Portsmouth world record bid to honour sailing hero Sir Alec Rose is delayed

Maritime group Around and Around had hoped to create the largest human image of a boat on Castle Field, Southsea, on May 28.

The ambition had been to rally more than 1,000 people to clinch the record in honour of the 50th anniversary of sailing legend Sir Alec Rose’s triumphant return to Portsmouth after circumnavigating the globe.

But Mark Smith, chairman of Around and Around, said: ‘It is with regret that we are postponing the largest human image world record attempt until later in the year.

‘Since we set our sights on this ambitious project last year a new record has been registered with the Guinness Book of Records and has now been independently verified.

‘The record has now been published online, but in short the Indian International School in the UAE, now hold the record for the largest human image of a boat with a total of 4,882 people. This is clearly a substantial increase on the number achieved at the Southampton Boat Show in 2016 and surpasses the 1,000-plus we were anticipating.’

The team aims to reorganise the record bid for later in the year where they hope to drum up enough support to beat the newest figure.

Mark added: ‘We will be writing to the largest businesses, schools and colleges in Portsmouth along with the University over the coming weeks to enlist their help in breaking this record and seeking support in marshalling the additional numbers we need to break the record.’

Those who have paid for hats and shirts to back the effort will be refunded in full.