IT WAS not a day for breaking records in the Hoya Round the Island Race though the number of boats who faced disqualification for failing to finish in time was at one point set for an all-time high.

At 7.30pm on Saturday, eleven hours after the first start off the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, 1231 boats from a field of more than 1500 were still at sea, the doldrums having struck and settled in the Solent.

By 10.30pm, the shut off time, the wind had picked up allowing 1221 yachts to claim finishing times and it was a 44 year-old Warsash-based folkboat Celia Mary, owned by Edward Donald who took the Gold Roman Bowl on corrected time having completed the course in 11 hours, 16 minutes and 11 seconds.

Sportsbank Quadrant Business Centre, the French based trimaran helmed by former Olympic gold medallist Rodney Pattison crossed the line first winning the Freedom Challenge Bowl though his time of 5 hours, 41 minutes and 42 seconds was some way off the record of three hours, 55 minutes set by the same boat in 1986.

Hoya finished almost an hour and a half later with Linford Christie helming the shark branded ex-Silk Cut W60 over the line but despite being the first monohull home, they were way off the pace on corrected time finishing in 163rd place.

Yes!, Adam Gosling's impressive Sydney 60 arrived in their wake but their rating also sent them tumbling down the ranks as Nokia, the Bashford 41 owned by Carphone Warehouse boss Charles Duntstone and helmed by Dave Bedford looked set for the top prize until the final stragglers results had been computed.

Nokia finished first in IRC Class 1 and sixth overall, recording a career best.

"We had a few tricky moments and spent some time rock hopping," said Duntstone who took over the Hamble-based boat, previously named Hawk, after 1998 Skandia Life Cowes Week.

In a day lacking in drama due to unhelpful though not unpleasant sailing conditions, tensions on the water gave way to arguments in the protest office as Yes! prepared to protest Hoya for infringing branding regulations in IRC Class1 and Nokia protested Rogan Josh after a collision on the start line. Yes! later decided to withdraw their complaint while Nokia's was upheld.

Lawrie Smith helming Venture 99, the British Chernikee's IMS 50 entry in this year's Champagne Mumm Admiral's Cup hit the mud between the Needles and St Catherine's point and retired while Chris Law in the Sydney 40, Arbitrator finished fourth in class and 15th overall.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.