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

Nieulargo, Rockabill VI and Snapshot Move into Overall CT Lead in Round Ireland Race as Winds Start to Change off West Coast

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.

Nieulargo, Rockabill VI and Snapshot Move into Overall CT Lead in Round Ireland Race as Winds Start to Change off West Coast

20th June 2022

WM Nixon

The JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI (Paul O’Higgins, Royal Irish YC) Credit: Bob Bateman

Round Ireland Race day three (Monday) 0830 - The northerly winds have been easing through the night as the bulk of the fleet in the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race make varying rates of progress northwards off the coast of North Kerry and far to the west of Clare. With less hectic sailing, the steady, fully-crewed and relatively low-rated boats have been moving up the overall rankings.

That said, the spectacular two-handed performance of the Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl (Cian McCarthy & Sam Hunt, Kinsale YC) has kept her well in the hunt.

The Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl (Cian McCarthy & Sam Hunt, Kinsale YC) Photo: Bob Bateman

And though the top three placings in IRC Overall are now held by the Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo (Denis & Annamarie Murphy, Royal Cork YC), the JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI (Paul O’Higgins, Royal Irish YC) and the J/99 Snapshot (Mike & Richie Evans, Howth YC), Cinnamon Girl is still very much in contention in a close fourth.

The Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo crew before the start (Denis & Annamarie Murphy, Royal Cork YC) Photo: Bob Bateman

Nieulargo (closest to shore partially covered with grey spinnaker) to leeward of the Class 40 Influence (yellow hull), the Cookson 50 Kuka 3 and (on right) the Howth J/99 Snapshot all hugging the Wicklow shore after Saturday's Round Ireland start Photo: Afloat

With further easing of the wind and a backing to the west expected as the day progresses, there will be continuing adjustments of placings on down the fleet, and after the various dramas of yesterday’s more rugged sailing, there’ll be a sense of stock-taking as the leaders approach the halfway stage of this 704-mile race.

The Volvo 70 Green Dragon skippered by Conor Ferguson Photo: Afloat

Class40 Kite (Greg Leonard, USA) Photo: Afloat

Class 40 Influence (Andrea Fornaro, Italy) Photo: Afloat

In fact, the leader on the water, the Swiss Cookson 50 Kuka 3, is already there, as she is passing the mid-point of Inishbofin in County Galway as this report is filed at 0800hrs, a good twenty miles ahead of the Volvo 70 Green Dragon. Next in line and just seven miles astern of the big Volvo are the two Class40s Kite (Greg Leonard, USA) and Influence (Andrea Fornaro, Italy), who have been level-pegging – often with superb boat-for-boat racing - for virtually the entire race.

Michael Boyd's J121 Darkwood passes Wicklow Head Photo: Afloat

The leading “orthodox IRC” boat on the water is currently the J/121 Darkwood skippered by the 1996 overall winner, former RORC Commodore Michael Boyd (RIYC) – Darkwood is shown as having six miles in hand on Robert Rendell’s Grand Soleil 44 Samatom (HYC).

Robert Rendell’s Grand Soleil 44 Samatom (HYC) Photo: Afloat

Race Tracker and Full Data below

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 Yacht 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