#roundireland – Round Ireland race organisers have confimed Ireland's former entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, 'the Green Dragon', will sail in Sunday's Round Ireland yacht race from Wicklow Sailing Club as one of the biggest entries in the race.
Wicklow SC say the 70-foot sloop will be raced by an 'amateur crew' but any other details of arrangements for the race are yet to be made public. Afloat.ie understands Green Dragon's crew are made up of a consortium of Dun Laoghaire yachtsmen.
In a post on its race website Wicklow officials say the Volvo 70 had arrived in Dun Laoghaire marina from Alicante in Spain to finalise preparations for her Round Ireland competition against an international fleet of 36 yachts, many from the UK.
The Reichel Pugh designed canting keel yacht was built in 2008 and competed in the 2008/09 Volvo Ocean Race under British skipper Ian Walker where she finished fifth out of seven starters.
Wicklow Sailing Club Commodore John Harte said: 'It will be great to have such an iconic yacht such as the Green Dragon in the Round Ireland Yacht Race. She will be a very impressive spectacle on the start line'.
The yacht has been stored in Galway since the end of the last VOR race before being moved to the continent for a number of promotional engagements including the VOR Legends Regatta.
Green Dragon is set to be involved in a number of initiatives as a youth academy boat.
Apart from the mural of the trawler (click HERE) there are a wide variety of vessels represented from general cargo-ships and the inclusion of STV Asgard II and the World's last ocean-going paddle-steamer P.S. Waverley. These vessels have too berthed alongside the adorned eastern breakwater where spectators flock to see the start of the biennial Round Ireland Yacht Race which was held last year.
The photo of the trawler was taken on a previous call at the Packet Quay, Wicklow and not Arklow as stated. The Packet Pier is the most used commercial quay in the Co. Wicklow port, where timber and scrap-metal cargoes are relatively common. For example the Arklow Rebel which loaded scrap-metal bound for Liverpool, to read more click HERE.
Round Ireland Champ Piet Vroon from Holland is in Wicklow town for Saturday night's celebration of the 30th Round Ireland. Vroon, 80, who has already picked up the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Yacht of the Year award is back in Wicklow and it is certain exploits during Ireland's offshore race in July will be relived when Vroon lifts the Round Ireland trophy at the Park Hotel in Newtownmountkennedy. The Wicklow Sailing Club prize giving includes a new Irish Cruiser Racing Association trophy (ICRA) and the inaugural winner is a local boat, Aquelina (The Tyrrell fmaily) from Arklow.
Among the attendance at the offshore night of the year is 19 crew from visiting UK competitor Malta Puma.
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race
Exactly one week after it left Wicklow, Yahttzee, the last competitor in the Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 arrived home this morning allowing Wicklow Sailing club to publish its full overall results table (attached below). It will be a race that will be remembered for its predominantly light winds. Full Round Ireland Yacht Race overall and class results are attached below in our download section, showing the magnificent performance of overall winner Tonnerre de Breskens from Holland.
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race
There was no deluge of overnight finishers, no sing of meteorological miracles or surging mass of racers passing Howth and heading on to Wicklow as the final stages of the Round Ireland slowed to a crawl in the short hours of darkness. The tracker shows plenty of boats stopping, spinning, and presumably anchoring off the coast of Northern Ireland as the wind dropped to a zephyr and the tide pulled at the fleet like toy boats in a draining bath.
But, firstly, Afloat.ie offers official congratulations to Tonnerre de Breskens 3, now sitting pretty in Wicklow with the major challenges to their title punctured below the waterline. Their race was near impeccable, and they add the Round Ireland win to their recent string of RORC offshore victories. To them, the glory, and it is all well deserved. Your correspondent pegged them as favourited, despite the Water Rat's predictions that Inis Mor had more in store.
Inis Mor, as it happens, slipped quietly into harbour yesterday evening at 7.38pm to take second overall. Then an overnight lull in finishers was broken by Fujitsu coming home at ten minutes to five, followed by the impressive young crew of Pride of Wicklow at ten to six, who drew a roar of appreciation from those waiting on the quays. Visit Malta Puma were next in at 6.35, and now the long wait for the next finishers, a trio of Aquelina, Bejaysus and Daft.com.
Cavatina's hoped-for intervention failed to materialise, and they have yet to cross the mouth of Belfast Lough, having spent the night close inshore where they could anchor against the tide.
Indeed there's a long way to go for those still out on the racecourse. A string of ten boats are crossing Dundrum Bay off Newcastle, with the rest in a cluster near Cushendall. For some of these competitors, depending on the weather, the race could last close to a full week, if they persist.
