The money which amounts to 50% of the total campaign cost means Galway will become a stop over port in the race in 2009.
In a letter sent by the yesterday (Thurs) and seen by the Irish Times from Minister to O'Donoghue to Enda O'Coineen of Lets do it Ltd the Minister pledges the funding subject to the balance of the funding being raised privately.
Galway businessmen John Killeen and Eamonn Conneelly are also involved with the project that is set to transform Galway docks.
Also involved is Northern Ireland yachtsman Jamie Boag who is at an advanced stage with the design of the Irish yacht that must be ready in just over 12 months time.
The 2008 race starts from Alicante, Spain in October 2008.
It has been a fantastic team effort in getting Failte Ireland and the Irish Government to back our Volvo Round the World Challenge and in persuading the global organisers that we could do it. O'Coineen told the told the Irish Times last night.
Race organisers have stipulated that for Galway to become a mark on the 33,000 mile course Ireland must have an entry - the first since NCB Ireland 19 years ago.
Volvo Ocean Race team inspection visits to Galway took place twice last last year by race CEO Glenn Bourke and the race's commercial team.
The ninth leg of the race is due to leave the North East coast of the USA on 16 May 2009 and after a distance of 2,500 nautical miles will end up in Western Europe at a venue still to be decided.
It is expected the transatlantic leg will terminate in Galway instead of Portsmouth as was the case in 2005.
The penultimate 1,500 mile leg would then start from Galway on 06 June 2009 to a Swedish port.
"We have completed due diligence and come to the conclusion that Galway would be an ideal venue," Bourke said in December when the sotry first appeared in the Irish Times.
It's obvious why Bourke is keen to feature Ireland. The west coast is a natural landing point on a transatlantic crossing and fits well with his plans to invigorate the route after the highly successful 2005/6 race.
"As part of the successful model we have established for the race, where a port stopover is twinned with a boat from that region, sanctioning Galway as a port stopover is contingent on an Irish entry in the race", he added.
Although many of Ireland's top ocean sailors, including 2005/6 winner Justin Slattery, have raced in different outings of the race, the only previous Irish entry, NCB Ireland, was launched 20 years ago by the then Taoiseach Charles Haughey and skippered by Cork's Joe English in the 1989 race.
Then known as the Whitbread Round the World race, it will be remembered for the runaway performance of New Zealand's Peter Blake. The Irish sloop fared badly but at home the world-wide publicity it generated gave a glimpse of what could be achieved in one of the world's best known sporting adventures. But until now entry in to the race has always been beyond any Irish sailing team.
Next year, for the first time in the event’s history, the Volvo Ocean Race will introduce significant changes to the race format, and will visit new ports along a new route that includes stopovers in the middle-east, India and Asia.
Building to the start
Building the fastest monohull boat in the world to a tight timetable will be no mean feat.
Durability will be a key factor to consider this time round. In the 2005/6 race two boats were out of Leg 1 on the first night while another limped on with damage.
Typically there is a six-month design process and a nine month build on the 70 footer.
Last time in the Southern Ocean keels gave big problems, with another boat hitching a ride on a ship and one going back for structural repairs – only to be dismasted later. But for the rest of the fleet, speeds were phenomenal and a second 24 hour world monohull record was lodged.
Build costs range anywhere between 3 to 8 million Euro depending on options. Design research work for an Irish boat has already been completed: the team have a designer in mind. The boat ideally needs to be in build by this October. The boat could be built here or abroad. The builder of the winner of the last race ABN Amro was Killian Bushe of Crosshaven in Co. Cork.
Race track – around the world
Event Date Distance
Alicante Leg 1 START 11 October 2008 6,500 Nm
South Africa Leg 2 START 16 November 2008 5,000 Nm
Middle East Leg 3 START 20 December 2008 1,600 Nm
India Leg 4 START 03 January 2009 2,000 Nm
South East Asia Leg 5 START 24 January 2009 2,200 Nm
China (Port 1) Leg 6 START 08 February 2009 300 Nm
China (Port 2) Leg 7 START 22 February 2009 12,000 Nm
Brazil Leg 8 START 18 April 2009 4,800 Nm
Boston USA Leg 9 START 16 May 2009 2,500 Nm
Galway Leg 10 START 06 June 2009 1,500 Nm
Sweden Leg 11 START 19 June 2009 250 Nm
Finish Port RACE FINISH 20 June 2009
Spectator appeal
The race's established reputation for offshore adventure is being matched these days by its reputation for drawing a crowd. If Galway is successful in a bid to become a stopover port then it can look forward to anything from 250,000 to 500,000 visitors for the two weeks that the boats are in dock. The reasons the crowds are coming is not just to see them disappear over the horizon but also to see the short series of harbour racing that proved so popular in 2005/6. In its analysis of the last race Deloitte reported that the start was worth 61 million Euro to the local economy of Galicia in Spain. And the stop over leg in Baltimore, Annapolis, with over 500,000 visitors, was worth 75 million dollars locally.
