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

Teasing Machine Takes Wicklow Line Honours in Round Ireland Yacht Race

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.

Teasing Machine Takes Wicklow Line Honours in Round Ireland Yacht Race

25th June 2024

WM Nixon

Teasing Machine leading the Round Ireland fleet on Monday 24 June Credit: RORC/Facebook

Tuesday (Day 4) 1930hrs: Eric de Turckheim’s Teasing Machine surprised no one by taking the monohull line honours in the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race at 1921 in Wicklow on Tuesday evening (25 June), writes WM Nixon.

Yet a certain tension was inevitable as this race has seen breezes fade just when they’re most needed, even though the big black boat had a helpful ebb tide to bring her down the coast.

And with most of the fleet still on the northwest section of Ireland’s west-facing Atlantic seaboard, good progress is hoped for them in order to get the bulk of the fleet into less exposed waters when gale conditions may be experienced on Thursday (27 June), with a quite intense low pressure system passing to the northwards through the Outer Hebrides.

Surreal lead

Meanwhile, there’s an almost surreal feeling to Teasing Machine’s win for France, as she finished more than 140 miles ahead of the next boat, Pete Smyth’s Ker 46 Searcher which is struggling against the tide to get past Rathlin Island, while Searcher is in turn 139 miles ahead of the third-placed boat, the much smaller Bellino which is off the north coast of Mayo.

Wayward wind pattern

On the West and North Coasts, the wayward wind patterns reflect the Atlantic coast’s strong sunshine, while the East Coast has sat under grey skies through Tuesday.

The Sunfast 3600 Bellino (Rob Craigie with Deb Fish) continues as overall IRC leader of the “second batch” and leading in the Two-Handed Division, but out of sight in downtime against both Searcher and Teasing Machine.

However, crawling across Donegal Bay at 3.3 knots, Bellino will be keen to get Malin Head well astern and a bit of southing into her course, as Thursday’s expected low-pressure area will be transforming the entire northwestern area into some decidedly rough and windy water.

Slow going off Mayo and Donegal

Only the leading Class 40 Swift (Greg Leonard, USA) had made significant progress along the North Coast as Teasing Machine came into the Wicklow finish and Searcher scraped by Rathlin Island. Swift was making slow speed (3.9 knots) right at the top of the course at Malin Head, but other class leaders still had some way to go to round Tory Island, with Pata Negra (First Welsh, 5.5 knots) at Dawros Head in West Donegal, Rockabill VI (Class 2 leader, 4.1 knots) north of Belderg on the North Mayo coast, and Desert Star (Ronan O Siochru), Class 4 leader at Achill, making 3.1 knots.

Published in Round Ireland

Round Ireland Yacht Race Live Tracker 2024

Track the progress of the 2024 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

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About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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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