Lloyd, Nautica Watches, Old Pulteney Whisky, Raymarine, Red Funnel, Volvo Car UK.
The 2014 Race strapline is 'A Race for All'. If you tweet Race news using the hashtag #raceforall, J.P. Morgan will donate £1 to the Official Race Charity, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.
The Round the Island Race was first established in 1931.
2011 marked the 80th Anniversary of this great race.
The 50 nautical mile westabout Race starts and finishes in Cowes, Isle of Wight, the centre of British yachting.
The first race in 1931 had just 25 entrants. The top trophy awarded - as now - was the coveted Gold Roman Bowl, a replica of a Roman bowl dredged up from the River Thames.
The Race is an all-encompassing event that caters for and embraces first timers, families, amateurs and professionals competing at the highest level.
The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is the 4th largest participation sporting event in the UK after the London Marathon and the Great North and South Runs, with around 16,000 sailors taking part over the course of one day.
2010's Race had 1,754 entries and 1,607 finished the Race. This is the highest ever recorded number of finishers in the history of the Race.
Over the event's nine years of sponsorship by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, more than £600,000 has been raised for charity.
Nautica Watches sponsors the annual Outstanding Seamanship Award.
The current monohull race record set by Mike Slade on the 100ft ICAP Leopard on 1st June 2013 stands at 3.43.50.
This is 9 minutes and 45 seconds inside ICAP Leopard's own race record set back in 2008.
The multihull race record set on 1st June 2013 by Sir Ben Ainslie on JP Morgan BAR, an AC45, stands at 2.52.15 beating by an impressive 16 minutes the previous multihull race record set by Francis Joyon in 2001 aboard Dexia Eure et Loire of 3.08.29.
In 2013, the most coveted prize, the Gold Roman Bowl and JPMAM Salver for First Overall IRC went to 5 West, the TP52 owned and helmed by Sir Keith Mills and Robert Greenhalgh.

The Silver Roman Bowl and JPMAM Salver for Second Overall IRC went to Pace and Johnny Vincent.

The Observer Trophy and JPMAM Trophy for first Monohull to finish went to Mike Slade and ICAP Leopard.

#rtir – There has been a distinct upturn in the number of first timers entering the annual J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race since entries opened on January 3rd compared with a few years ago. Early Bird entries have now closed and currently entries stand at over 600. This year's Race takes place on Saturday 21st June, just a week before the Round Ireland race from Wicklow. 

First family
American Chris Palmer has entered J Taime, his J/109 (GBR6709R) into her 4th Round the Island Race although Chris has raced the annual 50-nautical mile course a few times on other boats. He lives in London and moved to the UK in 1995 for the weather and the sailing!

Weather permitting it will be the family's first Round the Island Race together, but they have done some inshore IRC racing with Chris in the past, and have cruised J Taime and other yachts. This year is a particularly special race though as the family has agreed to race with Dad to celebrate his 50th birthday.

Chris says that he is hoping that Maddy (13) will be able to steer some sections when the boat is not under too much load. Chris's son, Christopher "Chip" Palmer, will be aged nine on Race day and also on board is big sister Isabella (15) and Mum Gaby (Mexican/British) together with some friends.

First IRC entry
The first IRC entry was Geoff Gritton's Quarter Tonner Panic (GBR7299), a first timer this year. Geoff, from Brightlingsea in Essex, has sailed across the Atlantic twice and sailed dinghies and SB20s.

"MyQuarter Tonner is fully optimised for IRC and is a Peter Gimpel one-off design. I sailed on the boat in 1986 and then bought her in 2011. Since then we have put a new mast and rig and completely replaced the deck gear. I feel very lucky to own this fantastic boat.

"We are a bunch of Essex men just really enjoying our sailing and the banter both on and off the boat. Just because we laugh a lot, that doesn't mean we aren't serious about our racing. We win most races we enter on the East Coast but we love coming to the sailing mecca that is Cowes to learn how to become even better," writes Geoff on his entry form.

First overseas entry is VIP
Another first time entry from M Fabrice Sobczak from Mons in Belgium is actually named VIP (FRA37835), a Beneteau First 35. Fabrice is joined for the Race by friends coming from the Belgium Rugby Club of Mons (former players and supporters) who appreciate sailing together.

The generation game
As one of the highlights of the annual yacht racing calendar, competing in and completing the Round the Island Race is a noteworthy achievement for sailors of all ages to add to their sailing CV and Race entries span every age group and level of experience and ability.

