Round Great Britain and Ireland Yacht Race Start.

Delayed from yesterday due to the severe conditions, after a 21 hour delay the race finally got underway at 9AM. this morning. The wind was still gusting to gale force and over and together with the rough sea the huge racing yachts got up to mighty speeds as they tracked the south coast towards Dover. Within 10 minutes they were out of sight of the Island.

Two accidents unrelated to the race served to display the dangers of sailing and the sea on yachts returning from Cowes week. A sad fatality occurred when a crew member was hit on the the head during an unexpected jibe. On another boat a crew member was thrown across the cockpit through the steering wheel and had to be airlifted to hospital. You do not mess with the sea.

Best seen in Large I think.