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

Mini Transat Winner Ian Lipinksi To Contest Round Ireland Race with Nicolas Troussel on Mach 40 'Corum'

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.

Mini Transat Winner Ian Lipinksi To Contest Round Ireland Race with Nicolas Troussel on Mach 40 'Corum'

24th June 2018

Afloat.ie Team

The brand new Mach 40 'Corum' is going Round Ireland Credit: Facebook

Ireland's varied sailing waters are proving a popular testing ground for the international Class 40 fleet and a burgeoning Irish Mini class too. Further evidence of this is in next Saturday's Round Ireland Race fleet where a top French double-handed sailing duo will contest the 700-mile classic. International stars Nicolas Troussel and Mini Transat Winner Ian Lipinski have teamed up to race the brand new Mach 40 'Corum'. They're not the only Class 40 on the Irish race track either as three other international entries are also lined up.

It follows a fleet of Class 40s that called to the Wexford coast late last month in the Normandy Channel Race when the fleet rounded the Tuskar Rock and not without incident.

Troussel, a former double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, is back in Class 40 competition this year. Competing in the Volvo Round Ireland Race is the first fixture in his new campaign for transatlantic success in a major international fixture at the end of this season.

Ian Lipinksi Nicolas French solo sailing stars Ian Lipinksi (left) and Nicolas Troussel are contesting the Round Ireland Race in the Class 40 division Photos: Facebook

The Irish race will be a useful benchmark against some other Class 40 competition including, Ari Kaensaekoski's Fuji, Marc Lepesqueux's Sensation and Henrik Bergesen's Hydra, all slated for the Irish circuit.

Troussel expects to be in Dun Laoghaire with Corum on Monday or Tuesday after a delivery trip from Roscoff.

Hydra round ireland 3099 Henrik Bergesen's Class 40 Hydra has arrived at Dun Laoghaire Marina in advance of Saturday's Round Ireland Race. Photo: Afloat.ie

The Class 40 monohulls are high-performance racing boats, designed principally for single-handed or small crew offshore competition.

The Round Ireland is a stepping stone toward's October's Route du Rhum race, an event where Troussel came second in the 2010 race and is one of the favourites this year.

Mini Class

A growing Irish Mini fleet that raced last year in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race is now also contesting the Round Ireland.

Mini Transat boats have evolved into ocean racing machines that are frequently used (at least by European sailors) as platforms to campaigns in larger boats such as Class 40s or IMOCA 60s.

Minis are already arriving at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire in advance of next Saturday's race from Wicklow.

Irish Mini skipper Tom Dolan, says Lipinski's presence in the race is a real boost for this growing sector of the sport in Ireland.

Mini round ireland 3098 Mini Transat boats are 21 feet (6.50 m) in length and designed to a strict "box rule," which limits the overall size of the boat, making for a tough voyage Round Ireland. Photo: Afloat.ie

Mini round ireland 3095 Some Minis arrived by road to Dun Laoghaire (above) but its not long before they're in the water (below) at the RIYC pontoon Photo: Afloat.ie

Mini round ireland 3985

Published in Round Ireland

Round Ireland Yacht Race Live Tracker 2022

Track the progress of the 2022 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

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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