A word of congratulations to Wicklow town for making a proper festival of the race this year and showing its potential for growth. Official figures suggested 10,000 people hit Wicklow last weekend, but those involved were ebulliantly talking it up to 15,000 or more, which is no small achievement. It goes to show that despite its status as a sport that's not built for spectators, everyone loves to party with sailors.
Questions have been raised about the future of the race, however, in today's Irish Times. Article HERE.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The race tracker is HERE, and the official site is HERE.
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race
Markham Nolan spoke with South African Matt Trautman, boat captain of clubhouse leader Tonnerre de Breskens 3. Matt tells Afloat.ie about the crucial factors in Tonnerre's total domination of the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race, which they led from start to finish.
Club house leader: Tonnerre at the start of the Race last Sunday. Photos: Bob Bateman
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race
Reports from Wicklow suggest that the crew of Tonnerre de Breskens 3, the line honours winner, have decamped to their hotel for some well-deserved rest. The ease with which they sleep will be telling.
Only two boats in the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race have finished, and tradition dictates that it's a race rarely decided by first-past-the-post. With 34 of the 36 boats still on the race course, a handicap finisher can always put a fly in the ointment. One boat with potential to do that is Cavatina.
Her handicap means that she has until 10.27 on Friday morning, which gives Tonnerre enough time to have a lie-in and and Irish breakfast before watching the clock count down to an assured victory.
Inis Mor's target time has come and gone so they are no longer an issue for Tonnerre, and it will take a boat with a big handicap to cause them a sleepless night.
It will also take a lot of wind, something that's in short supply. Back-of-the-napkin calculations suggest Cavatina need to be moving at an average of 8.7 knots for the remainder of their race to win. Cavatina is currently located at Rathlin Island, says the tracker, doing exactly zero knots, with not much more than eight knots of wind forecast over the next 18 hours. Even sailing downstream in spring tides all the way, Cavatina would still need a divine intervention.
One big remaining question is whether or not Psipsina can retain her double-handed title. She's currently caught in the narrows off Strangford making just two knots while Daft.com heads into the Irish Sea at more than 7 knots. Psipsina has held the lead for the majority of the race, and the good money would back her to retain it at this stage.
Still a lot to play for, however, and tomorrow morning should see the rankings finalised in most classes.
For tracker-addicts and those with friends and relations battling in the pack, it's another evening of F5 refreshes and twitching fingers.
Tonnerre de Bresken took line honours in the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race early this morning, tying up in Wicklow harbour just after 4am. The Dutch entry held off the Open 60 Spirit of Rosslare Europort in a light airs beat down the Irish Sea, but all eyes will now scan the horizon for the main challenger for the overall title, Inis Mor. Bernard Guoy's Clifden-registered Ker 39 has until 14.13 to finish if they want to claim overall honours. This is a tall order, with the Frenchman just south of the mouth of Strangord Lough, making seven knots on a fetch to Wicklow.
Light airs and strong tides either side of midnight meant that the anchors came out for some boats off Rathlin Island.
Gloom continues to be the prevailing mood on the beleagured double-hander Daft.com, operating with no electronics or autohelm. Their latest online missive read: "Rage! Wind has disappeared and we are anchored just after Rathlin Island. Very keen for the finish now. Bruised, blistered, cut, tired, sore and ready to get moving into the finish line."
Conditions are getting to Hanna White aboard Dinah, also, who tweeted: "No sleep, rubbish food, peeing in a bucket, remind me again why I do this sport?"
Two packs of three are duelling down the Northern Irish coast behind Inis Mor. Visit Malta Puma, Pride of Wicklow and Fujitsu are all within 2.5 miles of each other, and then twelve miles back, Daft.com, Aquelina and Bejaysus are battling it out.
The fleet are stretched like a swimming cap over the head of the country in a line from Strangford Lough to Bloody Foreland.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The race tracker is HERE, and the official site is HERE.
Celtic Spirit has become the first retiral in the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race, with a broken pole meaning they have no effective means for sailing downwind. A report on the official race site says: "Owner Michael Holland tells us crew member, Joe, had a very lucky escape as the broken pole flew across deck and knocked him down - fortunately it was just a glancing blow and the only damage was a torn jacket. All is not lost - they are closeby Inishboffin and know a nice deep hole to anchor in to enable them drown their sorrows."
Meanwhile the hobbled Daft.com has lost ground to the chasing pack with a cracked spreader, and are being caught gradually by Pride of Wicklow, Fujistu and Visit Malta Puma as they round Malin Head. A broken alternator has resulted in no electrics aboard the double-hander, which has meant that Mick Liddy on Daft.com has had to helm non-stop. His blind co-skipper, Mark Pollock, was reliant on technology to allow him steer, and the two are suffering from sleep deprivation (see video below).
