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

Round Ireland Yacht Race Updates from Wicklow Sailing Club

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.

Round Ireland Yacht Race Updates from Wicklow Sailing Club

Mayo entry Blackshell Farm (Louis Mulloy) (above) is chasing Yannick Lemonnier in Port of Galway in the race to be the smallest boat ever to have sailed round Ireland non-stop

Round Ireland Race Focus Swings to the Services, Two-handers, Sailing Schools & Minis

5th July 2018 Round Ireland

Three of the primary positions are now resolved in the 20th Round Ireland Race writes W M Nixon. Niall Dowling (Royal Irish YC) has repeated the remarkable George David/Rambler 88 double of 2016 by taking both Line Honours and the…

Motley crew. The team who brought overall victory Round Ireland victory to Baraka GP – seen here sweeping past Dublin Bay yesterday morning – included a significant totally amateur element, and their “crew livery” certainly seems to support this fact

Day 6: Fair Winds Again for Round Ireland Fleet as Baraka GP’s Performance is Set in Fresh Perspective

5th July 2018 Round Ireland

The fair winds from the northwest, which late last night and early this morning were spreading slowly through the latter half of the Round Ireland fleet off Donegal and then Antrim, now cover the entire remaining race area writes W…

Paul O’Higgins’ JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI, from the Royal Irish Yacht Club, has kedged just east of Rathlin’s northeast point this evening

Round Ireland Day 5. 9.45pm: Hung Up On Tides Of Rathlin & ‘Un-Fair Head’ As New Nor’wester Spreads In

4th July 2018 Round Ireland

Yesterday evening, the all-conquering Baraka GP had enough breeze and hull speed to break through the foul tide at Rathlin Island and Fair Head in some style, writes W M Nixon. But tonight (Wednesday 4 July), there has been no…

Chris Power Smith's Aurelia leads the 'real' Round Ireland race this afternoon off the Antrim coast

Round Ireland Day 5. 4pm: With Professional Baraka GP Finished, Attention Turns To The “Real” Race

4th July 2018 Round Ireland

When Niall Dowling’s exceptional Ker 43 Baraka GP crossed the finish line at Wicklow at 1320 hrs this afternoon to take Line Honours and put down a very strong marker for the IRC overall win, the way was cleared for…

Baraka GP at Kish Lighthouse this morning, on course as though on rails for the finish and line honours at Wicklow

Round Ireland Day 5. 2.30pm: Baraka GP Takes Line Honours

4th July 2018 Round Ireland

Niall Dowling’s chartered Ker 43 Baraka GP was across the finish line at Wicklow a few minutes before 1.30pm to comfortably take line honours in the 2018 edition of the Volvo Round Ireland Yacht Race, the 20th staging of this…

Baraka GP pictured shortly after Saturday's Round Ireland start. Now on day five of the race, Niall Dowling's entry has a very clear 7 hour margin and is in a race of her own

Round Ireland Day 5. 10am: Leading Boat Baraka Gets Even More Businesslike in Final Stages

4th July 2018 Round Ireland

After Niall Dowling’s Ker 43 Baraka had led the Volvo Round Ireland fleet by a large margin in successfully negotiating the adverse tides of Rathlin Island yesterday evening, ace navigator Ian Moore (originally of Carrickfergus) had moved his boat and…

Crazy place, crazy lighthouse…….somebody built a classic lighthouse at Rathlin West, but then found the persistent local fog ceiling meant it made more sense to place the light itself at the tower’s base

Round Ireland Day 4. 7pm: Baraka GP Avoids Getting Hung Up on Rathlin

3rd July 2018 Round Ireland

Three years ago, after he’d navigated a Transatlantic Race winner to a mighty victory, his crewmates said admiringly of Ian Moore that having him aboard as navigator/tactician was as good as narrowing the ocean by at least 150 miles and…

Northern isle – Inishtrahull off the Donegal coast is where the tides resume a major role in the Round Ireland race

