BMW back Round Ireland Race

Good news for the Wicklow Sailing Club's biennial loop

BMW Group Ireland announced their inaugural sponsorship of the Round Ireland Yacht race, which compliments BMW Group’s involvement with the Americas Cup.

The 704-mile race starts from Wicklow at 14.00 hrs on Saturday, 26 June 2004 with one of the largest fleets seen in recent years preparing for the event. The course: Leave Ireland and its islands to starboard.

To be known as the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race 2004, entrants will be racing and cruiser-racer yachts of 30 feet and over. Entries are expected from clubs and organisations around the country in addition to overseas competitors.

Conrad Schmidt from BMW Group Ireland stated, "BMW is delighted to be associated with the Round Ireland Yacht Race, one of the world's respected sailing competitions. This is a participant's event where completion of this tough challenge and performance are key factors to winning this race - both of which reflect the BMW brand values."

Wicklow Sailing Club Commodore, Mr Gavin Ralston said: "We welcome BMW as our sponsor, a brand that reflects the world class nature of the Round Ireland Race. This announcement will enable us to develop the event's potential both at home and overseas’.

At least one team has secured a high-profile ocean-racing boat on charter and will attempt both the main overall prize for first boat home on corrected handicap time as well as the official course record that stands at just over 76 hours.

The event was first staged in 1980 and has been held biennially since then. Ranked alongside other offshore races such as the Sydney to Hobart, The Fastnet and Newport to Bermuda, the BMW Round Ireland Race is the longest course of these and is the only race to offer a full circumnavigation.

Starting from Wicklow, the fleet sails south towards the Tuskar Rock taking care to avoid the notorious sand-banks along the east coast of Ireland. The second stage brings the competitors to the famous Fastnet Rock lighthouse off the West Cork coast. By this stage, historically, this is when many of the weaker teams retire due to crew or equipment fatigue - or both.

From the southwest coast, winds usually favour a 'sleigh-ride' passage along the spectacular Atlantic coast towards Donegal and the north coast. Retirements from here onwards are unusual as it is easier to continue racing to the finish.

The final approach to the finish from the Ulster coast southwards offers few guarantees to the leaders and faster boats. A series of tidal gates must be timed to avoid losing valuable ground and this acts as a natural leveller to the advantage of smaller, less high-tech entries.

In the past, crews have ranged from top international professionals to regional teams. Each entry must pass stringent safety requirements but otherwise range from smaller family cruising boats to state-of-the-art maxi yachts. Multi-hull entries are not permitted but a two-handed class has been introduced to the 2004 race for the first time.