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

It’s Now A Fleet Of Four Parts 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.

It’s Now A Fleet Of Four Parts In Round Ireland Race

26th June 2026

WM Nixon

Quiet Progress — Mike Evans' J/112E The Big Picture makes steady progress in light airs during the 2026 Round Ireland Race. The Howth Yacht Club yacht remained locked in a close contest with clubmates Outrajeous as the fleet worked south through the Irish Sea. Credit: Afloat

Friday 07:30hrs – The 43 boats in the open IRC division of the Round Ireland Race 2026 from Wicklow now find themselves in four groups. The tail-enders are in the North Channel, about 15 boats in total, extending all the way from the Maidens rock-group off Larne down to St John’s Point in County Down, where their leader is the 70ft cutter Spirit of Shackleton, more or less on course and making 4.5 knots.

Next group up the line is off Dublin Bay, again about 15 in all, where the best performance has been put in by the combined Lough Ree/Kinsale team in the JPK 10.30 Loinnir Girl. She did well by holding to the middle of the North Channel 80 miles back, and has stayed ahead since in solitary style, while others like Mike Evans’ J/112e The Big Picture have continued with close battles all the way down the Irish Sea, in this case with Howth clubmates Johnny & Suzie Murphy’s J/109 Outrajeous.

CAN WE HAVE OUR YELLOWBRICKS BACK PLEASE?

The third group of 12 have retired. And the remainder of the fleet have finished at Wicklow, and in some cases are already on their way home, some taking their still-activated Trackers with them. Thus we know that the American Class40 Swift is well past Tuskar Rock, southward bound, while overall winner, the Boton 56 Khumbu, is halfway across the mouth of the Bristol Channel, on track for Land’s End with more than1,050 miles logged since she started the Round Ireland Race six days ago.

Obviously with the exhaustingly flukey wind patterns, it’s best to be properly finished in Wicklow, and while some have headed on almost immediately, it’s good to see race star Courrier Pogo (Gery Trentesaux) still festively in port thirteen hours after she crossed the finish line.

FRESHENING SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS

As for those still at sea, the prospect today (Friday) is for building south to southwest winds. It’s very manageable and welcome for the group at Dublin Bay, but with the likelihood of a windward slugging match for those far to the north.

Overall on IRC, the positions are:1st Khumbu, (finished), 2nd Courrier Pogo (finished), 3rd Outrajeous (still racing), 4th Pata Negra (finished), 5th Loinnir Girl (still racing), 6th El Syd (finished), 7th Bellino (still racing, leading two-handers).

Next Update Is Race Review included In Afloat's SAILING ON SATURDAY, posted at midnight.

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

Email The Author

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