From Pride of Wicklow's shore crew via their Twitter feed: "Edging their way ahead in a game of wits...ETA 2-4 pm Thursday... but they are working hard to improve that.come on Powwwwwww"
Inis Mor still holds the lead overall and third on the water, and the tide should turn soon to suck her around into the Irish Sea. Tonnerre de Breskens continues to hold off the Open 60 at the front, with Alan McGettigan's crew having to make some slow angles in light beating conditions.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The latest results in the Conway Media Round Ireland show that Inis Mor had managed to sneak back in front as the fleet began to round the north coast. A 6am report from the race office puts Tonnerre in second, with Inis Mor leading the standings and Class Zero.
More as we have it.
FROM THE RACE OFFICE;
Race Office Update 23/06/2010 @ 06.30 hours
Provisional results for leaders of each class Wednesday 23rd at 06.00 hours.
Overall
1st Inis Mor
2nd Tonnerre de Breskens3
3rd Visit Malta Puma
IRC 0 Inis Mor
IRC 1 Visit Malta Puma
IRC 2 Psipsina
IRC 3 Alchimiste
Class 4 Cruisers Cavatina
Class 5 Classics Cavatina
Class 6 Sigma 38 Persistance
Class 7 Two Handed Psipsina
“Pride of Wicklow “ currently lying 6th in overall fleet and 3rd in Class 0.
The lead boat “Tonnerre de Breskens3” is approx 150 miles from the finish.
Boats can now call in race reports from the water direct to our webmaster's voicemail for use as podcasts, just dial 08652570320 and leave your report after the beep, and we'll get it up online as soon as possible.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The National Yacht Club's Annalise Murphy (born 1 February 1990) is a Dublin Bay sailor who won a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is a native of Rathfarnham, a suburb of Dublin.
Murphy competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Women's Laser Radial class. She won her first four days of sailing at the London Olympics and, on the fifth day, came in 8th and 19th position.
They were results that catapulted her on to the international stage but those within the tiny sport of Irish sailing already knew her of world-class capability in a breeze and were not surprised.
On the sixth day of the competition, she came 2nd and 10th and slipped down to second, just one point behind the Belgian world number one.
Annalise was a strong contender for the gold medal but in the medal race, she was overtaken on the final leg by her competitors and finished in 4th, her personal best at a world-class regatta and Ireland's best Olympic class result in 30 years.
Murphy won her first major medal at an international event the following year on home waters when she won gold at the 2013 European Sailing Championships on Dublin Bay.
Typically, her track record continues to show that she performs best in strong breezes that suit her large stature (height: 1.86 m Weight: 72 kg).
She had many international successes on her road to Rio 2016 but also some serious setbacks including a silver fleet finish in flukey winds at the world championships in the April of Olympic year itself.
On 16 August 2016, Murphy won the silver medal in the Laser Radial at the 2016 Summer Olympics defying many who said her weight and size would go against her in Rio's light winds.
As Irish Times Sailing Correspondent David O'Brien pointed out: " [The medal] was made all the more significant because her string of consistent results was achieved in a variety of conditions, the hallmark of a great sailor. The medal race itself was a sailing master class by the Dubliner in some decidedly fickle conditions under Sugarloaf mountain".
It was true that her eight-year voyage ended with a silver lining but even then Murphy was plotting to go one better in Tokyo four years later.
In December 2016, she was honoured as the Irish Times/Sport Ireland 2016 Sportswoman of the Year.
In March, 2017, Annalise Murphy was chosen as the grand marshal of the Dublin St Patrick's day parade in recognition of her achievement at the Rio Olympics.
She became the Female World Champion at the Moth Worlds in July 2017 in Italy but it came at a high price for the Olympic Silver medallist. A violent capsize in the last race caused her to sustain a knee injury which subsequent scans revealed to be serious.
The injury was a blow for her return to the Olympic Laser Radial discipline and she withdrew from the 2017 World Championships. But, later that August, to the surprise of many, Murphy put her Tokyo 2020 ambitions on hold for a Volvo Ocean Race crew spot and joined Dee Caffari’s new Turn the Tide On Plastic team that would ultimately finish sixth from seventh overall in a global circumnavigation odyssey.
There were further raised eyebrows nine months later when, during a break in Volvo Ocean Race proceedings, in May 2018 Murphy announced she was quitting the Laser Radial dinghy and was launching a 49er FX campaign for Tokyo 2020. Critics said she had left too little time to get up to speed for Tokyo in a new double-handed class.
After a 'hugely challenging' fourteen months for Murphy and her crew Katie Tingle, it was decided after the 2019 summer season that their 'Olympic medal goal' was no longer realistic, and the campaign came to an end. Murphy saying in interviews “I guess the World Cup in Japan was a bit of a wakeup call for me, I was unable to see a medal in less than twelve months and that was always the goal".
