Yesterday's announcement of the 2025 IOW Festival dates, which coincide with the scheduled date for the 2025 Round the Island Race of the 21st June.

Regrettably, despite publishing our date three years ago and receiving assurances from the local authorities that an early announcement would guarantee no clash with the Festival, this conflict of dates between two major Island events has been permitted, with no prior warning. While we will obviously seek an explanation, the situation is unlikely to change, given that Festival tickets are already on sale.

Running both events on the same day presents significant challenges for agency support, safety, transportation, accommodation and volunteer availability. Equally, changing the date of our race is not straightforward, with the attendant implications for the sailing calendar of Solent based clubs and organisations, accommodation bookings and crew commitments.

At this time, we are considering all options and will communicate any decision regarding the Race as soon as possible.

Dave Atkinson - Race Director

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