The 2026 RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race started from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes on Sunday 9 August.
In bright sunshine, the 32 competing boats, crewed by 182 sailors from five continents, made a clean start, beating to windward in a light easterly breeze, and the fleet was soon racing east out of the Solent.
Two hours after the start, Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace was leading on the water, approaching Bembridge Ledge Buoy and exiting the Solent at over 10 knots of boat speed. Jens Kellinghusen’s Ker 56 Varuna 6 was just a mile astern.
The Class40 battle is close at the front with nothing between Pierre LeBoucher’s Penfret and Greg Leonard’s Swift.
Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years, ahead lies a 1,805-nautical-mile course around some of the most exposed waters in northern Europe, and undoubtedly plenty of twists and turns along the way.
After the Solent send-off the fleet will round the south of the Isle of Wight heading east. Conditions are expected to become more demanding tonight. A westerly gradient of around 10-15 knots is forecast to establish, setting up an upwind passage out of the English Channel before the breeze trends north-westerly.
With the tide reversing during Sunday evening, crews could face a short, uncomfortable sea as wind and current oppose each other. After a relatively gentle start, the opening night should provide the fleet with a much sharper introduction to the 1,805 miles ahead.
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