Alex Thomson headlines 2016 Round the Island Race

The annual race is held off the Isle of Wight on 2 July.

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The roster of sailing stars is shaping up for the 2016 J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.

The Island Sailing Club has announced that Giovanni Belgrano is returning with the same crew of sailors and the same yacht that won the event’s Gold Roman Bowl.

Belgrano took the 2015 title with the 38ft, duck-egg blue, carbon-fibre Whooper yacht designed by famed designer Laurent Giles.

Perhaps the best-known British sailor joining the 2016 field is Alex Thomson. The record-holding skipper will be in the 2015 IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss.

The new Hugo Boss 60-footer was designed by VPLP Verdier and the Alex Thomson Racing Team and built at Green Marine in Southampton. Thompson will also be racing the yacht in this year’s Vendee Globe.

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Helena Lucas MBE is returning to the Isle of Wight race to skipper Team Volvo and the Squire Patton Boggs, a chartered Elan 450 yacht. Lucas made history claiming the 2.4mR (solo keelboat) Paralympic Gold medal at London 2012, becoming the first female winner of the class. Britain’s first-ever Paralympic sailing gold medallist, Lucas hopes to repeat the feat for Britain at Rio 2016.

The annual J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, is a one-day yacht race around the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The race regularly attracts over 1,700 boats and around 16,000 sailors, making it one of the largest yacht races in the world and the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK after the London Marathon and the Great North and South Runs.

Competitors come from all over the UK, other parts of Europe and as far away as the USA to follow the 50 nautical mile course round the Isle of Wight. Over 60 prizes are awarded for the event.

Related links: 

Round the Island Race entries open

Round the Island Race to be streamed to global audience