ISC Round the Island Race 2024 on the Floating Bungalow- It was a touch breezy out there!

[@dhouse-d5l]

Grt footage, and good call. It was def a day for those who could afford to break everything.

[@tonyhill6296]

Great video. Brought back lots of happy memories of sailing on the Solent. Very good call in all the circumstances. Right for the crew, the boat and a safe passage protected. Good Sailing. T⛵️⚓️🕶

[@georgefrankpitt]

Looks like a day sailing in Tasmania

[@cordemaris2211]

This was my first RTIR. I was on board a Najad 36 with the owner, and another crew member. We encountered gusts of 55 knots rounding the Needles, but by that point, it was too late to turn back. From the Needles to Bembridge, it was absolutely epic, with waves around 10 meters high and an apparent wind of about 35 knots. We finished 3rd in our class out of 40 participant (although I should probably mention that 36 of them retired! :D ) Thanks for sharing!

[@RefitandSail]

Well done for making it around in one piece. Part of me wishes that we had continued and finished the race but I just didn’t want to risk breaking something that would put me out of action for the solo RTI which is two weeks after this event.

[@bonvoyage5377]

so ............second last!!! joking, great effort

[@alexperry5531]

@@RefitandSail What's the solo RTI? Which club runs this? Can't seem to find anything out about it online.

[@cordemaris2211]

@@RefitandSail In all fairness, if that was my boat I would have bailed too!

[@grahamsmith8122]

There are brave sailors and old sailors but very few brave old sailors. Sailing is about having fun, not breaking stuff and yourself, good call. (I would have removed the solar panels)

[@paulcrocker2837]

Good idea, I raced for over 50 years,, I done so many R T I races, and Cowes weeks, I lost count, Round the Island I feel was the most dangerous, so many people it's there only race, and we felt lots of skippers had no idea, love the video thankyou, Paul South West France 🇨🇵

[@stevespell9634]

Well it was forecast! Imagine getting wet sailing. 🫢. Good call with a smaller crew. Another few bodies and you might have pushed through. That westerly would take that easy. 👍👍

[@helzhelz]

Well done guys! Enjoyed the video! I was a 44 year old somewhat beginner on a Class 40 racing boat which started at 5 crew, then lost 2 to overwhelming sickness after the needles. We completed the race and it will be something that stays with me throughout my sailing future. Humble lessons, sore…everything…and plenty of stories to recap in the bar after sailing events. Thankfully had an extremely capable ocean racing experienced skipper! I didn’t manage to catch any footage with my phone for obvious reasons, so I’m glad to see others managed a bit!

[@RefitandSail]

Nice, I worked on and sailed a class 40 briefly a few years back, it was quite a weapon!

[@Topsailor-iw4ql]

Fair weather sailors😂 no defiantly a wise call. Did it 3 years ago and was hard then and had three reefs in. Boat was slow as a snail. Never a fan of my sails being overpowered. My crew used to say I was a chicken but can be a costly bit of fun. Thanks for the film.

[@hedleyjackson5131]

Great video good call the 26 looked like a wild ride.

[@paulstephens5229]

Better safe than sorry, good call.

[@renexxx2017]

My son sailed from the Netherlands to race in his Hurley 22. For them the race was cancelled on friday evening already. They were asked to join on a First 40 something but had to retire just before the Needles because of a ripped mainsail. Had a great day anyway

[@RefitandSail]

That’s a shame, I hope your son can try again next year

[@mikedjames]

I was on a Euvation, a Beneteau First 31.7 ..same start but we were not going that fast so by the time we reached Hurst Castle, the sea had cleared of other boats, either way ahead or dropping out around us, the wind had maxed at about 37 knots, we had rolled in the No3 to balance the rig, so we carried on. Managed to finish, nothing broke. Lost one sail batten early on and the sole of a deck shoe to wave action on the reach to St Cats. We seriously considered turning back, the marina bar beckoned.

[@RefitandSail]

Well done for making it around in one piece, part of me wishes we carried on but there is always the risk/reward equation

[@lucycowie9787]

I worked for Westerly Brokerage in the 1980s. The “caravan/bungalow” was maybe true of the early designs but the GKs, the Fulmar, Seahawk, Falcon and the Storm were great shapes and sailed really well. The fulmar was very popular for match racing. It’s nice to see a Westerly being featured..

[@RefitandSail]

I know I’m being a bit cheeky calling it that but I genuinely like the boat it’s just so much bigger internally that the contessa 32’s I sail its nickname became the bungalow. Agree on the fulmar, storm and typhoon. All very good boats (if a little heavy for my preference).

[@lucycowie9787]

@@RefitandSail I loved the Seahawk and Falcon we always hoped we’d get them on… The new designs were so good ..The 1987 Southampton boat show was incredible with 33 Storms sold on the first day!. It was a great company and it was my favourite job. I was sad to hear, some years ago that the hull moulds for the current lines at time of collapse, were sitting up in a field somewhere near Newcastle. I joined the Brokerage at day 1 of its inception and was there until I had my son in 1988.. I went back to do boatshows and it was always great fun. Our boat is moored next to a Storm. I can remember reading an old review of the Westerly Longbow which they said “had all the windward performance of the Eddystone Lighthouse”. I thing caravan/bungalow is not unkind at all.. we called the Westerly 25 the Coelacanth… and if you look at a photo of one of those you’ll see the hill line, bilge keels an hefty skeg of a Westerly 25. It allows the Centaur to become swanlike in comparison.

