What is the date and time of the 2020 Round Ireland Yacht Race?

August 22nd. Starting times: Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs.

What is the Round Ireland Yacht Race distance?

Approximately 704 nautical miles or 1304 kilometres

Round Ireland Yacht Race Updates from Wicklow Sailing Club

Q: What is the Round Ireland Race speed record?

The Round Ireland race record of 38 h 37 min 7s is held by MOD-70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail and was set in June 2016.

Round Ireland Yacht Race Updates from Wicklow Sailing Club

Denis Doyle’s new Crosshaven-built Moonduster makes her debut off Cork in 1981, the year after the first Round Ireland Race was sailed from Wicklow. The following year, when her owner was already 62 with a lifetime of offshore racing experience and success behind him, he brought Moonduster to Wicklow for the new biennial Round Ireland event, and remained loyal to it for the rest of his long sailing career

Round Ireland Refunds? The Doyler Would Tell Them to Keep Entry Fee for 2022’s Race

31st July 2020 Round Ireland

“What would The Doyler do?” That was the question we asked here when writing with resigned sadness on 11th April about the pandemic-induced two-month postponement - from 20th June - of the Wicklow start of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland…

The 2018 Round Ireland Race start off Wicklow. August's 2020 race has been cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns

Wicklow Sailing Club Cancels Round Ireland Yacht Race 2020

27th July 2020 Round Ireland

In a decision which will resonate with the national and international sailing community, and following intensive meetings all day, organisers Wicklow Sailing Club in concert with their many stakeholders have decided at 1845hrs today (Monday) that the circumstances of the…

Conor Fogerty and Susan Glenny will race a foiling Figaro 3 yacht in next month's Round Ireland Race from Wicklow

Fogerty & Glenny Announce 'Total Produce' Double-Handed Round Ireland Entry

26th July 2020 Mixed Offshore Keelboat

Irish offshore sailors Conor Fogerty and Susan Glenny have announced their two-handed entry into next month's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race from Wicklow. The 704 nautical mile Round Ireland was postponed in June due to COVID-19 and is now…

Irish JPK10.80 Rockabill VI - French sisterships have performed well in Cherbourg's 400-mile Dhream Cup, boosting hopes of more success for the design at next month's Round Ireland Race in which Rockabill VI will compete

Do France's Drheam Cup Results Provide Round Ireland Performance Insights?

23rd July 2020 Round Ireland

Looking ahead to next month's Round Ireland Yacht Race, last weekend's French Drheam Cup that proved so successful for Tom Dolan in the Figaro Duo class also provided offshore pundits with plenty of results to pore over. The Cherbourg fixture,…

MOD70 Powerplay - capable of speeds of 40 knots

Giant MOD 70 Trimaran 'Powerplay' Enters Round Ireland Yacht Race Bringing Entries to 50 So Far

23rd July 2020 Round Ireland

A new Round Ireland Race record speed time is in prospect with the entry of a MOD70 trimaran into the 21st edition of the race from Wicklow. There is no doubting the appeal of August's classic Irish offshore with the…

French Class 40s Eyeing Round Ireland To Complete Reduced European Trophy

10th July 2020 Round Ireland

Hopes are high within the Class 40 fleet that a reduced European Trophy will be confirmed — if there is enough participation for at least two out of the three races on the calendar. Alongside the classic Normandy Channel Race…

Still hot – the 2016 Marc Lombard-designed 45 Pata Negra will carry the Howth colours in August’s SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race

Darren Wright of Howth Puts Famous Pata Negra On to Boil in the Round Ireland Yacht Race

9th July 2020 Round Ireland

When the then-new Lombard 45 Pata Negra was racing with a Dutch charter crew in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race and carving her way through the fleet with style and winning speed, Howth YC’s offshore team manager Kieran Jameson was…

The Golden One: Chris Power Smith's J122 Aurelia competing in 2020's opening ISORA Coastal Race is entered for next month's Round Ireland Race from Wicklow

Royal St.George's J122 'Aurelia' is Round Ireland Yacht Race's 50th Entry

5th July 2020 RStGYC

Having come so close to overall victory in 2018, Chris Power Smith revealed the depth of his ambition when the Royal St. George skipper of J122 'Aurelia' became the Round Ireland Yacht Race's 50th entry at the weekend. Power Smith…

Corum makes a great start in the 2018 Round Ireland Race; four French Class 40s have entered for August's 2020 edition of the race off Wicklow

Two More French Class 40s Brings Round Ireland Race Entry to 49 Boats So Far

2nd July 2020 Round Ireland

Two more international entries into August's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race brings the fleet total to just under 50 registered entries so far. Franz Bouvet's Yoda from Caen, France and Greg Leonard's Mach 40.3, Kite brings to four the…

Another French Class 40 Yacht Brings Round Ireland Race Entry to 47

28th June 2020 Round Ireland

Another international entry for August's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race adds extra spice to a growing French Class 40 division with the arrival of the Lorient based Mach 40.3, Taras Boulba skippered by Charles-Louis Mourruau. Overall, it brings entries…

Brendan Coghlan's Royal St George Yacht Club Yoyo is the latest Sunfast 3600 signed up for the Round Ireland Race

Royal St. George Yacht Club's 'YoYo' Makes it Six Sunfast 3600s for Round Ireland Race

27th June 2020 Round Ireland

A sixth Jeanneau Sunfast 3600, and the second Irish one, is entered for August's Round Ireland Yacht Race as Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Yoyo (Brendan Coghlan from the Royal St George Yacht Club) takes on the 700-mile challenge too. As regular…

Jeanneau Sunfast 3300 Hits 15-Knots During Round Ireland Training VIDEO!

