ALMOST 1,600 boats will compete in this weekend's celebrated Round the Island race.

Apart from Cowes Week in August, this is the biggest annual event staged by the Island all year.

Organised by the Island sailing Club, it is one of the world's biggest yacht races with a course sailed anti-clockwise around the island. It is now in its 67th year.

Competitors include professional yachtsmen and women as well as enthusiasts who might only race once a year. Over 120 people are involved in organisation.

ISC secretary Lea Bennett has received 1,594 entries, including several from France and Holland and even one from Poland. That is only 219 short of the record of 1,813 entered in the ISC's centenary year of 1989.

Both the record-holders will be competing again.

The monohull record is held by Skandia Leopard (4hr 5min 40sec), the multihull one by Dexia Eure Et Loir (3.08.29).

Though no records were broken in 2002 it was a narrow miss, with Tracey Edwards' Maiden II missing the fastest time by a little less than 13 minutes.

Winner of the coveted Gold Roman Bowl was Rosina of Beaulieu, skippered by Jeremy Royers MBE.

Bear of Britain (Kit Hobday and Tim Louis) won the silver bowl. Actor Geoff Hughes on Wayward won the Spread Eagle Trophy for the overall winner of ISC Group C.

The largest class in the race is the Island Sailing Club's own ISC handicap section - mainly family boats which do not race often - for which entrants do not need an IRC handicap .

Bennett says competitors will find slight changes to previous years, but the course remains the same. "Previously, entrants declared they had finished at the CCC building in Cowes but that has been demolished and the new building hasn't been finished yet," said Bennett.

"Entrants can declare at Bonhams Auction Rooms in the high street, or on the brand new Bladerunner2 70m barge if they don't want to come ashore.

"Protests were also previously taken to the CCC building but they will now go the RORC office."

In addition to the tankard all finishers normally receive, this year they will get a goody bag packed with items from the tournament's ten main sponsors.

Bennett added: "It should be a fantastic weekend. Cowes is the home of yachting and a lot of the businesses rely on events like this.

"I have liaised with them all so that cafes and restuarants open early to cope with the extra demand, and a lot of shops will be open longer than usual."

Don't miss Ingrid Abery's BlueWater sailing column in tomorrow's Daily Echo. And don't miss next Monday's sports pullout for our report and pictures from the Around the Island race.