Three sailing legends will be in The Solent as they race
against each other today in a friendly contest.

Round the world yachts Gipsy Moth IV, Lively Lady and Suhaili will battle
against each other in two races organised by the United Kingdom Sailing
Academy.

Sir Robin Knox Johnston who came up with the idea of the race will be
skippering his 32ft yacht Suhaili. Sir Robin was the first person to ever
sail non-stop around the world single handed, he achieved this record in
1969, just a few years after Sir Francis Chichester completed his record
breaking circumnavigation in 54ft Gipsy Moth IV. In between these two
records, Sir Alec Rose sailed his 36ft yacht, Lively Lady around the
world, stopping in Melbourne before returning to Portsmouth.

The race will be the first time these yachts will ever have been seen
together under full sail. Gipsy Moth IV will be skippered by John Walsh,
who oversaw the refit. His crew will include Paul Gelder of Yachting
Monthly and Patric Maud who restored Gipsy Moth’s self steering gear.
Lively Lady will be skippered by Alan Priddy, who holds numerous records
himself and Suhaili will be skippered by Sir Robin Knox Johnston.

The crews will meet at UKSA for a race briefing at 09:30 before heading
out to the Green off Cowes ready for the first race at 10:45. The best
place for the public to view the start of the race is The Green in Cowes.

There will be a second race at 13:45 before the yachts head back to UKSA
for the prize giving ceremony at 16:00. Due to the differing sizes of the
yachts, a handicap system will be used.