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

Treanor's 'CrisTina' Entry Lifts Round Ireland Yacht Race To Eight

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.

Treanor's 'CrisTina' Entry Lifts Round Ireland Yacht Race To Eight

20th January 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Johnny Treanor has entered the former Albator, a top French racer, renamed CrisTina for the upcoming Round Ireland Race

John Treanor has boosted the Irish challenge in the Round Ireland Yacht Race, taking total entries to eight.

Treanor has entered the NMD 43 Cristina from the Royal Irish Yacht Club and National Yacht Club for the 700-nautical-mile offshore race.

The Dublin Bay skipper previously campaigned the J/112e Valentina, winning overall at Cork Week 2024.

As reported by Afloat last November, Treanor has purchased the former French Admiral’s Cup yacht Albator for the next Round Ireland cycle.

The yacht placed second in AC2 on corrected time in the Fastnet Race, finishing two minutes and 45 seconds behind Jolt 6.

“Having enjoyed some success on Valentina over the last two seasons, I wanted a boat that would be a significant step up,” Treanor told Afloat.

Albator’s record includes fifth overall IRC in the Fastnet Race and class wins in the RORC Caribbean 600 in 2018 and 2025.

“Undoubtedly, the boat is more offshore orientated,” Treanor said, citing Round Ireland and other major offshore events as priorities.

He added that the yacht’s twin-rudder system can be converted to a single rudder for inshore racing.

“It is a complex boat to sail and we will have to work hard to get the maximum performance out,” he said.

Treanor expects Albator to arrive in Dun Laoghaire March, with 2026 described as a learning season.

Also now entered in the Round Ireland are Benjamin Owens’ JPK 1010 Leonard, Mark Wilson’s Beneteau First 40 La Veuve Noire from Galway, and Kate Cope’s Sun Fast 3200 Purple Mist.

Published in Round Ireland, National YC, Royal Irish Yacht Club

Round Ireland Yacht Race Live Tracker 2026

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

Published in Round Ireland

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Round Ireland Yacht Race

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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