With just under five months to the June race start, entries opened for the 2024 SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race at 9 am, tying in with this morning's official launch of Ireland's premier offshore race.
Organiser Wicklow Sailing Club (WSC) has set a high target for entries, but as Afloat reported previously, the club has also been quick off the mark to attract some early international entries.
The 2024 edition of the race marks the 22nd running of the biennial offshore sailing event that will start on Saturday, 22nd June 2024, with a hoped-for fleet of some 70 boats.
The race will be launched this morning by WSC and sponsors SSE Renewables at County Wicklow's Local Enterprise Office in Rathnew.
"Interest in the Round Ireland is always exceptional, and this year is no different",' says Kyran O'Grady, Race Director. "We expect strong interest from English and European crews".
Leaving Ireland and its islands to starboard, the race starts and finishes at the east coast port of Wicklow after racing for at least 700 nautical miles.
The Round Ireland 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.
Among the early entries, considering the June Irish classic, is Eric de Turckheim’s NMYD 54 Teasing Machine from France.
RORC Commodore Deb Fish will be onboard the doublehanded Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, and former RORC Commodore James Neville’s new Carkeek-created Ino Noir brings her owner-skipper back to the Round Ireland challenge next year. It’s unfinished business, as his previous boat in the 2022 race had to retire with damage off the Kerry coast.
Entries open on 29th January at 09:00 am here