The pair raced in just six major regattas in a six-month timeframe.
In September 2019, Murphy returned to the Laser Radial dinghy and lead a four-way trial for the Tokyo 2020 Irish Olympic spot after the first of three trials when she finished 12th at the Melbourne World Championships in February 2020.
On June 11, Irish Sailing announced Annalise Murphy had been nominated in the Laser Radial to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Murphy secured the Laser Radial nomination after the conclusion of a cut short trials in which rivals Aoife Hopkins, Aisling Keller and Eve McMahon also competed.
After her third Olympic Regatta, there was disappointment for Murphy who finished 18th overall in Tokyo. On coming ashore after the last race, she indicated her intention to return to studies and retire from Olympic sailing.
On 6th Aguust 2020, Murphy wrote on Facebook: "I am finally back home and it’s been a week since I finished racing, I have been lucky enough to experience the highs and the lows of the Olympics. I am really disappointed, I can’t pretend that I am not. I wasn’t good enough last week, the more mistakes I made the more I lost confidence in my decision making. Two years ago I made a plan to try and win a gold medal in the Radial, I believed that with my work ethic and attitude to learning, that everything would work out for me. It didn’t work out this time but I do believe that it’s worth dreaming of winning Olympic medals as I’m proof that it is possible, I also know how scary it is to try knowing you might not be good enough!
I am disappointed for Rory who has been my coach for 15 years, we’ve had some great times together and I wish I could have finished that on a high. I have so much respect for Olympic sailing coaches. They also have to dedicate their lives to getting to the games. I know I’ll always appreciate the impact Rory has had on my life as a person.
I am so grateful for the support I have got from my family and friends, I have definitely been selfish with my time all these years and I hope I can now make that up to you all! Thanks to Kate, Mark and Rónán for always having my back! Thank you to my sponsors for believing in me and supporting me. Thank you Tokyo for making these games happen! It means so much to the athletes to get this chance to do the Olympics.
I am not too sure what is next for me, I definitely don’t hate sailing which is a positive. I love this sport, even when it doesn’t love me 😂. Thank you everyone for all the kind words I am finally getting a chance to read!"
Annalise Murphy is Ireland’s best performing sailor at Olympic level, with a silver medal in the Laser Radial from Rio 2016.
Annalise Murphy is from Rathfarnham, a suburb in south Co Dublin with a population of some 17,000.
Annalise Murphy was born on 1 February 1990, which makes her 30 years old as of 2020.
Annalise Murphy’s main competition class is the Laser Radial. Annalise has also competed in the 49erFX two-handed class, and has raced foiling Moths at international level. In 2017, she raced around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race.
In May 2018, Annalise Murphy announced she was quitting the Laser Radial and launching a campaign for Tokyo 2020 in the 49erFX with friend Katie Tingle. The pairing faced a setback later that year when Tingle broke her arm during training, and they did not see their first competition until April 2019. After a disappointing series of races during the year, Murphy brought their campaign to an end in September 2019 and resumed her campaign for the Laser Radial.
Annalise Murphy is a longtime and honorary member of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.
Aside from her Olympic success, Annalise Murphy won gold at the 2013 European Sailing Championships on Dublin Bay.
So far Annalise Murphy has represented Ireland at two Olympic Games.
Annalise Murphy has one Olympic medal, a silver in the Women’s Laser Radial from Rio 2016.
Yes; on 11 June 2020, Irish Sailing announced Annalise Murphy had been nominated in the Women’s Laser Radial to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021.
Yes; in December 2016, Annalise Murphy was honoured as the Irish Times/Sport Ireland 2016 Sportswoman of the Year. In the same year, she was also awarded Irish Sailor of the Year.
Yes, Annalise Murphy crewed on eight legs of the 2017-18 edition of The Ocean Race.
Annalise Murphy was a crew member on Turn the Tide on Plastic, skippered by British offshore sailor Dee Caffari.
Annalise Murphy’s mother is Cathy McAleavy, who competed as a sailor in the 470 class at the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988.
Annalise Murphy’s father is Con Murphy, a pilot by profession who is also an Olympic sailing race official.
Annalise Murphy trains under Irish Sailing Performance head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, with whom she also prepared for her silver medal performance in Rio 2016.
Annalise Murphy trains with the rest of the team based at the Irish Sailing Performance HQ in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.
Annalise Murphy height is billed as 6 ft 1 in, or 183cm.
©Afloat 2020
2016: Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Silver
2013: European Championships, Dublin, Ireland – Gold
2012: Summer Olympics, London, UK – 4th
2011: World Championships, Perth, Australia – 6th
2010: Skandia Sail for Gold regatta – 10th
2010: Became the first woman to win the Irish National Championships.
2009: World Championships – 8th
Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
