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Displaying items by tag: Hibernia

Team Hibernia have smashed the Round Ireland Powerboat Record by taking six hours off the long–standing 2009 time. The high speed voyage which began at 5am this morning was not without its hazards. Were it not for fog and a patch of bad weather, skipper John Ryan believes he could have shaved a further 45 minutes off the seven year record. 

Crossing the finish line off Kinsale just after 6pm this evening the four man crew finished in just under 13 hours in a time of 12 hours 54 minutes and 24 seconds.

Crew for the boat included Philip Fitzgibbon, the existing record holder, who has now smashed his own record by over five and a half hours. Fitzgibbon, however continues to retain the record in the under 30–ft category. Also onboard were Sean McNamara and Denis Dillon.

Team hibernia

Record breakers – Team Hibernia has set a new Round Ireland Powerboat record. Photo: Afloat.ie

round irl track

There were tracker problems on the Atlantic coast but there's no denying Team Hibernia's accurate Irish sea track to a new Round Ireland Powerboat record this evening.

There was added drama as they cruised along the south coast this afternoon with a fuel problem but it did not threaten what has been a text book run for the forty–footer that raced at 65 mph for most of the journey.

There was one reufeling stop at Malin Head on the north coast, approximately the halfway stage of the 700–mile circumnavigation. The crew took onboard a massive 1400 litres for the trip south. 

Team hibernia powerboat engines

Twin diesels powered the craft round Ireland

The boat used is an FPT turbo diesel powered @ 1140 hp, 44' all aluminium, that has a 100 mph top speed with 650–mile range.

A relieved Ryan admits to being 'sore' tonight after nursing a cracked rib for the entire journey, 'It's amazing what eight Nurofen will do', he told Afloat.ie

See all of Afloat's Round Ireland Powerboat coverage here

team hibernia gfx

Published in Round Ireland Power

The latest update from Team Hibernia locates the Round Ireland powerboat on course for the sub 19–hour official record. The four man crew, who departed Kinsale this morning, skippered by John Ryan, are off Arranmore Island in County Donegal and preparing for the run across Ireland's north coast. Ryan is aiming to maintain an average speed of 65 mph for the circumnavigation. They are using a spot tracker that reporte their position every few hours. They last reported in at 10.50am off Donegal. 

The Wayne Kruse designed mono hull is powered by twin FPT N67 engines.

The scheduled deaprture time from Kinsale was 5am and the time to beat is 18 hours 38 minutes and 50 seconds. 

 

Published in Round Ireland Power

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U