Circumnavigations: Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is another UK island that seems to have been created to give a perfect one day circumnavigation challenge. It also brings into play interesting tides and scenery, at the same time all this is complicated by some of the busiest waterways found along the UK coastline. A good combination of planning, stamina and paddling skills are required for this one but also an especial awareness for all those others afloat.

Isle of Wight

Route Distance: ~48 nm / 89 km
Prevailing direction: CCW

Solo

Click column header to sort.

Posn.	K1W	Cat	Paddler	Elapsed	Date	Boat	Tide	Dir	Note	Verified	Link1
1		K1M	John Willacy	07:02:24	09-Oct-21	Rockpool Taran 18	9.7	CCW		Yes
2		K1M	John Willacy	07:19:46	23-Mar-15	Rockpool Taran 18	10.0	CCW		Yes
3		K1M	Rhys Hunt	07:20:57	08-Oct-21	Valley Nordkapp	9.8	CCW		Yes
4		K1M	Rhys Hunt	07:31:25	30-Mar-21	Valley Nordkapp	10.0	CCW		Yes
5		K1M	Rhys Hunt	07:31:50	27-Apr-21	Valley Nordkapp	9.9	CCW		Yes
6		K1M	Giles Hudson	07:50:57	08-Oct-21	Rockpool Taran 18	9.8	CCW		Yes
7		K1M	Michal Madera	07:57:10	27-May-21	Tiderace Pace 17 Tour	9.7	CCW		Yes
8		K1M	Brendan Reese	07:59:00	28-Jul-11	Nelo Inuk	8.4	CCW		Yes	Photos
9		K1M	Martin Scott	08:21:00	30-Aug-11	Epic 18x	9.8	CCW		Yes
10		K1M	Victor Copeland	08:22:14	22-Sep-13	P+H Bahiya	9.4	CCW		--
11		K1M	Michal Madera	08:25:57	22-Jul-20	Tiderace Pace 17 Tour	9.2	CCW		Yes
12		K1M	Rhys Hunt	08:30:58	15-Jan-21	Valley Nordkapp	9.5	CCW		Yes
13		K1M	James Doherty	08:56:36	05-Nov-21	Rockpool Taran 18	9.8	CCW		Yes
14		K1M	Victor Copeland	09:00:00	Jul-13	P+H Bahiya		CCW		--
15		K1M	James Doherty	09:02:07	27-Apr-21	Rockpool Taran 18	9.9	CCW		Yes
16		K1M	Andy Hiscock	09:27:00	13-Sep-14	Epic 18		CCW		Yes
17		K1M	Mark Rainsley	09:28:00	31-May-14	Zegul Velocity		CCW		--	Blog
18		K1M	John Aberdein	09:49:00	09-Sep-80	Valley Anas Acuta		CCW		--	Article
19		K1M	Jon Needham	09:51:23	10-Jun-20	Rockpool Taran 18		CCW		Yes
20		K1M	James Doherty	10:05:39	16-Sep-20	Cape Falcon F1		CCW		Yes	YouTube
21		K1M	Giles Hudson	10:08:47	06-Sep-20	Rockpool Taran 18		CCW		Yes
22	(1)	K1W	Sharon Miller	10:20:00	04-Jul-1987	P+H Umnak		CCW		--
23		K1M_Ski	Petr Major	10:58:58	11-Aug-21	Petr M F9 ski	9.1	CCW		Yes
24		K1M	James Doherty	11:02:19	31-Aug-20	Cape Falcon F1		CW		Yes	Article
25		K1M	Rob Tew	11:03:21	04-Sep-12	Tiderace Xcite		CCW		Yes
26		K1M_Ski	Richi Oliver	11:21:41	21-Sep-13	Stealth Splash 550		CCW		--
27		K1M	Michal Madera	11:55:00	31-Dec-10	Plastex Sea Master		CCW		Yes	Photos
28		K1M	Glyn Brackenbury	12:03:14	05-Jan-13	Mega Sovereign		CCW	Sail	Yes
29		K1M	Michal Madera	12:21:54	28-May-21	Tiderace Pace 17 Tour	9.6	CCW		Yes
30	(2)	K1W	Kate Duffus	12:50:00	17-Feb-10	P+H Cetus LV		CCW		--	Blog
31		SUP_M	Philip Plume	14:25:52	13-Jul-19	14' Fanatic Blitz		CCW		Yes	Blog
32		K1M	Peter Mansell	23:00:00	16-Apr-10			CCW		--	Website

32 solo paddlers.
CW = clockwise, CCW = counter-clockwise
Tide = height at Liverpool (m)

---

Teams

Click column header to sort.

