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Displaying items by tag: Conor O'Byrne

#ClipperRace - Howth Yacht Club will welcome Conor O'Byrne for a special talk on his experiences in the Clipper Round the World Race on Wednesday 28 September.

In particular, the watchleader on the Irish entry Derry~Londonderry~Doire will discuss his key role in the successful recovery of a crew member who fell overboard in the Pacific Ocean during the 10th stage of the 2013-14 race on 30 March 2014.

The talk begins at 7.30pm sharp. For more details see the HYC website HERE.

Published in Clipper Race

#Clipper - A serving member of An Garda Síochána has launched his bid to compete in the next edition of the Clipper Round-The-World Yacht Race.

Conor O'Byrne, who describes himself as "a keen sailor" with a "burning desire of sailing around the world", has started a blog to record his preparations for and participation in the race, the first leg of which kicks off from England this coming August.

The garda hopes to use his place in the epic voyage to raise awareness for the Irish Underwater Search and Recovery Unit, but also has more personal reasons in mind for the challenge.

"My reason for undertaking the race and being such a long time away from home and sailing in some of the world's most punishing seas was to hopefully build on my character and to learn more about myself and other people in the most extreme conditions.

"I like to be pushed beyond my comfort zone as I enjoy a challenge."

Follow Conor's preparations for the year-long race - which takes a route via South America, South Africa, Australia, China, the USA, Panama, Canada and Northern Ireland - at his Garda Around The World blog HERE.

Published in Clipper Race

Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023 Coastal Class

Two Irish hopes in the 2023 Fastnet Race from Cowes will compete first in a 20-boat Coastal Class at July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta (VDLR).

Pre-event favourites must be the First 50 Checkmate XX, fresh from Sovereign's Cup victory (three wins from four races sailed) and the Grand Soleil 44 Samatom.

Four races and one discard for the coastal division will be under International Race Officer Con Murphy.

The course will be decided on the race day and communicated to each skipper via a dedicated Offshore WhatsApp group at least one hour before the start. 

The finish will be between the Pier Ends at the Dun Laoghaire Harbour entrance. The finishing time will be taken from the Yellowbrick tracker system.

The class will be the first to start on Thursday, with a warning signal at 1425 and 0955 on Friday. Coastal starts at 1055 on Saturday and 0955 on Sunday. 

The course will use DBSC Marks, Volvo Yellow inflatable Top Hat and Shipping Navigation Marks.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023 Coastal Class Entries

GBR 8859R Jackknife J125 Andrew Hall Pwllheli
GBR 8911R Jezebel J111 1.093 Cris Miles Pwllheli Sailing Club
IRL 3435 Albireo 0.928 David Simpson RIYC
IRL 9898 Indecision J109 1.007 Declan Hayes RIYC
IRL 811 RAPTOR 1.007 Fintan Cairns RIYC
GER 6577 Opal 1.432 Frank Whelan GSC
GBR 9740R SLOOP JOHN T SWAN 40 Iain Thomson
IRL 1507 1.057 James Tyrrell ASC
IRL 1129 Jump The Gun J109 1.005 John M Kelly RIYC
GBR 7536R Hot Cookie Sunfast 3600 John O'Gorman NYC
IRL 3471 Black Velvet 0.979 Leslie Parnell RIYC
IRL 4007 Tsunami First 40.7 Michelle Farreall National Yacht Club
IRL 66 Checkmate XX 1.115 Nigel BIGGS HYC
GBR 6695R Wild Haggis Farr 30 1.060 Nigel Ingram Holyhead
GBR 9496T Bojangles J109 0.999 Paul HAMPSON Liverpool Yacht Club
IRL 1367 Boomerang Beneteau 36.7 0.997 Paul Kirwan
GBR 8992R Lightning Farr 30 1.074 Paul Sutton Holyhead Sailing Club
GBR 9047R Mojito J109 Peter Dunlop Pwllheli SC - RDYC
GBR 9244R Samatom Grand Soleil 44R 1.134 Robert Rendell HYC
IRL 44444 Magic Touch 0.979 Steve Hayes GSC
IRL 3317 Scotia First 31.7 0.930 Terence Fair Ballyholme yacht club
GBR 5373 Honey Bee Hunter HB31 0.900 William Partington Pwllheli Sailing Club / SCYC