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Displaying items by tag: James O’Mahony

11th Hour Racing Team’s longtime sustainability manager Damian Foxall isn’t Ireland’s only connection to the IMOCA getting ready to foil around the world in The Ocean Race 2022-23 this month.

Cork sailor James O’Mahony, a veteran of two previous editions of The Ocean Race, is boat captain on the team that will sail with a crew of four — plus on-board reporter Amory Ross — under skipper Charlie Enright.

“This race has been a long time coming, but we feel ready,” Enright said at the close of 2022 about the race, which will see five IMOCAs included for the very first time alongside a fleet of VO65s taking part in a series of sprint races around the globe-spanning route.

The action begins this Sunday 8 January with the In Port Race in Alicante before the IMOCA and VO65 fleets depart for Mindelo, Cabo Verde on 15 January on the first leg.

Viewers in Ireland can catch Sunday’s action live on Eurosport and discovery+ with the VO65s scheduled to race from 1pm GMT and the IMOCAS from 2.30pm GMT.

Published in Ocean Race

About Pamela Lee, Irish Offshore Sailor

Ireland has produced some of the world’s most dedicated offshore sailors, and Pamela Lee of Greystones is one of them. She has made a name for herself in the sailing world, having worked as a mate on a charter Super-yacht for two and a half years. After coming ashore, she has been fully committed to her offshore sailing ambitions since 2019.

Lee has raced in various craft, including Figaro 3s, Class 40, Tp 52s, and multihulls, and has eight transatlantic crossings under her belt. In partnership with Kenny Rumball, Lee supported Rumball’s La Solitaire du Figaro sailing campaign to secure the Irish berth in the proposed Mixed Offshore Keelboat event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

One of Lee’s stated main aims is to promote female empowerment in sport, and she set out to establish a double-handed Round Ireland speed record with Englishwoman Cat Hunt in the winter of 2020. This campaign gained much publicity, and Lee expressed pride in bringing sailing and offshore sailing, in particular, into the conversation for 2020.

To further her offshore sailing career, Lee moved to France, where she has recently secured a place to skipper a yacht in the Transat Jacques Vabre Challenge in October 2023. Lee’s passion and dedication to offshore sailing are inspiring, and her achievements are a testament to her hard work and perseverance.