A photographic exhibition celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Round the Island Race will be on show on the Isle of Wight next month.
 
The JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is organised by the Island Sailing Club (ISC) and regularly inspires people to look for sailing schools courses in the UK. Around 12,000 sailors usually take to the water on board 1,800 boats for the race.
 
‘Round The Island in 80 Years’ offers a wealth of material gathered from newspaper archives and yachting magazines in a bid to get across just how much the event has grown over the years.
 
The first race took place in 1931, but since then it has become one of the biggest sporting participation events in the UK, attracting sailors keen to experience circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight. Exhibition organisers have trawled websites for snaps of the more recent events to complement the older archive shots.
 
Triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie is among the many sailors who have taken part in the 50-nautical-mile course. Ben said: “I’ve competed in the race around six times but I’ve never won. It’s a great showpiece for sailing and it is a unique opportunity for so many people to get involved.”
 
The race takes place on June 25 and the exhibition will be on show from 15-18 June at the Quay Arts Gallery in Newport Harbour, Isle of Wight.