Round Ireland Yacht Race

Round Ireland Yacht Race
Founded 1980
Start Wicklow
Finish Wicklow
Most recent champion(s) tbd
Musandam-Oman Sail(line honours)
Official website http://roundireland.ie

The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland’s premier offshore yacht race and is held every two years by Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Irish Yacht Club and Royal Ocean Racing Club. 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.” [1] The next edition of the race will take place in June 2018.

History

The concept of a race around Ireland began in 1975 with a double-handed race starting and finishing in Bangor organized 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. [2]

Records

The Round Ireland race record of 38 hrs 37 mins 7 secs is held by MOD-70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail and was set in June 2016. [3] The previous record (65 hrs 48 mins 47 secs) was held by Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard set in 2008, a race dominated by gale force winds, the 100 foot super maxi finished the race in just under two days and 18 hours, knocking over 10 hours off the previous race record, set in 1998 by Colm Barrington's Jeep Cherokee.

The race record is also the current Round Ireland record. In a close fought race for line honours in the 2016 race, Musandam-Oman Sail finished just minutes before Ned Collier-Wakefield's Concise-10 and Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo-3. All three boats broke the previous record of 40 hrs 51 mins 57 secs also set by Musandam-Oman Sail in 2015 ,[4] which had replaced the long-standing 1993 record of 44 hrs 42 mins 20 secs set by Steve Fossett's 60 foot trimaran Lakota. (Both of which were set in scheduled (i.e. non-race) attempts)

Winners

YearWinnerSkipperLine HonoursSkipperTimeStartersFinishers
2016Rambler 88George DavidMusandam - OmanSailSidney Gavingnet1:14:37:076444
2014 Tanit Richard Harris Monster Project David Ryan 4:04:25:25 36 33
2012 Inis Mor Bernard & Laurent Gouy Green Dragon Enda O'Coineen 3:17:01:16 37 37
2010 Tonnerre de Breskens 3Piet Vroon Tonnerre de Breskens 3Piet Vroon 3:16:03:50 37 36
2008 Ireland West Aodhan Fitzgerald ICAP Leopard Mike Slade 2:17:48:47 41 30
2006 Cavatina Eric Lisson Konica Minolta Zara 4:04:57:30 39 36
2004 Calyx Voice & Data Eamon Crosbie O2 Team Spirit David Nixon 3:04:48:39 47 37
2002 Cavatina Eric Lisson Team Tonic Nick Hewson 3:11:34:50 28 24
2000 Imp George Radley Fenix R Balding 5:12:41:10 28 26
1998 Jeep Cherokee Colm Barrington Jeep Cherokee Colm Barrington 3:04:23:57 38 27
1996 Big Ears Michael Boyd Bridgestone Mike Slade 3:15:58:58 55 55
1994 Bridgestone Peter Wilson Virgin City Jet Dix/Power/Barrington 3:16:30:33 53 36
1992 Whirlpool Colm Barrington Whirlpool Colm Barrington 4:00:43:06 46 33
1990 Rothmans Laurie Smith Rothmans Laurie Smith 3:12:56:06 61 35
1988 Lightning Liam Shanahan Moonduster Denis Doyle 4:20:15:46 52 42
1986 Spirit R. Burrows Mazda Drum M. O'Leary/T. Power 4:03:35:43 27 27
1984 Moonduster Denis Doyle Moonduster Denis Doyle 4:03:45:25 17 13
1980 Raasay of Melfort B. Coad Force Ten-Sion A.J. Vernon/J.S. Morris 5:15:02:27 16 10

References

  1. ↑ "Race Course". Wicklow Sailing Club. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  2. ↑ "About The Race". Wicklow Sailing Club. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  3. ↑ "Round Ireland Speed Sailing Record Smashed by MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail". Afloat. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  4. ↑ "Yacht breaks 20-year-old Round Ireland sailing record". Irish Times. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
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