An 87-year-old Chippenham man is believed to be the oldest sailor in this J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race; a race organised by the sailing club his grandfather co-founded over 120 years ago.

George Powell, who will be sailing alongside son, Simon, and wife Jophy, is set to be among 16,000 sailors that will tackle the famous 50 nautical mile J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race course around the Isle of Wight on Saturday June 1.

Now in its 82nd year, the race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, is one of the largest yacht races in the world, regularly attracting more than 1,700 boats, and is the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK.

George’s grandfather was Dr Percy Gibson, a Cowes GP who was one of the founding members of the Island Sailing Club in 1889. Among other claims to fame Dr Gibson also owned the first motor car on the Isle of Wight.

George was made a member of the ISC by his grandfather in 1948 and has competed in the race numerous times over the years despite a successful Army career keeping him away from the sea for long periods.

As he prepares to take the Westerly Discus 33 yacht, Wishwell, he co-owns with his son round the island again George admits the race always has a special place in his heart.

He said: “I have a great affection for the race. When I first started doing it we would be racing in old wooden boats, it was great fun. I’ve sailed all my life. With my grandfather living in Cowes I was brought up under his tuition. I still enjoy racing and sailing now."

To underline his love of the sea, George and Jophy, will again volunteer themselves and the boat to take visually impaired sailors cruising as part of Blind Week this year.

He added: “It’s something we’ve done for a long time. If you think you’re giving something you’re getting 150 per cent back.

"It’s amazing what the sailors can do; we use an audio compass and they use the wind on their faces to judge the breeze. It’s great fun.”

The Round the Island’s ‘Race for All’ ethos is unique in that enthusiastic amateurs get to race alongside some of the biggest names from the worlds of sailing, sport and entertainment.

Previous high-profile participants include four-time Olympic champion, Ben Ainslie, double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, England rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood and TV star Denise Van Outen.

The race starts on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes and most boats will finish the iconic race between eight and 10 hours depending on conditions.

Once again the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust – the charity set-up by the history-making round the world yachtswoman to rebuild young people’s confidence in recovery from cancer through sailing – is the official race charity for 2013.

Through the #raceforall Twitter hashtag, J.P Morgan will donate 10p per #raceforall Tweet to the charity, with the goal of raising at least £3,000, as well as ramping up the online social media buzz around the race.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has been title sponsor of the Round the Island Race for nine years and is committed until 2014. For more information about the 2013 Round the Island Race visit www.roundtheisland.org.uk