Round Ireland. Day 4. 3.30pm: Tides Start to Come into Play

3rd July 2018 Round Ireland

When they left the tide-swept Tuskar Rock astern on Saturday night with a cold fair wind helping them on their way, the crews in the Volvo Round Ireland 2018 knew that tidal streams would no longer play a hugely significant…

Paul Kavanagh’s classic Swan 44 CoOperation Ireland (aka Pomeroy Swan) may be sailing in the two-handed division, but she currently leads the Volvo Round Ireland Race overall by three minutes from Stephen Quinn’s J/97 Lambay Rules

Round Ireland Day 4. 10am. Headwinds Ease But Tides Will Soon Take Centre Stage for Leader

3rd July 2018 Round Ireland

The vigorous north to northeast winds which have given the fleet in the Volvo Round Ireland Race 2018 such a tough time as they battled their way up the Atlantic seaboard have now eased and veered further as the leaders…

Royal Irish Yacht Club's Farr 42 WOW has retired from the Round Ireland Race

Steering Problems Force WOW Out of Round Ireland Race

3rd July 2018 Round Ireland

The Royal Irish Yacht Club's Farr 42 WOW has retired from the Volvo Round Ireland Race due to steering problems. It is understood the starboard-hand wheel collapsed when the former Irish yacht of the year was leading in IRC One.…

Fleet leader Baraka GP was last seen somewhere off the north coast of far Mayo

Round Ireland Day 3. 7pm: Making Sense Of Racing On The Wild Atlantic Way Is Explaining The Inexplicable

2nd July 2018 Round Ireland

If you wanted an object lesson in why it is sometimes very difficult to explain sailing – and particularly offshore racing – to some goodwill-filled stranger to the sport, then the current state of play in the Volvo Round Ireland…

The French double–handed entry, Jasaap, a JPK 10.10, is lying third in IRC overall

Round Ireland Day 3. 2.30pm. Fleet in Long Haul Northwards Along the Wild Atlantic Way

2nd July 2018 Round Ireland

It’s big country out west writes W M Nixon. And big country can have big effects on summer winds. So although the main part of the Volvo Round Ireland 2018 fleet is plugging doggedly along to windward out in the…

Cavatina’s appearance in the top three in IRC in the Volvo Round Ireland Race 2018 seemed inevitable with the conditions that were developing, but it has already happened this morning off the Blaskets even earlier than expected

Round Ireland Race Day 3. 10am: 'Lambay Rules' of Howth Holds Lead

2nd July 2018 Round Ireland

The IRC overall lead is being tightly contested this morning in the Volvo Round Ireland race 2018 with the bulk of the fleet now to the west of County Clare, slugging to windward in a north to northeast breeze writes…

French entry Classe 40 Sensation has retired into Castletownbere

More Retirals From Round Ireland Race

1st July 2018 Round Ireland

Despite the relatively benign sailing conditions, 24 hours into the Volvo Round Ireland race and three boats have now retired from the 700-mile race. As Afloat.ie reported earlier, the Cookson 50-footer Riff Raff experienced 'engine problems' (earlier described as gear failure) and…

In second place is Paul O’Higgins’ JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI, hoping for some nice and breezy windward work to show her true potential.

Round Ireland Update Day 2 9pm: Wind Pattern Gives Fleet Leaders a Raw Deal

1st July 2018 Round Ireland

Close north of the Blaskets at 1900hrs Sunday, the Volvo Round Ireland fleet leaders on the water - the Class 40 Corum and the Ker 43 Baraka GP - are sailing a textbook race in terms of handling the vagaries…

The Cookson 50 Riff Raff (Brian McMaster) is out of the Round Ireland Race

Gear Failure Forces Cookson 50 'Riff Raff' Out of Round Ireland Race

1st July 2018 Round Ireland

A Round Ireland Race favourite, Riff Raff, the canting keel Cookson 50, has retired 'due to gear failure'. All on board are safe and the British entry is heading for port in Cork Harbour. Racing for the 55 boats continues…

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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