RORC Confirms 2026 Round Britain & Ireland Race; 2014 Irish Victory Remembered

31st October 2025

Afloat.ie Team

Overall/Outright Record Holder: Oman Sail - Musandam, the MOD70 skippered by Sidney Gavignet in the 2014 edition of the RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race - 3 days, 3 hours, 32 minutes, 36 seconds Credit: Paul Wyeth

The Notice of Race for the 2026 Round Britain & Ireland Race has been issued, with the 50th-anniversary edition set to start from Cowes on 9 August 2026.

The 1,805-mile non-stop offshore challenge will again see an international fleet tackle one of sailing’s toughest courses, rounding all islands to starboard and passing remote turning marks including Muckle Flugga at the top of Shetland.

Entries open on 3 November 2025 for IRC monohulls, multihulls, Class40s and IMOCA yachts.

Irish two-handed victory remembered

This anniversary running also shines a spotlight on Irish success.

Lula Belle on her way out of the Solent with 1800 miles to race and everything still intact. Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Before the 2014 edition, no two-handed crew had ever completed the race. Three did so that year — including Irish pair Liam Coyne and Brian Flahive aboard the First 36.7 Lula Belle.

The duo not only finished but won the Two-Handed Class and the combined IRC Three and Four divisions after 12 days 2 hours 40 minutes at sea. Their engine failed off Dingle with 500 miles still to sail, leaving them without power or instruments.

“We had serious doubts that we could finish,” Coyne said at the time. “This race is an endurance test for yourself and the boat… the hardest we have ever done.”

Irish ocean-racing great Damian Foxall praised the pair, calling their effort “true spirit of two-handed racing”. Read the full story in Afloat by W M Nixon from 2014 here

Records and past champions

Ian Walker set the monohull record in 2014 with Azzam in 4 days, 13 hours, 10 minutes and 28 seconds, later winning the Volvo Ocean Race with the same team.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s VO65 Azzam set the monohull race record in 2014 Photo: Paul Wyeth

The last edition in 2022 saw Richard Palmer and Rupert Holmes on Jangada take overall IRC victory sailing two-handed. Palmer called it “totally exhausting… the pinnacle of offshore racing”.

Richard Palmer’s JPK 1010 Jangada racing two-handed with Rupert Holmes was the overall winner under IRC in the last edition of the race in 2022 Photo: James Tomlinson

Race outlook

RORC Racing Manager Steve Cole said the course remains “one of the ultimate tests in offshore sailing”, mixing coastal hazards and exposed ocean legs.

The 1,805-mile non-stop offshore challenge will again see an international fleet tackle one of sailing’s toughest courses

Online entry will be available via the event website, with live tracking for spectators and viewing opportunities from Cowes and major headlands.

Published in Rd Britain & Ireland, RORC

Round Britain and Ireland Race Live Tracker 2022

Track the progress of race fleet on the live trackers above and see all Afloat's Round Britan and Ireland Race coverage

THE RACE:

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is organised by The Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with The Royal Yacht Squadron. It is run every four years

There have been nine editions of the Round Britain and Ireland Race which started in 1976
Sevenstar has sponsored the race four times - 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and has committed to a longterm partnership with the RORC

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is a fully crewed non-stop race covering 1,805 nautical miles and is open to IRC, IRC Two Handed, IMOCA 60s, Class40s, Volvo 65s and Multihulls that will race around Britain and Ireland, starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes on the Isle of Wight starting after Cowes Week on Sunday 7 August 2022

The last edition of the race in 2018 attracted 28 teams with crews from 18 nations. Giles Redpath's British Lombard 46 saw over victory and Phil Sharp's Class40 Imerys Clean Energy established a new world record for 40ft and under, completing the course in 8 days 4 hrs 14 mins 49 secs.

The 1,805nm course will take competitors around some of the busiest and most tactically challenging sailing waters in the world. It attracts a diverse range of yachts and crew, most of which are enticed by the challenge it offers as well as the diversity and beauty of the route around Britain and Ireland with spectacular scenery and wildlife. Most sailors agree that this race is one of the toughest tests as it is nearly as long as an Atlantic crossing, but the changes of direction at headlands will mean constant breaks in the watch system for sail changes and sail trim

Published in Rd Britain & Ireland

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