Scroll down for the 2026 Round Ireland Race Tracker
Credit: Yellowbrick
The biennial 704–mile Round Ireland Race race around our island home gets underway at Wicklow Harbour at 2 pm on Saturday, June 20th.
Follow the race on the live Yellowbrick tracker below
Read all the latest Round Ireland 2026 race news (and archive) in Afloat's regular race updates in one handy Round Ireland link
Track the progress of the 2026 Wicklow Sailing Club Round Ireland Race fleet on the live tracker above and see all Afloat's Round Ireland Race coverage in one handy link here
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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.
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
704 nautical miles, 810 miles or 1304 kilometres
3171 kilometres is the estimate of Ireland's coastline by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.
SSE Renewables are the sponsors of the 2020 Round Ireland Race.
Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London and The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin.
Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, August 22nd 2020
Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs
Leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.
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.
The Race Tracker is https://afloat.ie/sail/events/round-ireland/item/25789-round-ireland-yacht-race-tracker-2016-here.
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
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.
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.
William Power's 45ft Olivia undertook a round Ireland cruise in September 1860
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
© Afloat 2020
Race start: Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, June 20th 2026
There will be separate starts for monohulls and multihulls.
Race course: leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.
Race distance: is approximately 704 nautical miles or 1304 kilometres.
Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
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