Round Hayling Island

The countdown is on for the SailRacer Round Hayling Island Challenge, which takes place on good Friday 3rd April.

The Media and VIP Launch last Friday was attended by the Mayor of Havant, local councilors and representatives from all three disciplines – windsurfing, stand up paddleboarding (SUP) and outrigger canoeing.

The full 14 Mile circumnavigation will be open to experienced competitors, with shorter course options available for all.

Rob Kent (Round Island Champion 2011-14), his wife Annette (Ladies Champion) and daughters Emily and Rebecca will all be competing this year and Rob will be aiming to make it five wins in a row.

Phil Bryant who first competed in 1981, will be dusting the cobwebs off his old windsurfer and hoping to be the highest placed “Pre-Millenium Kit” competitor! If you have an old board hidden away in the garage, there are no excuses not to join Phil on the day!

If the forecast is windy, we will all be joining Dave Hackford from Tushingham in his view that if Guy Cribb enters the race then he would take a lot of beating! Guy’s record of 58 minutes, achieved in 1992 still stands. He reached the Northam Bridge faster than the HISC staff who were driving to the bridge to monitor the competitors!

Details and entry at hayling.sailracer.org

SailRacer will be tracking all entrants, so their progress can be seen live on-line by all their supporters and this will be supported by LPB Imagery who will feed back aerial images from drones over the course.