(Wicklow, Ireland)- It only happens every other year and this June
Wicklow Sailing Club is delighted to announce that it will host and
organise one of Europe’s major yacht racing events. The Round Ireland
Yacht Race 2012, which starts in Wicklow Harbour on 24th June, is being
held for the 17th time since the biennial, non-stop, 705 mile
circumnavigation of our island started in 1980. The Round Ireland Yacht
Race is run under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the
largest yacht racing organization in the world. The RORC include the
Round Ireland Yacht Race as one of the premier challenges in their
calendar of seventeen international races this year.
Twenty
five starters, to-date, have confirmed entry with anticipation high for
further additions before the closing date for entries on the 8th June.
Entries to the race received so far are impressive and will certainly
stimulate the interests of the sailing fraternity. Approximately half
of the yachts entered in the Round Ireland Yacht Race are RORC racers
based in England and include entries from the RAF and the Army Sailing
Clubs. Boats from Scotland, Wales and Guernsey will also join the fleet
in Wicklow. All in all a formidable entry of top rated racers, even at
this early date.
Theo
Phelan, Race Organizer for the Round Ireland 2012 Yacht Race, said “To
win the Round Ireland Yacht Race, your crew have to race consistently
well, all day and all night, every day; given the challenging Irish
coastline, it is not an easy course. Three thousand miles for open seas
to build up before they hit you on the West coast can be daunting. I
have no illusions, winning against good opposition is never easy but it
makes racing the Round Ireland Yacht Race all the more rewarding.”
What's the course? Just start and finish off Wicklow, leave Ireland and
all its islands, excluding Rockall, to starboard, and sail for
approximately 704 nautical miles. It generally takes around 4-5 days
depending on weather conditions. The calibre of the yachts entering this race is a clear indication of the status in which the Round Ireland Yacht Race is held by the yachting world. And, top Irish and UK teams from the J/Clan are all participating (possibly even a few relatives of the J/Family!). Long-time successful short-handed sailor Nick Martin will be sailing his J/105 DIABLO-J. The J/109 SGRECH is being sailed by Stephen Tudor from Pwlheli Sailing Club. A fast offshore boat that might find favor with the Round Island configuration is the J/120 NUNATAK sailed by Mike Jaques from RORC. Finally, the J/133 SPIRIT OF JACANA sailed by Bruce Douglas from Carrickfergus YC will be a top contender. Given the fact that a mixture of sailing conditions will almost always be on offer from the weather Gods as you blast around what may be the world's "longest round island" race, the J/Teams should be in the hunt--- just like their J sailing colleagues who sail the Round Vancouver Island Race (another biennial event that goes 580 nm!). For more Round Ireland Race sailing information
