DAUNTSEY'S School's own yacht, the Jolie Brise, is no stranger to winning and was able to chalk up an overwhelming victory in the recent Round the Island race, beating the nearest competition by three quarters of an hour.

Crewed by five boys and three girls, the Jolie Brise set off at 7.30am on Saturday October 9 for the 50-mile race along The Solent to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight. She crossed the finishing line at 4.18pm with a comfortable lead of about 45 minutes.

Toby Marris, Dauntsey's head of sailing and skipper of the 74ft gaff-rigged pilot cutter, said winning the race was the equivalent of England playing Germany in the World Cup and winning 8-1.

The huge trophy required two of the crew to collect it at the awards ceremony. The crew also received a second trophy from Mrs Eve Branson, the mother of music-to-airlines magnate Sir Richard Branson.

Mrs Branson had been invited for breakfast on board before the race started. She arrived at the boat at 6am to find the entire crew asleep.

Mrs Branson presented them with an alarm clock.

The Jolie Brise is no stranger to winning prestigious races. It was the first winner of the Fastnet Race in 1925 and won it again in 1929 and 1930.

Built in Le Havre in 1913, it plied the waters around the English Channel for a few years before its racing prowess became apparent.

Perhaps the boat's proudest moment came during the Millennium Tall Ships Race, the first transatlantic race for veteran ships.

Despute an engine failure, it more than made up for the delay by winning the race outright.