Four long term members of Arun Yacht Club will once again be among the 1400+ boats competing in one of Britain’s largest participation sporting events of 2018, the Round the Island Race in association with Cloudy Bay on 7 July.

2018 will mark an impressive 30-year anniversary for Skipper David Robinson as he joins some 12,000 other sailors set to master one of the world’s largest yacht races, often referred to as ‘Britain’s favourite yacht race’. Entering the race with three friends on his trusty Limbo 6.6 yacht, Dedicated Dancer, David said: “I just love the big fleet atmosphere and the opportunity to sail against such a wide variety of boats. As one of the slowest boats, we are always in the last start, so have great fun ploughing our way through the larger boats.”

Starting at the age of 11 in Enterprise dinghies, David went on to progress his sailing over the next twenty years in a more high-performance RS400 dinghy. It was in 1987 when he decided to buy his beloved Limbo 6.6 and has raced it ever since.

David and his crew have teamed up for Round the Island Race over many years in Dedicated Dancer, with their best result to date being in 2009 with a 3rd over the line in the ISC rating system. With over 60 years of sailing history behind him, it’s no wonder David has a slightly competitive streak when it comes to Round the Island Race, stating: “My aim is always to win! But realistically for this year my aim is to beat my average which is 80th overall in the ISC Rating system.”

The famous 50 nautical mile course around the Isle of Wight, now in its 87th year, organised by the Island Sailing Club, is an all-encompassing event. The race’s unique ‘Race for All’ ethos caters for and embraces first timers, families, amateurs and professionals competing at the highest level. There is a long-standing charity connection with the race through the Official Race Charity the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, where over £266,000 has been raised to date.

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