The Round Iceland Race (RIR) will be in its second edition and will start on 31 August 2025 from Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. The course, quite simply, is to leave the Eddystone Lighthouse to Starboard, Iceland to Starboard and finish on the Royal Western Yacht Club line.

This ORC Cat 1 race will be open to solo, double handed and fully crewed yachts. Classes will be open to multi and monohulls from 27ft to 65ft. IRC, MOCRA and non-rated yachts may enter, along with Open60’s pre 2007 and Open40’s who will be offered their own class.

The Royal Western Yacht Club is very pleased to confirm that this will also be the qualifier for the RWYC World Star 2026, which has already received entries into double figures in the first few weeks of being announced.

Royal Western Yacht Club Vice Commodore and race director, Adrian Gray, said: “We are really excited to be running the second edition of this race. This ‘World Star’ qualifier will act as a vital testing ground and training opportunity for the main event in 2026, indeed this will also act as an automatic qualifier for the OSTAR in 2027. We are very pleased to say that, now COVID is well and truly behind us we are back on track with our 4-year cycle moving forwards.”

The 4-year cycle will see a number of recently established races mixed with some classics. With a 4-tiered structure, the cycle will start with the Wolf Rock Race, which will act as a qualifier to the “centenary race” – being the original Fastnet course which will start from Ryde Bank, heading East and leaving the Isle Of Wight to Starboard. The race record is still held by Jolie Brise, and so as this is just the second time in 100 years that the course has been offered there will surely be a new record… The Centenary Race will automatically qualify boats for the Round Iceland Race later in the year.

The Fastnet500 will then feature on opposite years to the RORC Rolex Fastnet Race and will be the qualifier for the RB&I, the OSTAR / TWOSTAR or RIR. All but the RB&I will then be considered as a qualifier for the World Star, which will feature every 4 years hence.

The Round Iceland Challenge was first held in 2023, where the entire focus was on how AJ Wanderlust managed to complete this exceptional challenge. Subsequently owner Charlene Howard went on to not only compete but win the coveted TWOSTAR in 2024.

For further information contact rcoceanic@rwyc.org      

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