Once the canons have been fired at 5am tomorrow morning, over the period of the day, some 1754 boats will be making their way around the Island.
Some will be racing to beat records, others will be glad to make it around the Island.
The oldest of those taking part and not hoping to beat any records is an 148 year old gaffer from Southampton, Nellie.
Whilst others were tucking into the delicious nosh on offer, we managed to catch some time with Nellie’s skipper for the day, Scott Waddington.
Nellie was originally built as a working boat, fishing the waters in Southampton. Scott revealed that a Grandson of original owner, told him that although she has been working in the Solent as far back as 140-odd years, Nellie has never been around the Island.
During our chat, Scott gave special thanks to Wiltshire boatbuilder, Alastair Garland, who worked hard on the restoration of the boat.
Hear what else he had to say of the ‘Handsome’ old gaffer. [audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/round-the-island-launch-scott-waddington.mp3]
