Dutch race veteran Piet Vroon's Tonerre de Breskens III made the most of the light northerlies at start time to take the advantage in the opening minutes of this year's Round Ireland race at Wicklow today. The fleet are sailing south now to the Tuskar rock and only one of the 37 boats has gone offshore, presumably in search of stronger wind. The bulk are tightly bunched along the Wicklow shoreline to escape the worse of an adverse tide with an expectation that winds are to turn southerly this evening. Start photos on afloat.ie gallery shortly. Tracker here (and screen grab below taken three hours after the start). Mike Broughton's race forecast here.
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race