In May 2022 the Royal Western Yacht Club in the UK announced a new ocean racing competition, the Round Iceland Race, which is set to start from Plymouth in the U.K. on May 14, 2023. This will be a serious ocean race, more than 2,600 miles of sailing, with the potential of facing challenging weather around Iceland. The race will take competitors westward out the English Channel, into the Atlantic to sail north to the Denmark Strait, rounding Iceland clockwise before heading back to Plymouth.
From the RWYC press release: “This Category 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 2014 and Open40’s who will be offered their own class subject to entry numbers.”
As for the weather that Round Iceland competitors will find on the race course, founder of the Global Solo Challenge, Marco Nannini, minced no words: “…skippers will have… to face the weather they find rather than be able to plan a passage over a good weather window. Sailing as far north as Iceland will also give them a taste of sailing in cold and damp conditions.”