One of the Isle of Wight’s most famous and successful residents will get the 63rd Cowes - Torquay - Cowes race underway this weekend.

Mark King, frontman and bassist with Level 42, will be in Cowes on Saturday, August 24, where he will board the start boat at the Yacht Haven to head into the Solent.

When he raises the green flag, almost 20 boats will begin their challenging 210-mile journey along the south coast to Torquay and back.

Mark’s story, which spans more than four decades in the music business, began in Cowes, where he was born and raised.

The sea has played a big part of his life.

“I spent most of my early summers playing on the shore at Gurnard just a couple of miles from Cowes, and one of the highlights was watching the powerboats thunder down the Solent,” he said.

“I’ve watched the Cowes Torquay Cowes race many times since then, and around 1989 I blagged a ride in one of the Drakar Noir boats and roared around Southampton Water.

"I was hooked and bought a Princess 38, then a Grandbanks 42.”

Mark said his friends Martin and Laura Levi, at the British Powerboat Racing Club, have enabled him to get his ‘fast boat fixes'.

Race boats leaving Cowes for TorquayRace boats leaving Cowes for Torquay (Image: Malc Attrill)

Level 42's Mark King on stageLevel 42's Mark King on stage (Image: Tina Korhonen)

"So you can imagine my reaction when they invited me to start the big race this weekend", he said.

"Hand me that green flag!”  

Cowes - Torquay - Cowes race takes place on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25.

Meanwhile, despite his love for the Island, Mark said he has no intention to stop performing worldwide.

“Touring with Level 42 today is more fun than it has ever been,” he said.

“I love the guys in the band and I seem to have reached that venerable age when everyone is so nice and complimentary to me.

"Age doesn’t define you – what you have accomplished over the preceding decades does.

"So far this year we have played festivals here in the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. Looking ahead, we will be heading to Japan for eight shows, followed by Singapore, Chile, Mexico, Germany and the Netherlands again, and then back to London. Happy days!“