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Entries for the 2018 Round the Island Race in association with Cloudy Bay opened at 0000 last night, with many competitors taking advantage of the post-Christmas holiday period to make their entry. First over the line at six minutes past midnight was RTI regular Neil Collings with an entry for his Etap 30i Second Wind. Like many in the ISCRS division, this is Neil’s only race of the year and an occasion that he and his family crew look forward to with much anticipation.

This year’s race takes place on Saturday 7th July, a few weeks later than normal because of a potential clash with the Isle of Wight Festival. Leading the fleet away at 0630 will be the Open 60s, IRC Class 0, Class40 and the Clipper Yachts. Starts then continue every ten minutes until 0810, when the final group of ISCRS boats cross the start line and begin the first leg of their 50nm course around the Isle of Wight.

New additions for the 2018 race are the Diam 24 multihull sportsboats and the super-fast HP30s, both of whom have their own classes for the first time. They’ll be joining the regular and varied 1500-strong fleet of racing and cruising monohulls, multihulls, Gaffers, Classics and dayboats taking on one of the world’s best-loved sailing challenges – a unique day of fun, excitement, team-spirit and achievement. As usual, friends, family and sailing fans at home won’t be missing out on the action either, with GPS tracking, live TV coverage and regular social media updates keeping everyone up-to-date with progress on the race track.

Commenting on the 2018 race, Dave Atkinson, Commodore of the Island Sailing Club who organise the annual event, said: "The Island Sailing Club is very proud of its flagship event and of the genuine affection that competitors show for the race each year. We’re particularly indebted to our presenting partner, Cloudy Bay, and to our family or Race Partners, including Raymarine, MS Amlin and Helly Hansen, for the support they continue to give this great British iconic event. We very much look forward to seeing everyone on the start line on the 7th July for another fantastic Round the Island."

Early bird entries are available online here until the 27th January and competitors are encouraged to get their entries in early to take advantage of the discounts on offer.