The 50th anniversary edition of the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line on Sunday 9 August.
The 2026 race brings together offshore legends and the latest racing designs. All 33 boats receiving their warning signal at 13:20 BST.
Life in the fast lane of the 2026 RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race features powerful monohulls in IRC Zero chasing both Line Honours and victory on IRC corrected time, while the box-rule Class40 division will be decided by the simple measure of which boat is first to finish.
First held by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in 1976. Organised by the RORC every four years, this 1,805-nautical mile challenge takes sailors on a non-stop circumnavigation of Britain and Ireland – starting and finishing in Cowes.
The monohull race record for the 1,805-nautical-mile course is a formidable one. Ian Walker’s VO65 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – Azzam completed the storm-lashed 2014 race in 4 days, 13 hours, 10 minutes and 28 seconds, averaging more than 16 knots. The benchmark has stood for 12 years. Breaking it will require not only a very fast boat, but the right weather across almost the entire course.
IRC Zero – The Heavy Hitters
IRC Zero is led on rating by Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace, followed by Jens Kellinghusen’s Ker 56 Varuna VI and Antoine Magre’s radical Mach 50 Palanad 4.
Those three form the headline contest for Line Honours and could also challenge for the overall win under IRC. They represent very different approaches to outright speed and corrected-time performance, with the outcome likely to depend on which team makes the most of the conditions when its opportunity arrives.
Pace – A Proven Winner Takes on a New Challenge
Stu Bannatyne brings one of offshore sailing’s most formidable records to Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace. A four-time winner of the fully crewed round-the-world race across four generations of yacht, Bannatyne has also helped secure victories in many of the sport’s greatest offshore contests. However, this will be his first Round Britain and Ireland Race.
Palanad 4 – Facing Its Toughest Test
Antoine Magre’s Palanad 4 brings one of the most radical design concepts in the fleet to the 2026 Round Britain and Ireland Race.
With a scow bow, canting keel and daggerboards, Palanad 4 will be at its strongest in more than 15 knots. The Sam Manuard design has already won major honours under IRC, including the RORC Transatlantic Race overall, IRC Zero in the RORC Caribbean 600 and the Aegean 600 overall.
Varuna VI – The Team, the Power, the Challenge
Navigator Mike Broughton brings exceptional offshore experience to Jens Kellinghusen’s Ker 56 Varuna VI, one of the fastest yachts in the fleet and a serious contender for the overall IRC prize. With a proven team and powerful offshore design, he sees the race as a significant challenge.
Class40 – Scow-Bow Favourites and a Dutch Outsider
The Race record for Class40 stands at 8 days, 4 hours, 14 minutes and 49 seconds, set in 2018 by Phil Sharp’s Imerys Clean Energy, which completed the 1,805-nautical-mile course at an average speed of more than nine knots. The latest scow-bow designs are capable of much higher speeds than earlier-generation Class40s.
The Class40 winner is decided by elapsed time alone. The leading contenders include three scow-bow designs raced by skippers from Britain, America and France, plus a conventional Class40 proudly flying the Dutch flag.
While the scow-bow boats are, on paper, the fastest in the division, the familiar maxim “to finish first, first you have to finish” has particular relevance in this race. For 2026, the Dutch entry Tjoba the 2007, Valer-designed Class40 has a traditional bow rather than the latest scow configuration. She will be raced by Global Solo Challenge aspirant Minus Tjeenk Willink and highly experienced offshore sailor Erik van Vuuren.
Louay Habib/RORC
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