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Displaying items by tag: Gary Fitzgerald

#OpenWaterSwimming - H2Open magazine reports on last week's successful swim from Kish Lighthouse to the Forty Foot by Dublin open water swimmer Gary Fitzgerald - the first person to swim the 12km route.

The 24-year-old took on the challenge in memory of his late former manager and friend Arthur Dunne of the Half Moon Swimming and Water Polo Club, who had dreamed of swimming the route before his untimely death at the age of just 42.

Gary was cheered on during his attempt on 27 September by his brother Mark and father Dave, himself a top swimmer and former national coach in water polo, as well as pioneering Channel swimmer Shane Moraghan, while Fergal Somerville - who swam the North Channel for charity this summer - served as independent observer.

Published in Sea Swim

Waszp sailing

The Waszp project was conceived in 2010 by Andrew McDougall, designer of the world-beating Mach 2 foiling Moth. 

The Waszp was created as a strict one-design foiler, where, as the class says “the true test when raced is between crews and not boats and equipment”.

The objective of the class rules is to ensure that this concept is maintained. Keeping possible modifications to a minimum ensures fair racing across the fleet, helps to reduce the overall cost to the sailor and reduces the amount of time in the workshop. 

The popularity of the WASZP has proven that the boat and the concept work. In October 2021, 1237 boats had been sold to over 45 countries. 

The top speed recorded on the foiling dinghy is 26.7 knots. 

60-95kgs+ is a weight range competitive across varied conditions with rigs knowns as ‘8.2’ and ‘6.9’.

The cost of a Moth dinghy in Europe is €14,400 inc VAT + shipping according to the manufacturers in October 2021.