[@philipmasters7491]

Sailed the Inter Bank RTI in the early 1970’s (Midlands, Lloyds etc) on a lovely 36’ wooden cruiser/racer ANDREA, Sorry you didn’t get round, we did! Looking forward to the single hander, better sailing this time. One last look at the back of the island would be good.

[@samsails9820]

Good call, boat and crew still in tact

[@cals4200]

Wow! Those were some crazy conditions out there. Great video and love the name of your boat.

[@tc7931]

Great video George!! Really interesting to see the difference in wind and sea state only 40 mins before our start and how quickly it changed!

[@Cptnbond]

Great camera work despite the rough weather. Cheers.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks 👍 it wasn’t easy given the conditions

[@grahamm2015]

What a summer we are having, I will look out for you in two weeks as I cruise to Cean. I hope we don't get wind like that as I'll be at a land yacht championship.

[@nicholasohare8782]

Good call, can’t be that often that you get the lee rail underwater in that boat. Amazing footage….. on other vids, I saw boats with No2 Genoa and one reef and in the same frame other boats with storm jib and trisail. Glad you got back safely with no damage

[@RefitandSail]

There was quite a mix of sailplans in use, some with full main and storm jib and others with no2 and triple reefed. All boats behave differently. You are right about not dipping the rail that often, she doesn’t sail very efficiently at that amount of heel!

[@nicholasbell9017]

Someone has posted a video of the race boats passing Hurst castle. Frankly, it looked terrifying!

[@simonrichards3633]

Great video as always! We tried to get some footage on our Westerly Longbow, but too focused on making sure we didn't break anything. Turned around just 15 mins over the start line. Would be great to see a video on rig setup on these westerly's, their capabilities and things to look out for

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks. Not breaking the boat is always a good thing!

[@farmerjimbob67]

Looking forward to the solo race 😊

[@RefitandSail]

Me too!

[@farmerjimbob67]

Stowaway cameraman required? ;)

[@olivierorban787]

Hello Good decision See a bunch of Contessa 32 finished Glorious Cheers

[@RefitandSail]

Yes, I was following them. 5 of the 34 entered finished, a higher percentage than any other class I expect.

[@Manny_Akamotakis]

wow, great vid, looking forward to seeing your solo round the island attempt.

[@RefitandSail]

Have done the solo one many times (and won it overall before) so looking forward to that!

[@Manny_Akamotakis]

@@RefitandSail pressure is on 😂

[@sailingsibongile]

Gosh George... Well done for getting the footage

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks

[@SailingTumbler]

Good call George! Imptish stayed at home this year so I jumped on With Alacrity for a very quick lap of the South Island. I can confirm it was wet, wavy, and very quick round the back!

[@RefitandSail]

Well done for making it around in one piece

[@sheppeyseacadets3012]

No crutch strap on one or two life jackets so the jacket is useless if you have a MOB

[@RefitandSail]

Yeah, I noticed afterwards that Ben did not have the crotch strap on, should have checked that on the way out.

[@secretsquirrel6124]

I see your problem You didn't use a contessa 32

[@RefitandSail]

Clearly where I went wrong!

[@jonny-dn]

Great footage in the circumstances - puts some of the "official" coverage to shame! Good decision and best of look for the solo race.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, appreciate the comment

[@barrysmith9154]

We had the main sail rip ten minutes out from our start time of 06.50 hours so we returned early . It's the first time for me around the Island. I hope to go back next year. What time did you start?

[@RefitandSail]

That’s a shame. We were on the 0640 start

[@robertgrahamwork]

Good call, looked pretty lumpy out there. I was wondering while watching though whether stowing the solar panels before the race, while being a faff, would have been a good idea, surely they were adding a bit to windage and weather helm? Also the wind generator - I always get nervous when it gets very windy and blades are spinning like a jet engine. Did you have a storm jib and a third reef in the main? Wasn't quite clear to me. Seems they would be good to deploy in those conditions if you had continued.

[@RefitandSail]

The solar installation is very well secured so a bit of a pain to remove, have been out in more wind than Saturday (in the open ocean) and was not worried about the panels although I did secure them down with rope after one tried to flip up. Wind gen not a problem as it’s above head height and it was off most of the time, in that wind it would top up the batts and switch itself off only coming on again for a few minutes when the battery voltage dropped off a bit. We didn’t use the third reef but if continuing I would have put it in, the headsail is a blade no3 that is reefable (it has a second tack and clew) so I could have reefed it further and maybe would have done for getting out of hurst. Do carry a storm jib but not really needed in that wind and she is a heavy boat so needs a bit of sail up to punch though the waves. Thanks for the comment and watching.

[@knickebien1966]

Perhaps George can give us his perspective on "older" fiberglass boats.

[@RefitandSail]

Happy to but in what context? Quality of build? Style/design?

[@knickebien1966]

@@RefitandSail I am concerned with fiber glass osmosis/blisters, delamination and hidden problems within the layup. Supposedly fiberglass does have a lifespan, but no one knows what it is. Everything else I am willing to "refit" and them "sail" ...

[@steventostevin3085]

I was a fisherman. My skipper would say. If you go to sea for pleasure. You would go to hell for a past time.

[@RefitandSail]

Ha! I like that very much!