SAILING ENTRIES are now open for the J. P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, with the first boat already registered.
Organisers approved and processed the first entry just a few hours after official opening, and that entry is Redshank, a Devon-based 30 year-old Evolution 26, owned and raced by Stuart Palmer, 47, from Teignmouth in Devon.
It is the first time Stuart has entered, though his two crew, Julian Weyer Brown and Mathew Owen, have competed before.
"We race at our home club and at the Torbay Regatta but the Round the Island Race is the biggest event for us to compete in. Even the delivery trip from Devon is a big adventure," said Stuart.
Early bird entries for the race remain open until midnight on Feburary 2, when standard entry fees then apply through to midnight on May 11.
Final entry numbers for this year’s race, which takes place on June 1, are expected to be in the region of 1,700 with around 16,000 sailors competing across the fleet.
• To enter, visit www.roundtheisland.org.uk