1200 boats take part in 90th anniversary Round the Island Race

Watch: Footage of the spectacular event

More than 1,200 boats took part in the 90th anniversary Round the Island Race.

Sailor Pip Hare was on hand to mark the start, firing a cannon from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes.

The race was cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic. But organisers said they were 'elated' it could return for its 90th anniversary year. 

On the water there was everything from flat calm to 25 knot gusts, fog and sun. As with every Round the Island Race, nothing compares to the sight of the fleet stretched out around the stunning Isle of Wight coast.

Local Cowes boat Eeyore, an Alacrity 18 Bilge Keel, secured back-to-back victories in the race and retained the prestigious Gold Roman Bowl which she has held since the 2019.

Owner and skipper of Eeyore, Jo Richards said: “The thing with Round the Island Race is that it’s like buses, you wait years and years and then two come along consecutively.

"We had a shocking first leg down to the Needles and luckily there was a little bit of a lull under the cliffs and we got back into our class and from then on it was really tight.

"It was only when we got back to shore and people starting texting that we thought we might have won. A great day out.”

Peter Cunningham’s multihull MOD70 PowerPlay was the first to finish the race with a time of 4hrs 11mins 01secs.

A light start to the race prevented any chance of beating the race record, which wasset by PowerPlay, as Concise 10 in 2017 (2hrs 22mins and 23 secs).

The race in 2022 will be on Saturday 25 June.