Menu
Allianz and Afloat - Supporting Irish Boating

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

In association with ISA Logo Irish Sailing

roundire topper
 
Round Ireland Yacht Race Updates from Wicklow Sailing Club
The Round Ireland 2020 - organisers will make a decision on the June start in late April

Round Ireland Race 2020 Call Will Be Made Towards the End of April

27th March 2020 Round Ireland
Wicklow Sailing Club and the organising committee of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland 2020 race are closely monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 situation. In a statement, published on March 27, the club said it will abide by the guidance of the…
Red Alert - The Wicklow JOD 35 from Greystones is entered into June 's Round Ireland Race

Round Ireland Yacht Race Entries Top 40 Boats for June Start

7th April 2020 Round Ireland
Two new entries tip entries over the 40 boat mark for the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race that is due to start off Wicklow in just over ten weeks time. Waterford Harbour Sailing Club skipper Peter Coad skippering the Pocock 37 Black…
John O'Gorman's Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 Hot Cookie from the National Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire is the latest entry into June’s Round Ireland Race from Wicklow

National Yacht Club Sun Fast 3600 'Hot Cookie' is Latest Round Ireland Yacht Race Entry

20th March 2020 National YC
The latest entry into the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race is Dublin Bay’s Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600, 'Hot Cookie'. As David O'Brien points out in this morning's Irish Times newspaper the race entry is building towards a record entry. The…
The Figaro 3 was the selected class for the now postponed 2020 Irish Offshore World Championship Trial that will be sailed instead as part of the Round Ireland Race in June. Pictured above is Tom Dolan's Figaro 3. The County Meath sailor is expected to enter the trial

Irish Offshore Selection Trial to be Part of Round Ireland Race

16th March 2020 Round Ireland
Irish Sailing has been forced to shelve this month's planned trial for Irish entry into the 2020 Offshore World Championships and will look at running the trial as part of the Round Ireland Race instead. As regular Afloat readers will know,…
Racing certainty? The 1971-vintage S&S 49 Hiro Maru (Hiro Nakajima) crossing the finish line at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes to win Class 3 in the 2019 Transatlantic Race. Hiro Maru is currently the senior entry in the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race 2020, and the favourite to be the first winner of the Maybird Mast Trophy for the oldest boat to complete the course, while also being well in the reckoning for other honours.

Round Ireland Yacht Race 2020 - Virtual Launch Party Goes Ahead at Royal Irish YC

13th March 2020 RORC
There’s a rumour going around about the cancellation of this week’s traditional Dublin launch in the Royal Irish Yacht Club of the biennial SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race, due to start from Wicklow Sailing Club on June 20th. The rumour…
The original A13 that became Phosphorus II was built for Eric de Turckheim and sailed as Teasing Machine. The boat competed in the 2018 Round Ireland

Round Ireland Yacht Race Record Entry in Prospect?

11th March 2020 RORC
Coronavirus may have postponed tonight's official launch party but there's no stopping interest in June's SSE Renewables Round Ireland offshore race that gets underway in 14 weeks time. The prospect of some potent international entries into this year's race is adding extra…
Cavatina - A double Round Ireland winner

Double Round Ireland Yacht Race Winner Cavatina Enters for 21st Edition

5th March 2020 Round Ireland
Double Race winner, the vintage Granada 38 Cavatina is the 37th entry into this June's 21st edition of the 700-mile SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race. Skipper Ian Hickey from the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven completed his entry…
Denis & Annamarie Murphy Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo competing in the 2019 D2D Race

Royal Cork Grand Soleil 40 'Nieulargo' is Latest Round Ireland Race Entry

1st March 2020 Round Ireland
Royal Cork Yacht Club's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo is the latest entry into this June's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race from Wicklow that gets underway in just over 15 weeks time. Denis and Annamarie Murphy's well-proven Italian marque has been…
Belfast Lough's Connection with the Round Ireland Yacht Race

Belfast Lough's Connection with the Round Ireland Yacht Race

20th February 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Bangor has more of a link to the prestigious SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race than is at first obvious writes Betty Armstrong. This year Royal Ulster Yacht Club looks forward to tracking the progress of father and son duo,…
Kenny Rumball (left) and John White deliver the Man Overboard Lessons lecture at Wicklow Sailing Club after the 2018 Round Ireland Race. Watch the full video below

