Carolyn Keene reports:  Island sailors are looking forward to the Round the Isle of Wight Solo 2008 (RIOW), which starts off at Cowes this Saturday 26th April. This will be the fourth time that the RIOW Solo has been run and will form part of the 4 race Solent Solo Series.
One objective of RIOW Solo is to encourage skippers who are new to this exciting discipline to gain experience in the familiar and convenient location of the Solent, this is the first race of the new Solent Solo Series for 2008.
There will be ample opportunity to meet fellow soloists at the Island Sailing Club on the evening of Friday 25th and Saturday 26th for the prize giving.
Race Director Paul Peggs is pleased with the quality of the entry, which includes several skippers new to solo racing and strong support from the established short handers.
Last years winners Simon Forbes in the Dragonfly trimaran ‘Scooby III’ and Peter Newlands in his First 40.7 ‘Anticipation’ both return to defend their titles from the pursuers of Rory Carter (Dehler 36) and Simon Curwen (J105). There is already a strong entry from the J 105 class regulars and Rob Craigie’s J122 Jbellino will be back for a second go round.
New faces include a brace of Figaro 2s, with Katie Miller and Andy Greenwood making their Solent debut. Paul Peggs anticipates 40 boats will start the fourth edition of this challenging event; the smaller boats go first at 0610hrs on the JOG line off Egypt Point but with barely two hours of fair tide to clear the Needles it will be touch and go.
All Petit Bateau events are OPEN races to encourage development in shorthanded design and techniques. IRC or Mocra certificates are not required, but corrected times will be calculated for those with valid certificates and handicap prizes are also awarded.
Details of the race can be found HERE:
Isle of Wight Community Event News @Island Pulse.