Even in a pandemic-shortened season like 2021, by the time October is reached, some Afloat.ie "Sailor of the Month" award winners from earlier months are achieving further success. At year's end, these new successes are gathered in with their earlier achievements to add further lustre to their previous winning profiles in order to intensify the process of selecting a "Sailor of the Year". Meanwhile, as each month comes round, this approach clears the way for fresh names to come to the fore, and in October 2021's special circumstances, our latest listing of "Sailors of the Month" reflects this.
In for the long haul - the multi-talented Ger Owens Photo: Bob Bateman
Ger Owens of Royal St George YC is "Sailor of the Month" for October
While some helms have won the All-Ireland Championship two or even three times within a relatively short time-span, none can match Ger Owens' unique achievement of having a 21-year-gap between his two victories. He was a rising star when he first took it in 2000, having won the Juniors in 1996 & 1998. And with today's greatly increased longevity, he still is a rising star. Most of his achievements in recent years have been in the GP 14s, but he has proven more than able in several classes Thus when the All-Ireland 2021 was staged in National 18s in Crosshaven at the beginning of October, he was soon at home in the class, taking the overall win in the Championship of Champions despite a trio of longtime National 18 sailors being in the lineup against him.