A J/80 called J-Wife (GBR751) has been entered by first timer Simon Watson from Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. Three generations are racing J-Wife; grandfather Roger (78), his son Simon (46) and grandson Angus (15) and there's not a wife in sight. We're guessing that the boat demands rather more of their time than the women in their lives!

Fundraising for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust
Ocean Odysea (GBR3490L) is a Bavaria 45 entered by Duncan Smith, RYA, YM Instructor and Principal of Waterfront Sailing Academy based in Brighton and is the first entry to declare that they are fundraising for the official Race charity, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust (EMCT). The boat will be crewed by a group of students undergoing RYA training. Duncan's son Darran, is skippering Med Odysea (GBR3491L), a Bavaria 39 and is also fund-raising for the EMCT.

Don't forget that in the lead up to and during the Race weekend, everyone can help raise funds for the EMCT by simply using the hashtag #raceforall and Race Title Sponsor J.P. Morgan will donate £1 per tweet to the Ellen MacArthur Cancer

#rtir – With the start of this new year comes the announcement from the Island Sailing Club (ISC) in Cowes, Isle of Wight, that the title sponsorship of the iconic Round the Island Race will continue to reside with J.P. Morgan Asset Management for a further two-year period up to and including 2016.

The Island Sailing Club, organisers of this most famous annual one-day Round the Island Race that was first held in 1931 and comprises a 50nm course around the Isle of Wight held each June, has enjoyed an enduring and constantly evolving relationship with J.P. Morgan.

The announcement took place at the London Boat Show on the J.P. Morgan BAR AC45 stand, exhibiting the very boat which broke the Race Multihull record last year. In addition to the Race sponsorship continuation, J.P. Morgan has cemented its commitment to the sport of sailing by announcing title sponsorship of Sir Ben Ainslie and his team BAR in the Extreme Sailing Series 2014. Jasper Berens, Head of UK Funds Business at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said:

"We're delighted to announce our title sponsorship of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race will continue for a further two years, to include 2015 and 2016. We've been involved in sailing for the last decade as title sponsor of the Race and we are also into our eighth year as title sponsor of Sir Ben Ainslie, which includes sponsoring his entry into the Extreme Sailing Series 2014 with his team J.P. Morgan BAR, so today's announcements further confirms our commitment to the sport.

"J.P. Morgan's involvement in sailing continues to be thoroughly rewarding, not just in terms of our brand but also in helping us connect with our existing and potential clients. To be involved in an event like the Round the Island Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, with the best sailors in the world competing alongside amateurs is an honour and we hope our support can make the event a great success."

In response, the Commodore of the ISC, John Dudley, speaking on behalf of the entire Race management team said:

"This Race, the largest of its kind in the world, continues to evolve under the ISC's stewardship. However, with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, we have been fortunate to work hand in hand with a Title Sponsor and our Race Partners who fully support and help us launch new initiatives."

Dudley continued, "Over the past nine years of J.P. Morgan's sponsorship, the Round the Island Race has developed beyond everyone's expectations with new technological initiatives being introduced, alongside fundamental improvements such as the provision of free water taxis to ferry competitors from berth to boat and back. We have also been fortunate to enjoy hosting Sir Ben Ainslie, also sponsored by J.P. Morgan, and the Race media coverage has broadened as a result. We enjoy working with J.P. Morgan's team for the benefit of everyone associated with the Race."

The global profile of the Round the Island Race has also been significantly enhanced as tracking and EventTV, the live Blog and 'as live' imagery from the race course has bought the Race to life for armchair spectators around the world.

Entries are open!

The first entry recorded for the 2014 Race was from Simon King with Aurora, a Jeanneau 36i. Simon is a sailing school principal and RYA instructor but keeps the Race weekend free to sail with his mates on a "boys weekend". It is one of the sailing highlights that he most looks forward to during the year. "The 'boys' really enjoy the whole weekend and are staggered at how well the race is run," commented Simon.

Meanwhile, the winner of the ISC's December prize draw for a free entry to the 2014 Race is Vicky Williams and her vessel, a Challenge 72 Challenge Wales. On Race day they will be sailing with disadvantaged young people.

To be part of the exciting on-water action on Saturday 21st June and benefit from the early bird entry fee for the 2014 Race you need to enter online by midnight on February 1st, after which the Standard entry fee applies until midnight on Saturday 7th June.

