01 July 2017
Who doesn’t love a 0300 alarm clock?! OK, so not everyone was up then but between 0300 - 0430, alarms were pinging from West to East Cowes as the Trust team and crews awoke one by one, ready to spring into action for the big race day!
A steady NNW Force 4 wind greeted our 24 young people, volunteers and guests as daylight began
to break beyond the clouds. One of our guests joining our young people on board EMCT 2 is Alexa who joins us from Musto. Musto are long term fantastic supporters of the Trust and Round the Island
Race is a great way for the staff to experience first-hand what the Trust is all about. We’re thrilled to have her onboard!
Starting across four different starts, our crews slipped lines one at a time with EMCT 4 kick starting the trend, off the dock at 0445 ready for a 0530 start with the big boats in Class 0.
Following them was EMCT 1 on the 0610 start, EMCT 2 on the 0640 start and last but by no means least, EMCT 3 on the 0650 start. Causing a bit of a distraction for EMCT 3 on the start line was the Farr65 (EMCT 4) as it rounded the Needles at exactly the same time!
Taking to the helm on the first leg, 17 year old Chloe who represented the Trust at yesterday’s Official Round the Island Race press conference, said: “It’s amazing fun out here and it’s so brilliant to learn new skills!”
Once over the start line, the smell of bacon sandwiches wafted up from the galley’s as our crews stocked up on some well needed refreshment to get them around the remainder of the island (already thinking it should be lunchtime!).
Meanwhile, over in West Cowes, 117 cyclists and runners from our friends at JP Morgan Bournemouth were getting ready to head off on varying length circuits around the undulating Isle of Wight to raise additional funds for us – with an incredible total of over £22,000 before they even set off. Leading the fleet were the speedy corsa group going the whole 64 miles around with a further 80+ still to follow on after 0730.
Look out for all our runners, riders and sailors on and off the Island today! And don’t forget, if you see us snap us – take a picture of any of our boats on the way around and tag us on social media to be in with a chance of winning a Trust goody bag!
Back in Cowes Yacht Haven the Trust’s fundraising team and volunteers opened up shop to chat to passers-by about the Official Race Charity in more depth and get them involved with a few games and selfies! Stop by and say hi if you’re in the area.
With a new Race record of 2hours 22mins and 23secs before 8am by Team Concise on their Mod 70, its proving to be a very fast and exciting race in 2017! Well done guys!
All EMCT boats are now safely round the Needles with EMCT 4 storming ahead having rounded St Cats at approx. 0840. They’ll be home before lunch at this rate! Keep watching on the race tracker http://ngtrack2.ngresults.co.uk/webviewer/ (Ellen MacArthur CT 1/2/3/4) and follow in more detail on our social channels:
Twitter and Instagram: @emctrust
Facebook: @Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust