Myself and Brian have always wanted to do something extremely tough and challenging to raise money for charity. We both have had personal experiences with the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght. The double handed Round Ireland Yacht Race was an obvious choice for our fundraising campaign as it provides us with very tough and demanding challenge!
Almost everyone reading this has had some connection with the National Children's Hospital, through personal experience or when a friend or family member was ill. They gave us support when we needed it most and we feel it's time to give a little support back!
Also, it has always been a childhood ambition of ours to compete in the Round Ireland Yacht Race since growing up in Wicklow and watching the start of the race from our local harbour. The hype and build up before the race is always great fun, with sailors arriving from all over the world to compete. The start day is especially exciting, as everyone faces into the race together, all equal at the start and not knowing the outcome of the race.
The race itself is one of the most extreme races in the yachting calendar, a difficult endurance test for any keen sailor. In the 2008 race, the weather blew a strong gale that proved it to be one of the toughest races yet.
Since the introduction of the double-handed class in 2004, our interest in competing has taken on a completely different level. Sailing nonstop around Ireland in a 37 foot yacht with only one other person for company would not appeal to many people. But for us, it’s a chance to try something a bit new and different, and to push the boundaries that little further.
We will be sailing the entire race in alternative shifts – 2 hours on, 2 hours off – for roughly 5 to 6 days depending on the weather conditions. So despite there being two of us on board, we won’t actually be seeing much of each other for the duration of the race.
We will be updating this blog as often as possible with everything that’s going on; from getting Oystercatcher sorted for the race, to getting ourselves ready!
Wicklow Harbour
