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

Crazy Tides Of Rathlin Foster Wild Hopes In Round Ireland 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.

Crazy Tides Of Rathlin Foster Wild Hopes In Round Ireland Race

24th June 2026

WM Nixon

Lead Again — Outrajeous drives hard through the waves during the 2026 Round Ireland Race. The Howth Yacht Club J/109 of Johnny and Suzie Murphy regained the provisional overall IRC lead as the fleet closed on the finish Credit: Afloat

Wednesday 19:30 hrs – With the on-water leader, the Botin 56 Khumbu, long since across the finish line in Wicklow, a fixed target is now set for the prowling Round Ireland fleet to aim for, and perhaps dream a little. For instance, the consistently good performer Outrajeous (J/109, Johnny & Suzie Murphy Howth YC ) is currently shown as approaching the turn at Rathlin Island with a barreling flood tide under her, and making 8.7 knots over the ground.

This means that in the calculations beloved of offshore racing’s number crunchers, she is now – at 19:30 - shown as leading the IRC placings overall, ahead of Khumbu provided she manages to finish before 0100 on Friday morning. It doesn’t seem such a big ask, but once you’re off the North Channel Flood Tide Escalator around 21:30 hrs and into the largely windless Irish Sea, it starts to look like the North Face of the Eiger.

Yet for now, with this keen group bustling merrily into the narrow waters between Scotland and Ireland, everything seems possible and the IRC placings are 1st Outrajeous, 2nd Khumbu, 3rd Bellino, 4th Courrier Pogo, 5th Big Picture and 6th Loinnir Girl.

PRIVATE BATTLES

Meanwhile, we talked of private battles going on boat-for-boat regardless of ratings, a notable one being between Frank Whelan’s Sydney 43 El Syd and Tom Kneen’s JK 11.80 Sunrise.

Offshore Edge — El Syd powers to windward during the 2026 Round Ireland Race. With Cork sailor Mark Mansfield aboard, Frank Whelan's Sydney 43 gained the upper hand in a closely fought contest with Sunrise on the northern coast

Well, what goes round comes round. In a previous Round Ireland, Mark Mansfield of Cork in Paul O’Higgins winner-looking JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI went in towards the mouth of Lough Foyle on the North Coast to avoid the worst of the developing adverse tide, and ended up completely stopped in a local calm spot, their winning hopes evaporating.

This time, Sunrise tended towards the Foyle, and lost ground, while El Syd (with Mansfield on board) went on her way offshore. As we write, Sunrise is in a private flat spot north of Rathlin and showing low numbers, but El Syd is off Carnlough well round the corner, and zapping south with 8 knots and more on the clock. It’s one cruel old race, the Round Ireland.

Published in Round Ireland

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 Race

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