Posn.	Cat	Paddler	Elapsed	Date	Boat	Dir	Note	Verified	Link1
1	Team	Simon Alderdice Joe Langham	07:25:41	18-Oct-20	Rockpool Taran 18	CCW		Yes
2	Team	Giles Hudson Matt Parton	08:22:52	21-Sep-20	Rockpool Taran 18	CCW		Yes
3	Team_Ski	Chloe Bunnett Ivan Lawler Peter Molnar	08:36:24	18-Aug-10	Epic V10L Epic V10L	CCW		Yes	News
4	Team	Andy Hiscock Martin Scott	09:24:00	14-Jun-10	Valley Avocet RM	CCW		Yes
5	Team	Rich Holt Matt Parton	09:42:40	18-May-18	SKUK Romany Surf	CCW		Yes
6	Team	Fred Curtin-Sewell Phil Smith	10:25:38	19-Apr-22	Valley Nordkapp Perception Essence 17	CCW		Yes
7	Team	Victor Copeland Vivien Nicholls	11:10:00	13-Jul-13	P+H Bahiya	CCW		--
8	Team	Rich Holt Matt Parton	11:27:00	02-Apr-17	SKUK Romany Surf	CCW		--
9	Team	Paul Barrett Rhys Hunt	11:30:02	22-Jan-22	Valley Nordkapp	CCW		Yes
10	Team	James Forward Julian Haines	11:42:15	02-Apr-17	Nordkapp Jubilee M	CCW		Yes	Images
11	Team	Jon Needham Dave Phillips	11:46:00	27-Aug-16	Valley Aquanaut RM	CCW		--
12	K2	Andy Morton / Jane Morton	11:50:00	02-Mar-13		CCW		--	Website
13	Team	Ben Cowans Phil Smith	11:54:39	02-May-22	Perception Essence 17 Perception Essence 17	CCW		Yes
14	Team_Ski	Chris Buckton Barry Robson Ian Smith	12:22:45	16-May-14	Stealth Splash 550 Epic V6	CCW		Yes	Blog
15	Team	Phil Smith Simon Waller	12:23:13	11-Aug-21	Perception Essence 17 Rockpool GT	CCW		Yes
16	Team	Claire Cheong-Leen Simon Edwards	13:50:00	17-Apr-10	Rockpool Alaw	CCW		--	Article
17	Team	Rhys Hunt Neil Lutas	14:59:44	08-Apr-21	Valley Nordkapp	CCW		Yes
18	Team	Graham Beckram Roger Hiley Roger Wiltshire M. Scott	17:30:00	19-Jun-04	P+H Bahiya	CCW		--
19	Team	Phil Smith Ben Cowans	20:57:55	07-Aug-21	Perception Essence 17	CCW	tbc	Yes

42 team paddlers in 19 teams

---

Various

Click column header to sort.

Cat	Paddler	Elapsed	Date	Boat	Tide	Dir	Note	Verified	Link1
Team	Roy Beal	15:33:12	24-Aug-21	Fulmar (Ply) Error: on line 293 - /home/uxtbypqs/public_html/Includes/output_performance_various.php - Undefined offset: 1	CCW	Escort	Yes
K1M	Tim Wiggins	11:53:02	27-Jul-19	Valley Etain RM	CW	Escort	--	Local News
K2	Richie Couzens / Hari Budha Magar	10:25:59	11-Jun-16		CCW	Escort	--	Website

4 paddlers in 3 teams

Notes: Various

Tim Wiggins : (27-Jul-19)
Escorted.

---

Richie Couzens : (11-Jun-16) / Hari Budha Magar et al.
Escorted.

---

Roy Beal : (24-Aug-21)
Paddled as a safety escort to a successful around the island swim.

---

---

Notes

John Aberdein : (09-Sep-80)
Though it was eventually overhauled, John's record should be noted for the its long standing reign. To this day, over 30 years later, it is still an impressively quick time.

---

Simon Alderdice / Joe Langham et al. (18-Oct-20)
The fastest Team time, 1hr clear of the next nearest.

---

Roy Beal : (24-Aug-21)
From Roy: "I did the Isle of Wight in August. It wasn't fast as I was escorting swimmer Oly Rush, but I did sit in my Fulmar for over 15 hours straight (the official time of the swim was 15hrs and 9 minutes). We left Seaview at just after 11 am on 23/08/21, made good use of the tides, finishing back at Seaview at about 02.15 on the 24th. Oly set a new world record with that time, smashing the existing record by over 9 hours. We had a safety boat and other kayakers helping out but, as a personal challenge and because Oly is my best mate, I didn't leave his side other than to use my wee bottle! The tides were great, we flew out of the Hurst race at about 12km/h - not bad considering we were at the swimmer's pace."

---

Glyn Brackenbury : (05-Jan-13)
From Glyn: "I hadn't considered entering a time as I was just trying out some stuff, I should of tried harder!"

---

Chloe Bunnett / Ivan Lawler et al. (18-Aug-10)
An excellent time from Chloe, Ivan and Peter. From Ivan: "We were very lucky with tides and weather but am pretty sure it could be done in around 7 hrs if you pushed on a bit." - bearing in mind that Ivan holds 6 World Championship titles this is not a suggestion to be taken lightly! Undertaken on skis.

