By Peta Stuart-Hunt
Entries are already flowing in for this year's J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race and the accolade for being this year's first online entry has gone to Steve Le Butt and his boat High Spirits, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40.
This will be Steve's 9th consecutive year of participating in the event but last year's race turned out to be somewhat more eventful than he had first anticipated.
Steve's race culminated in him being awarded the inaugural Nautica Outstanding Seamanship Award after his crew nominated him for his skill and judgement in assisting in a man overboard incident on race day, Saturday 20th June 2009.
The Nautica Outstanding Seamanship Award was introduced in 2009 to recognise an act of outstanding seamanship that takes place on the day of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race and is open to competitors and spectators, members of the emergency services and race officials.
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The annual J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, is one of the most popular fixtures on the Solent racing calendar.
The race regularly attracts over 1,700 boats and around 16,000 sailors, making it the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK after the London Marathon and the Great North and South Runs.
Competitors come from all over the UK, other parts of Europe and as far away as the USA to follow the 50 nautical mile course round the Isle of Wight. It is popular with Royal Southampton members.
Starting on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, the fleet races westabout, to The Needles, round St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy back into the Solent.