Secure online entry:
http://rtir.me/entries

The TP52 5 West, owned and helmed throughout today's race by Sir Keith Mills, with Robert Greenhalgh as boat skipper, has been announced as provisional overall winner of the Gold Roman Bowl this year. Speaking with Sir Keith after the Race he said,

"It was a great race, although I didn't expect to win as it's usually a small boat like a Folkboat or Contessa 26 that gets it in the end.

"We always have a good tussle with the other TP52s - Pace and Weapon of Choice - but today we had a new sail that we've not used much before. It's an A3 spinnaker that helped us pull away from Pace on the way to the Needles. We then had some really good fast surfing round the back of the Island, although my arms feel as though they have stretched today - the boat has tiller steering, which is hard work.

"It was great for the team on board today. They really enjoyed it and it was more special because most of us were at Bart's [Andrew Simpson] funeral yesterday - we all thought it would be a fitting tribute to him if we had a good race today."

ISCRS provisional overall winners

The top boats in the ISCRS rated classes this year are a mix of large and small boats. The winner is Peter Bainbridge's J/122 Sky Hunter ll, which crossed the line at 1222 to take the Silver Gilt Roman Bowl.

The second boat on corrected time is the second-slowest rated boat of the 1,459 entries, Gavin Mann and Robert Lewis' 39-year-old Fisher Freeward 25 motor sailer, Nexus. She finished shortly after 1600 and missed taking the top spot by the tightest of margins - a mere 14 seconds.

Next in the overall ISCRS standings was another big boat, Nick Atkinson's Beneteau First 47.7 Firefly, with Brian Haugh's wooden classic East Anglian class from 1958 fourth overall.

There are now fewer than 200 boats still racing, with the bulk of the remainder now within sight of the finish, although a few stragglers are further back and making slow progress. They have until the time limit of 2130 to reach the finish.

Today's main highlights:
The TP52 5 West, owned and helmed throughout the race by Sir Keith Mills, with Robert Greenhalgh as boat skipper, has been announced as provisional overall winner of the Gold Roman Bowl.

Sir Ben Ainslie's 45ft America's Cup catamaran J.P. Morgan BAR stormed round the Island in 2 hours 52 minutes 15 seconds, carving more than 16 minutes off the record time set by Francis Joyon in 2001.

Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard finished at 0843.50, shaving 9 minutes 45 seconds off the monohull race record he set in 2008.

Last year's overall Gold Roman Bowl winner, the TP52 Weapon of Choice (which sailed as Manroland Sheetfed in 2012), has picked up a time penalty for a rule infringement, putting her out of contention for the big prizes today.

Phil Cotton's 30ft Seacart trimaran Buzz is confirmed as winner of the Grand Prix multihull class on handicap, with a half hour lead on Sir Ben Ainslie's record breaking 45ft catamaran J.P. Morgan BAR on corrected time.

One of the five Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust boats, EMCT 2/Scarlet Oyster is confirmed as finishing third in class.

LINE HONOURS OVERALL (first over the line)
1. J. P. Morgan BAR (Sir Ben Ainslie) 2hrs 52mins 15sec
2. ICAP Leopard (Mike Slade) 3hrs 43mins 50sec

LINE HONOURS MONOHULLS
1. ICAP Leopard (Mike Slade) 3hrs 43mins 50sec - winners of the Observer Trophy and J. P. Morgan Asset Management Trophy
2. Hugo Boss (Alex Thomson) 4hrs 12mins 1sec

LINE HONOURS MULTIHULLS
1. J. P. Morgan BAR 2hrs 52mins 15sec
2. Buzz (Phil Cotton) 3hrs 54mins 47sec

#rtir – British sailing superstar Ben Ainslie stormed across the finish line at 0802:15, accompanied by a swarm of RIBs and Ian Roman's photo helicopter, to smash the 12-year-old race record. He finished the race in 2 hours 52 minutes 15 seconds, carving more than 16 minutes off Francis Joyon's 2001 time and taking the record time to less than three hours.
Ben and his team on J.P.Morgan BAR celebrate their fabulous record-breaking achievement right after crossing the line in today's J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. Photo: Patrick Eden

Second across the finish line was Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard. Having sailed the first half of the race in 1 hour 40 minutes the giant monohull looked to be well inside the record time of 3 hours 53 minutes she set in 2008. However, Leopard slowed in the second half of the race and it wasn't clear that she would better the record time until she was a few minutes away from the finish. She finally crossed the line at 0843.50, shaving 9 minutes 45 seconds off her previous record.

