Round Ireland Yacht Race
The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland’s premier offshore sailing race and is held every two years by Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club & since 2014 also with Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire. The 704 nautical mile race was first held in 1980 and still retains the original course; “leave Ireland and all its islands excluding Rockall to starboard.”
The biennial Round Ireland Race will take competitors through a varied classic course, from the wild west coast of Ireland and the full brunt of the Atlantic to the busy North and St. George’s Channels flanking the Irish Sea.
The course: Starting and finishing at Wicklow, leave Ireland and all its islands excluding Rockall to starboard. The distance is approximately 704 nautical miles.
The current monohull race record of 50 hours 24 minutes 9 seconds was set by George David’s Rambler 88 in 2016 with the MOD 70 Musandam-Oman Sail completing the course that year in 38 hours 37 minutes 7 seconds.