27th June 2020 Round Ireland

Cian McCarthy's brand new Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl has been hitting some top speeds in training off the Kinsale coast recently. In this video clip (below) the Irish debutante is clocked doing 15 knots in 25 knots of wind. In…

Welsh ISORA Fleet Can Swell Round Ireland Yacht Race Entry

24th June 2020 ISORA

Already buoyant entries for August's Round Ireland Yacht Race can expect a further boost when a potent Welsh IRC fleet comes out of lockdown. From the 2018 Race, seven Welsh boats finished in the top 20 but none of these…

Two More Howth Yacht Club Entries for Round Ireland Race

24th June 2020 Round Ireland

The entry of a Howth Yacht Club XC 45 and J109 brings August's Round Ireland Yacht Race fleet to 45. The stand-out result is made all the more impressive as the Wicklow Race has achieved the numbers in the middle…

Round Ireland regular Jeanneau Sunfast 3600 returns for the 2020 race from Wicklow on August 22nd

Five Jeanneau Sunfast 3600s Now Racing Round Ireland

18th June 2020 Round Ireland

Yet Another British-based Jeanneau Sunfast 3600 has entered August's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race bringing to five the number of the hard chined pocket-rockets entered for Ireland's biennial 700-mile offshore race. Gavin Howe's Tigris latest entry – the 44th boat…

The Belfast Lough IMX 38 eXcession is entered by owners Ruan O’Tiarnagh from Ballyholme YC, John Harrington (Royal Ulster) and Johnny Mulholland, also from Bangor

O'Tiarnaigh Returns to Round Ireland Race in IMX 38 eXcession

16th June 2020 Round Ireland

The second Northern Ireland entry for August's Round Ireland Race is, as Afloat previously reported, the Belfast Lough IMX 38 eXcession entered by owners Ruan O'Tiarnaigh from Ballyholme YC, John Harrington (Royal Ulster) and Johnny Mulholland, also from Bangor. Joining…

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Round Ireland Yacht Race Information

The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland's classic offshore yacht race starts from Wicklow Sailing Club (WSC) and is organised jointly with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC). This page details the very latest updates from the 2008 race onwards including the race schedule, yacht entries and the all-important race updates from around the 704-mile course. Keep up to date with the Round Ireland Yacht Race here on this one handy reference page.

2020 Round Ireland Race

The 2020 race, the 21st edition, was the first race to be rescheduled then cancelled.

Following Government restrictions over COVID-19, a decision on the whether or not the 2020 race can be held was made on April 9 2020 to reschedule the race to Saturday, August 22nd. On July 27th, the race was regrettably cancelled due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

Because of COVID-19, the race had to have a virtual launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club for its 21st edition.

In spite of the pandemic, however, a record entry was in prospect for 2020 with 50 boats entered with four weeks to go to the race start. The race was also going big on size and variety to make good on a pre-race prediction that the fleet could reach 60. An Irish offshore selection trial also looked set to be a component part of the 2020 race.

The rescheduling of the race to a news date emphasises the race's national significance, according to Afloat here

FAQs

How many miles duration is the Round Ireland Yacht Race?

704 nautical miles, 810 miles or 1304 kilometres

What is the distance around Ireland's coastline?

3171 kilometres is the estimate of Ireland's coastline by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

Who is the sponsor of the 2020 Round Ireland Yacht Race?

SSE Renewables are the sponsors of the 2020 Round Ireland Race.

Who organises the Round Ireland Yacht Race?

Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London and The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin.

Where is the Round Ireland Race Start?

Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, August 22nd 2020

What is the Round Ireland Race Start time?

Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs

What is the Round Ireland Race course?

Leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

How long does it take to sail Round Ireland?

It depends on the boat. The elapsed record time for the race is under 40 hours but most boats take five or six days to complete the course.

Is there a Round Ireland Race Tracker?

The Race Tracker is https://afloat.ie/sail/events/round-ireland/item/25789-round-ireland-yacht-race-tracker-2016-here.

What is the history of the Round Ireland Race?

The idea of a race around Ireland began in 1975 with a double-handed race starting and finishing in Bangor organised by Ballyholme Yacht Club with stopovers in Crosshaven and Killybegs. That race only had four entries. In 1980 Michael Jones put forward the idea of a non-stop race and was held in that year from Wicklow Sailing Club. Sixteen pioneers entered that race with Brian Coad’s Raasay of Melfort returning home after six days at sea to win the inaugural race. Read the first Round Ireland Yacht Race 1980 Sailing Instructions here

What is the Round Ireland Race speed record?

The Round Ireland race record of 38 h 37 min 7 s is held by MOD-70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail and was set in June 2016.

What is the Round Ireland Race Monohull Speed record?

George David’s Rambler 88 (USA) holds the fastest monohull race time of two days two hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds set in the 2016 race.

What was the first round Ireland voyage?

William Power's 45ft Olivia undertook a round Ireland cruise in September 1860

What is the Smallest Boat To Sail Round Ireland?

Richard Hayes completed his solo epic round Ireland voyage in September 2018 in a 14-foot Laser dinghy. The voyage had seen him log a total of 1,324 sea miles (2,452 kilometres) in 54 sailing days. in 1961, the Belfast Lough Waverly Durward crewed by Kevin and Colm MacLaverty and Mick Clarke went around Ireland in three-and-a-half weeks becoming the smallest keelboat ever to go round. While neither of these achievements occurred as part of the race they are part of Round Ireland sailing history