Speaking while enjoying a glass of celebratory champagne, Slade said: "When we were rounding St Catherine's Point we were concerned that the wind would start dying off Shanklin - but it stayed up all the way round the Island. We're also looking forward to the handicap result - if it drops as forecast we could do well on handicap as well. It looks like it will be a good day for everyone - they will all get round and everyone's going to have a great day."

The back markers in the fleet of almost 1,500 boats are having a very different experience to the front-runners. Stephen Payne's Moody 27 family cruiser Phantom of Cramond in ISCRS Division 8B, for instance, is enjoying a much more leisurely sail - at 0850 they were passing Yarmouth, just 9 miles from the start.

With the winds stronger than forecast so far, some damaged sails have been seen. Paralympic Gold medallist Helena Lucas, sailing with Campbell Field on the Elan 450 Squire Sanders, reported splitting a spinnaker in half between the Needles and St Catherine's Point.

#RTIR - Winning tactical advice from some well-known names and faces associated with the Round the Island Race has been posted online ahead of the latest edition of the iconic annual event at the Isle of Wight.

Later today (31 May) will also see the official pre-race press conference on the eve of the 2013 JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, the 82nd anniversary of one of the most prestigious events on the world sailing calendar.

A terrific line-up of guests including Dame Ellen MacArthur and Alex Thomson will be on hand for the presser, which will be streamed live online and will also feature a tribute to the late Andrew 'Bart' Simpson, whose memorial service and private funeral is also being held today. The Island Sailing Club will fly the ensign at half-mast this afternoon.

Later this evening, the race competitors will meet for the all-important weather briefing. Racers will be given the latest weather and tidal information luve, coboned with tactical advice from Met Office-trained professional meteorologist Chris Tibbs.

In addition, competitors can evaulate the weather prior to the race by viewing the course overview and tidal strategy videos at the Raymarine website.

Among this year's competitors are Yvonne Margerison and her long-term partner Mike Flint, who are racing in their 20th Round the Island Race.

The couple entered their first back in 1993 in their boat Charis and have taken part almost every year since, apart from one when their mast was broken awaiting repair, and another when they sold Charis and were waiting to buy their new boat Gernee (S31) which is entered this year.

Margerison and Flint are passionate about sailing, have been very active members at Rutland Sailing Club - Flint is a past commodore - and both are former commodores at the Newparks Cruising Association Club.

While there's been talk of their retirement from racing - let's hope that won't be till after tomorrow's race, where race organisers hope they'll put in a strong showing.

How to follow the Round The Island Race action

The action begins tomorrow morning 1 June at 5am, and spectators can keep fully up to speed on the racing as it unfolds via the official Round the Island Race website, with features from the live blog to live race tracking, weather updates, and the latest news and results.

The race Facebook page and Twitter feed will also be maintained with the latest happenings. For those wishing to contribute to the Twitter news as the racers sail around the island, use the hashtags #RTIR and/or #RaceForAll to raise another £1 for the official charity, The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

#roundtheisland – After opening for business on 4th January, Race entries at 0900 today (Monday 21st January) number 289.  As ever, the Race organisers at the Island Sailing Club (ISC) in Cowes are taking a keen interest in who is signing up for the 82nd edition of this iconic Race and selecting a few entrants to mention in its series of monthly entry news updates. This is a race for all and the updates will feature a variety of boats and competitors from across the classes.

John and Sue Allison from Lymington in Hampshire have purchased Jumbuck, a J/109, and are racing her in her first season under IRC in 2013. The couple say they were keen offshore racers in the 1990's achieving some notable success on the Western Australian racing scene. They moved into cruising from the UK which included winning the 2007 ARC, and are now back to racing in earnest! There will be nine on board comprising family and friends including two pals who are flying in from Oz for the Race.

The first overseas entry this year was the Belgian-owned Bounty, a Grand Soleil 46 entered by Peter Huysman who competed for the first time last year.

First timers are always especially interesting to follow on Race day and the first of many already signed up this year is Rumpleteazer, a Scanmar 33, owned and skippered by Eric Bates from Plymouth, Devon. He may be new to the Race but is certainly no novice to racing! Eric is an RYA Yachtmaster and has competed in three Rolex Fastnet races (2007, 2009 and 2011) and the 2010 two-handed Round Britain and Ireland Race.

