More than 30 yachts from 12 nations will set sail from Cowes this weekend as one of offshore sailing’s toughest challenges gets underway, just a day after the landmark 200th edition of Cowes Week comes to an end.
The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s (RORC) Round Britain & Ireland Race will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line on 9th August (Sunday), with the first warning signal scheduled for 13:20.
This year’s race marks the 50th anniversary of the event, which sees competitors tackle a gruelling 1,805-nautical-mile non-stop circumnavigation of Britain and Ireland.
After crossing the start line off Cowes, the fleet will head east before taking on some of the most challenging waters in offshore sailing.
Crews representing 12 nations – including the UK, USA, France, Germany and the Netherlands – will compete in yachts ranging from high-performance offshore racers to smaller double-handed entries.
Several Isle of Wight sailors will be among those taking on the challenge.
Challenge Ocean, a Volvo Ocean 60, features crew from Bembridge, while Farr 40 Expresso Martini includes a sailor from Cowes. MZUNGU!, a JPK 10.80 skippered by Yarmouth sailor Sam White, also returns to the race, alongside Volvo 70 Pace, which includes crew from Cowes and Shalfleet.
For Pace, the race represents the next step in an ambitious offshore racing programme. The former Tschüss 2 and current RORC Yacht of the Year will be contesting its first major offshore race with its new team, despite it being only the crew’s third event together.
The yacht heads into the race following appearances in the RORC Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race and a line honours victory in this year’s Round the Island Race.
Team manager Anthony Haines has said:
“We’re looking forward to taking on this race together as a team and embracing the adventure that comes with it.
“It’s the start of our offshore programme, and we consider this one to be different from the other classics – it’s a middle-distance race, not across an ocean.”
Among the double-handed entries is MOJO, a J/105 sailed by father-and-daughter team Richard and Emma Breese, who also competed together in last year’s Rolex Fastnet Race.
Meanwhile, MZUNGU! returns with valuable experience after finishing second in the IRC Double-Handed class and third overall on corrected time in the 2022 edition. Sam White and his crew will be hoping to build on that success this year.
The fastest yachts are expected to complete the course in around 3 to 4 days before returning to the finish off Cowes.
The outright race record remains with MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail, skippered by Sidney Gavignet, which completed the course in just 3 days, 3 hours, 32 minutes and 36 seconds in 2014.
The race begins less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the historic 200th edition of Cowes Week, ensuring the waters of the Solent remain a focal point for world-class sailing well into August.
