WICKLOW Sailing Club is gearing up for the 2022 SSE Renewables Round Ireland race, with the biennial event taking place for the first time since 2018.
he onset of the pandemic at the start of 2020 meant that the race had to be initially postponed until August of the same year. However, the whole event had to be canceled once it became clear there was no sign the country would emerge from lockdown any time soon.
Round Ireland is Ireland’s premier offshore yacht race and the second longest race on the Royal Ocean Racing Club calendar. The first race took place in 1980 with only sixteen boats. It has grown steadily since then, attracting between 60 and 70 participants each year.
Wicklow Sailing Club Commodore Kyran O’Grady said: “Entries are open for the race and there is already a lot of interest from people. We initially postponed the 2020 race to later in the year, but had to cancel it due to Covid, and instead focused on getting things organized for 2022. We tried to push through the 2020 event, but it turned out to be too much. We’re excited to be back and I’d be 95% to 100% sure that it will happen in June unless something really drastic happens.
The closing date for entries is May 31, while an Early Bird option ends March 31. Kyran has already received lots of positive feedback from the local community eager to see the race return.
“People in Wicklow have missed out on the Tour of Ireland. Additionally, there has also been a huge resurgence in sailing over the past couple of years. The race starts on June 18 and hopefully we get some form of festival at the Black Castle, in conjunction with Round Ireland. We always have a few Wicklow Sailing Club members taking part in Round Ireland and all of our members look forward to all the hard work that goes into putting on the event,” added Kyran.
