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

Wicklow Sailing Club Aiming for 70 Boats as Round Ireland Yacht Race 2024 Date is Set for 22nd June

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.

Wicklow Sailing Club Aiming for 70 Boats as Round Ireland Yacht Race 2024 Date is Set for 22nd June

18th May 2023

Afloat.ie Team

The date of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race 2024 from Wicklow Sailing Club is Saturday, June 22. Pictured above is ICRA Boat of the Year, the J99 Snapshot from Howth off Wicklow Head, which finished second overall in the 2022 race Credit: Afloat

Wicklow Sailing Club organisers are aiming high for the next SSE Renewables-sponsored Round Ireland Yacht Race in just over 12 months' time.

The 2024 edition of the race marks the 22nd running of Ireland’s premier offshore sailing event and will start on Saturday, 22nd June 2024, with a hoped-for fleet of some 70 boats.

The 2024 race will leave Ireland and its islands to starboard while starting and finishing at the east coast port of Wicklow after racing for at least 700 nautical miles.

The Round Ireland Race is a high point of the ISORA (Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association) calendar and is the second-longest race in the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) calendar while alternating with the Rolex Fastnet Race.

The 2022 edition saw 52 entries despite being the first event to take place in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Announcing the date of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race 2024 were (left to right) Barry Kilcline, Head of Offshore (Ireland) for SSE Renewables, Karen Kissane, Commodore of Wicklow Sailing Club and Kyran O'Grady, Race Director SSE Round Ireland Race 2024 Photo: David Branigan/Wicklow Sailing Club

The race is also a calendar event of France’s national offshore racing union (UNCL) and the Classe 40 series.

“With the support of SSE Renewables once more, our ambition has increased, and we hope to reach upwards of 70 entries for the 2024 race,” commented Karen Kissane, Commodore of Wicklow Sailing Club. “With Kyran O’Grady, who has competed on several occasions himself, taking on the role of Race Director, we are in safe hands.”

“SSE Renewables is delighted to continue to support Wicklow Sailing Club in the delivery of yet another eagerly anticipated sailing event,” said Barry Kilcline, Head of Offshore (Ireland) for SSE Renewables.

The Notice of Race will be published on 31st July 2023, and will open for entries on 8th January 2024.

Published in Round Ireland

Round Ireland Yacht Race Live Tracker 2022

Track the progress of the 2022 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

Published in Round Ireland

Tagged under

Round Ireland Yacht Race

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

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