---

Richie Couzens / Hari Budha Magar et al. (11-Jun-16)
Paddled as part of an escorted team K2 attempt. From the Pilgrim Bandits Blog: "The weather was perfect on Saturday. The record of 10 hours 25 mins was set by ex-Ghurkha Hari Budha Magar, a double leg amputee partnered in his kayak by veteran Richie Couzens. Jimmy (Wilson) and Tyler (Christopher) and their partners came close behind."

---

James Doherty : (27-Apr-21)
James' 3rd lap in 6 months, 1hr faster each time.

---

Andy Hiscock / Martin Scott et al. (14-Jun-10)
A fast time from Andy and Martin, though Martin thinks he can beat it with better weather.

---

Rhys Hunt : (27-Apr-21)
This is the 4th lap of the IOW for Rhys so far in 2021

---

Michal Madera : (31-Dec-10)
Michal's attempt was undertaken on the last day of the year; winter times are always hard to make quick - temperature, weather and short daylight hours make life more difficult.

---

Michal Madera : (27-May-21)
Lap 1 of 2 laps within 24 hrs.

---

Michal Madera : (28-May-21)
Michal completes 2 laps of the IOW within 24hrs with this one.

---

Petr Major : (11-Aug-21)
Petr paddled this lap of the IOW on a ski he designed and built himself.

---

Peter Mansell : (16-Apr-10)
From Peter: “This section was more mentally and physically demanding, trying to stay alert, avoid rocks and not drift too far out where the tide race might form. At 1am when I reached Sandown Bay I just wanted to land”. Peter also raised funds for the Martin Booth Memorial Fund, which aims to build a new clubhouse at Basingstoke and Deane Canoe Club.

---

Andy Morton / Jane Morton et al. (02-Mar-13)
Andy and Jane paddled this trip as part of their preparation for their 2013 UK Circumnavigation attempt.

---

Richi Oliver : (21-Sep-13)
This is Richi's 4th Circumnavigation of the I.O.W; using a new route and paddling his new Stealth Splash 550 he knocked 2 hrs off his previous best time. From Richi:" Having completed the IOW circumnavigation 3 times previously in a 15ft plastic fishing kayak and managed a quickest time of 13hrs 25 minutes the arrival of a new 5.5metre fibreglass boat and it's extra speed soon gave a new lease of life to my paddling and I felt I could better my time considerably. I didn't get the best build up to the challenge this year losing important training time through a back injury,to be honest I got more rest in than I did training. I had began all previous attempts from the mainland launching at Sowley,Lepe and Calshot but this time I wanted to try something very different and took the ferry from Southampton to Cowes and drove to Bembridge to launch at the lifeboat station. I called in my trip to Solent Coastguard and for once I was ready and prepped well before my set off time,the minutes were clicking away. 2330 and time to set off. I only saw two boats during my trip to Cowes,a small container ship and a small motor vessel. It was great paddling along in the twilight of the full moon with my points to head for easy to spot,as I approached Cowes the increase in tidal flow was noticeable and it seemed the Cowes Yarmouth stretch was soon over,in fact I got to the Needles before my expected time and suffered on the Needles to St.Catherines leg(I always find this stretch the hardest). As I approached St.Catherines so daylight approached and with it my second wind.I did from St.Catherines to Ventnor in an hour. And then from Ventnor back to Bembridge in an hour 40 I know I can take an hour of this and will be going again for sure,but I think my 5th time will be my last then I'll be looking at other challenges." We like that Richi reckons he still has an hour that he can shave off and that after his 5th circumavigation he'll be looking for new challenges - nice one.

---

Rob Tew : (04-Sep-12)
Rob is also planning a UK Circumnavigation attempt for 2013, paddling with Rachel Cooper.

---

Tim Wiggins : (27-Jul-19)
Escort Boat

---

---

Isle of Wight
54 completions -- 32 solo + 19 team + 3 escorted
78 paddlers in total (32 solo / 42 team / 4 escorted

Route Distance: ~48 nm / 89 km
Prevailing direction: CCW
Recorded Start Points:

• Alum Bay (2)
• Bembridge (3)
• Brambles Chine (1)
• Calshot Slip (1)
• Calshot Spit (1)
• Colwell Bay (2)
• East Cowes (1)
• East Haven (1)
• Egypt Point (1)
• Fishbourne (1)
• Freshwater Bay (3)
• Hurst Castle (3)
• Hurst Point (3)
• Keyhaven (2)
• Lee-on-Solent (1)
• Lepe Country Park (2)
• Milford on Sea (5)
• Milford-On-Sea (1)
• Seaview (1)
• Stansore Point (1)
• Stokes Bay (2)
• The Needles (14)
• Totland (1)
• xxx (1)




Submit a time here.

Read The Safety Page