More than 1,000 boats take part in Round the Island Race

Nearly 1,200 boats are racing around the Isle of Wight on Saturday.

The Round the Island Race is said to be the biggest mass participation event to be staged since the UK’s first lockdown a year ago.

This year is the 90th anniversary of the race, run by the Island Sailing Club

David Atkinson, Race Director said: "The focus for this year is organising a great race on the water.

Entries have surpassed our expectations and this clearly demonstrates the popularity of the race and the appetite for sailing in general after the latest lockdown.

"The entire race team of 130 people are working hard to ensure that all of our competitors have a fantastic day on the water."

Round the Island Race facts

First start: 0630

Number of starts: 10

Course direction: West (anti-clockwise)

Course distance: 50.1nm

2019 overall winner: Gold Roman Bowl: Alacrity 18 Bilge Keel EEYORE (Jo Richards)

Records to beat

Monohull course record: 3h 43m 50s – supermaxi, ICAP Leopard (Mike Slade) set in 2013

Multihull course record: 2h 22m 23s – MOD70, Team Concise 10 (Ned Collier Wakefield) set in 2017