The pre-race favourite Teasing Machine, Pete Smyth’s Searcher and James Neville’s Ino Noir had the best of today’s (Saturday 22 June) classic upwind start in the 22nd SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race off Wicklow in a 16-knot testing southerly breeze with ebb tide under way.

The scheduled 1pm start was postponed due to race committee personnel only arriving on the committee boat, the LE Bernard Shaw, at 12.45pm.

The pin end of the Round Ireland Race start line, the Wicklow Pier lighthouse doubled as a great spectator point Photo: Afloat

A round-the-ends rule was in force, making any boats over at the start required to round the Naval Service ship, the inner end of the line being the Wicklow Pier lighthouse. As it turned out, race officer David Lovegrove signalled ‘all clear’ for the 43 monohull, and the same for the five competing multis who started 10 minutes later.

The clean start to the 22nd Round Ireland Race from Wicklow with First 50 Checkmate XX (IRL 66) starting midline Photo: Afloat

At the Committee Boat end, French yacht Teasing Machine made her perfect approach for the tack to the Arklow bank and the best of the tidal advantage Photo: Afloat

The race from the line to Wicklow Head saw from left Searcher, Phosphorous, Ino Noir and Pata Negra all at full pace.... Photo: Afloat

...but with France's Teasing Machine very much ahead on the water and the first to Wicklow Had and into some choppy seas Photo: Afloat

The preferred startline-winning move was to win a place at the committee boat and then make a beeline on starboard for the maximum tidal benefit at the Arklow Bank; this was carried out to perfection by the French entry Teasing Machine, which was unchallenged after the gun.

Pete Smyth’s new Searcher on starboard at the Head and aiming for the Arklow Bank | Photo: Afloat

An hour into the ebb tide gave wind over tide conditions and a building sea, to make good on pre-race predictions of a beating start.

James Neville and crew on Ino Noir take another tack onto port at the Head | Credit: David O’Brien

But what was billed as going to be a slow race start was anything but, as the wind and sun and waves arrived right on cue for the 22nd edition — albeit leaving crews dealing with choppy seas getting stronger as they headed south.

ISORA Champion Rockabill VI was one of the boats that took the inshore route off the Wicklow line Photo: Afloat

As the mixed fleet settled into their brief initial leg towards the first turn at Wicklow Head, boats that favoured being inshore, perhaps due to the pierhead line bias, included ISORA champion Rockabill VI, Pata Negra and Imp, but they faced big seas and a less favourable tide as a group of eight or nine passed the head.

As the fleet cleared Wicklow, it became obvious there were some rough seas ahead in the first hours of the 2024 Round Ireland Race, like for this J112e, Simon Harris's J'Ouvert from the RORC Photo: Afloat

Wind strength prospects for the remainder of Saturday are for 15-20 knots till midnight off the Wexford coast. But after the first hour of racing the continuing leaders are making the very best of the available breeze and the full strength of the ebb towards Tuskar Rock.