The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race has always attracted a healthy number of international teams and the #raceforall Twitter campaign launched in January has certainly helped to create a buzz of excitement and a new wave of interest across social media platforms.
Round the island
The 2013 Race entry list already includes boats from Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria and France and there are boats competing with crew members who are flying in from Australia, South Africa and the USA for the great occasion. The organisers at the Island Sailing Club expect around 10% of the final entry number to be first timers which is an optimistic sign that this Race still holds its unique place as 'Britain's favorite yacht race'.

Closer to home...messages from the Garden of England
So far, the youngest competitor we have come across is racing the J/80 Jabba (GBR169) with his father Vladimir. Michael Philips is ten and the family live in Orpington, Kent (aka the 'Garden of England').

We got in touch with Vladimir to ask how handy his youngster is around the boat and we were delighted to receive the following email:

"Generally Michael is quite a helpful member of the team on board. He's been sailing with me for the last 5 years. Last year he could not take part in RTIR but Michael raced on Jabba around the Isle of Wight in September in a race organised by Kabestan - the Russian sailing club in the UK.

"As we are going to have a full crew for RTIR 2013, Michael's main responsibility will be to maintain a good lookout for other boats and in particular those on starboard tack approaching us behind the jib. Michael is young and light, he has a pair of very sharp eyes fitting perfectly for this role. The last part of the course from the Forts to Cowes is particularly important, when many sailors tend to lose focus."