Isle of Sheppey Round the Island Race

IOS Round the Island Race has been run nearly every year since 1959, The race is approximately 40 miles round the Isle of Sheppey and is part of the Allen Endurance Series. Sea and estuary sailing make this longest dinghy, catamaran and board race  in Europe The race starts at IOSSC in Sheerness navigating clockwise round the island into the Swale and landing to capsize the boats, under the Kingsferry bridge. Through Queenborough to the Medway, to sea past Garrison Point and back to the club.

The race is an endurance race comprising sea conditions with waves, tides, shipping, mud banks and currents, and should not be entered lightly, sailors must declare their competence. Under 18s should have an adult in the boat or have their own dedicated safety boat.

Category 1 New to dinghy or catamaran sailing /racing with limited experience and have never competed in or finished an IOSSC Island Race.                                                                               Category 2 competent sailors with at least 1 full year's racing at club level, in their boat of choice (or similar) for the Island Race.

Category 3 Regular racers at Open National or International level with their chosen boat or equivalent.

For those arriving on Friday evening, the bar will be open and you are welcome to order a takeaway to be delivered to the club. On Saturday the Early Birds racing for dinghies and catamarans will start not before noon and will consist of races round the cans north of the clubhouse. On Sunday, race starts will be Slow 10.00, Medium 10.30, Fast 11.00. see the Sailing Instructions for details

IOS Round the Island Race how it works

Planning for the Island Race starts about 8 months in advance, with notifications to Peel Ports, Dover Coastguard, Medway Raynet, and Swale Borough Council. The actual date has been set 12 months before on the Racing Program. The date is governed by the tides and length of the day. We need the ebb to give the first start a lift to Shellness, the large catamarans need space to get under the bridge, and we need enough daylight to make sure everyone gets back before dark.

About June planning starts in earnest with a call out to members and friends to fill crucial roles, and a decision about entry prices, the entry form will go live at the beginning of August. Competitors start arriving on the Friday evening, Saturday racing at the clubhouse is a way for early arrivals to test their boats and prepare for the big day. A meal is provided for those who want it on Saturday evening accompanied by games and a quiz. The kitchen and bar are open throughout the weekend, staffed by volunteers, and provide breakfast, lunch, evening meals, drinks and snacks.

On the day we have a Race Officer on the water, and an Officer of the Day ashore at the clubhouse.  Boats arriving, are directed towards Sheerness to access the Promenade at the Neptune Snooker Club ramp helped by IOSSC marshals. When boats arrive, they must be registered, where they receive a yellow flag, a tracker, a tag with their sail number and tag number which corresponds to a numbered tag displayed on a board. To sign on, the tag from the board must be posted through a hole in a box marked, I Have Started. On returning to the club the tag will have been placed back on the board and the tag should be put in the I have Finished or I have Retired slot.

 The Race Officer is responsible for the Competitor’s Briefing, starts from the Committee Boat, safety, and recall of boats, which will be turned back because they will not make it round by the time limit. Once all of the boats have been launched the Junior members arrange the trolleys in sail number order before being taken to Kingsferry Bridge, with the Bridge Team to assist the sailors in capsizing their boats to go under the bridge. The Race Officer will also oversee the returning boats, and the beach crew will match trolleys to boats using the trolley tags supplied at registration

Officer of the Day is our liaison with Medway Raynet who monitor radio communications and provide spotters at crucial points around the Island. The Officer of the Day will also be monitoring the boats, using trackers supplied by Sailracer.org. Information from the trackers is displayed on screens in the clubhouse but may be accessed by onlookers on their mobile phones via a QR code. Assisting the Officer of the Day are finishers and the Results Officer who is responsible for calculating the winners using the Portsmouth Yardstick system for handicapping boats.  Prizes will be presented at the end of the day for, overall  Island Race winners, first boat home, local winners, female and under 16 helms and Saturday Racing winners. 

About 2 weeks after the event, we have an Island Race Debrief when everyone who was involved gets a chance to make suggestions about how to improve things next time.

Officer of the Day, Race Officer, marshals, beach crew, registration officers, finishers, Results Officer first aiders, kitchen and bar staff, cleaners, entertainers, Trophy Officer, safety boat crews, maintenance crews, Committee boat crew, publicity officer, photographers. Thanks are due to all the people who changed their shifts, juggled work and childcare, put off holidays and made promises to family just so they could help at the Island Race.

Click to see how far it is and how long it takes.