Round Ireland Yacht Race Man Overboard Recovery (Lecture Video)

17th February 2020 Round Ireland
It was about 1 am off the coast of County Kerry when John White came off the helm of Jedi, a J109, competing in the 2018 Round Ireland Yacht Race. Facing 30-knots on the nose and three to four metre…
Now here’s a lotta boat……the 26-metre (86ft) Neptune 3 from Malta is currently the largest of the 23 confirmed entries for the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race from Wicklow on June 20th

Round Ireland Yacht Race Entries Already Going Big On Size & Variety

12th February 2020 Round Ireland
It may be only mid-February, but entries for the 704-mile 40th Anniversary 21st edition SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race from Wicklow on June 20th are already on the two dozen mark, and the fleet is remarkable for its variety…
George David’s mighty Rambler 88 somehow finds a way through a motley yet representative group at the Naval vessel at the start of the Round Ireland 2016. Included are Class 40s, the J/109 and class winner Euro Carparks (on port), multiple winner Cavatina and Eric de Turkheim’ Teasing Machine from France, while beyond is an MOD 70 waiting for the Multi-hull start

International Interest as Wicklow’s Round Ireland Race Comes of Age

31st January 2020 Round Ireland
This year, with the fresh sponsorship of SSE Renewables, the Round Ireland Race from Wicklow comes of age. The 21st staging of the biennial classic – now an international event, included in the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s programme and an…
Round Ireland Race organiser and Wicklow Sailing Club Commodore Kyran O'Grady addresses the UNCL in Paris

Round Ireland Yacht Race Promoted at UNCL Prizegiving in Paris

11th January 2020 Round Ireland
SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race organiser Kyran O'Grady led a Wicklow Sailing Club delegation to France in December to address the Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL) prizegiving in Paris. Keen to encourage French and international numbers for this…
The 1937-built classic Maybird becoming the oldest boat to complete the Round Ireland Race as she finishes at Wicklow in July 2018.

Historic New Trophy for SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race

9th January 2020 Round Ireland
The SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race from Wicklow on June 20th 2020 will attract some of the hottest new offshore racers to be seen in Irish and European waters. But there will be some more senior and even classic…
Michael Boyd (facing aft) onboard Jedi at the start of the 2018 race is the lead skipper for the Round Ireland Volvo Car prize

Royal Irish Skipper Michael Boyd Leads Round Ireland Race for Volvo Car Prize

9th January 2020 Round Ireland
Royal Irish Yacht Club skipper Michael Boyd leads the race for a Volvo Car prize in this year's edition of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race but only three points separate the top four skippers overall. The prize will be…
The start of the 2018 Round Ireland Race from Wicklow

Round Ireland Race Aims for 60 Boats as New Sponsor Announced at Wicklow

7th November 2019 Northern Ireland Waters
As Afloat's WMN Nixon reported at the weekend, Wicklow Sailing Club has confirmed that SSE Renewables will be the new title sponsor for the 704-mile Round Ireland Race that gets underway on Saturday 20th June 2020. The biennial race is…

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

704 nautical miles, 810 miles or 1304 kilometres

3171 kilometres is the estimate of Ireland's coastline by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

SSE Renewables are the sponsors of the 2020 Round Ireland Race.

Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London and The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin.

Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, August 22nd 2020

Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs

Leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

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.

The Race Tracker is https://afloat.ie/sail/events/round-ireland/item/25789-round-ireland-yacht-race-tracker-2016-here.

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

 

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.

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.

William Power's 45ft Olivia undertook a round Ireland cruise in September 1860

 

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

© Afloat 2020

Who is Your Sailor of the Year 2020?
Total Votes:
First Vote:
Last Vote:

Popular Sailing Stories

At A Glance – Round Ireland Yacht Race 2022

Race start: Off Wicklow Harbour date to be announced, most likely end of June 2022

There will be separate starts for monohulls and multihulls.

Race course:  leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

Race distance: is approximately 704 nautical miles or 1304 kilometres.

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Car Brands

subaru sidebutton

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton dob
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Events 2021

vdlr21 sidebutton

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
quantum sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
osm sidebutton
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
mansfield sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Featured Stories

Please show your support for Afloat by donating

VDLR 2021

Afloat Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

Copyright © 2021 Baily Publications Ltd Terms and Conditions

Our site uses cookies. If you're not happy about that please hit your back button.

Website built by Website built by Red Evolution