Another first time entrant but with 20+ trans-Atlantics, the Indian Ocean (Qatar - Cairns, Hong Kong - London), Cape Town - Gibraltar included on his sailing CV, is John Kitchen from Bristol who is racing Blue Mango. Lacoste, the high-fashion label, commissioned Sparkman & Stephens to design this 42 footer and Dufour to build them in the 1980's. Only 12 were produced. Six are in the USA, two in the UK and the remainder are in France, Portugal, Canada and Venezuela.

A highly experienced Round the Island Race skipper is Peter Morton from Cowes with 20 RTI Race circumnavigations under his belt. Salvo, a Corby 33 (ex-Salamander XX) was built in Poland in 2007 and is one of a series of John Corby designs built at the same yard and a sister boat to Banshee and No Retreat, also both Cowes-based.

Meanwhile, London-based Sarah Bole will be doing the Race with her mother and father although in previous years she has always competed on an Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust boat. This is the year she enters and skippers her own boat High Potential, a 1978 Contessa 26 and we wish her, and all competitors, a safe and enjoyable Race.

We will be keeping a particularly close eye on one 72 year-old competitor (not the oldest however - Ed), Robin Hunter-Coddington! He is skippering his Rival 32 Ayton Serenade, has competed in this Race for 12 years and achieved a very commendable 2nd in class in 2008.  Last year the yacht suffered gear failure and they were forced to retire. What really caught our eye on his entry form was the fact that in 2010 he SWAM to France in a relay, leaving the UK aged 69, and arriving in France aged 70; an imaginative way to celebrate a major birthday. We prefer cake and balloons!

If you haven't already entered the Race which takes place on Saturday 1st June, do remember that Early Bird entries close at midnight on February 2nd!

#roundtheislandrace– Actual, the French Multi 50 Trimaran has taken line honours in today's J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.

In an action packed race four incidents have been reported by the race management team at the Island Sailing Club. There have been two head injuries and one spinal injury. Families have been informed and the Island Sailing Club will provide updates as further information becomes available. A small multihull capsized North of Hamstead Ledge on the North-West of the Island. All crew are safely onshore in Yarmouth.

Whilst still too early to reveal the Gold Roman Bowl winner, some class wins are now looking more final with potentially an IRC 0 win for Tony Langley's TP52 Manroland Sheetfed, and David Apthorp's J/111 J-Dream, winning IRC Group 1.

The triple Olympic gold and silver medallist Ben Ainslie and the race crew on board the largest boat ever to compete in the Race, the 162ft Eleonora, had a great day on the water but back on shore Ben Ainslie commented that they were unable to notch up a decent overall result and ended up in 47th place in IRC 0. Speaking about his day on the water, and his last big event before the Olympic Games, Ben said: "It was a lovely day, a beautiful boat and amazing racing, and totally different to what I'm used to."

Congratulations are in order for many of those out racing today with so many individual stories to tell as usual. Race Partner Britannia had a number of entries in today's race. The crew of Reflex 38, Jaguar Logic won class IRC 1B as well as taking 2nd overall in IRC 1. The crew only trained together for the first time the day before the Race and comprised two complete novices who have never raced before under the guidance of skipper, Tim Thuberon who put together a team who had never even been round the Island before! Well done them.

There were plenty of retirements throughout the day, and racing for some of the smaller classes including sportsboats, J80s, 707s, SB20s (formerly known as SB3s) and the small MOCRA multihull fleet (LOA less than 9.15m), had racing cancelled, but generally competitors enjoyed some fantastic racing in spirited conditions.

Pictured above is The 'Eleonora' at the needles, in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, which started from the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, at 07.00 today.

The Round the Island Race is the 4th largest participation sporting event in the UK. Organised by the Island Sailing Club, it is dubbed Britain's favourite yacht race, attracting over 1,800 yachts and 16,000 competitors.

Sailors come to compete from all over the UK and mainland Europe and from as far away as the USA and Australia to converge on Cowes, Isle of Wight, for a one day yacht racing spectacular. They are there to compete in the famous J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, and to follow its notorious 50 nautical mile course around the Island.

From a Race that had its first outing in 1931 with 25 yachts entered, this yachting extravaganza can rightfully claim its 21st century place as the 4th largest participation sporting event in the UK. Whatever the age, gender or level of ability, amateurs and professionals, first timers and old timers, this Race means something to everyone who enters it. Today, the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is a festival of sailing that is as keenly followed ashore as it is afloat.