Only minutes after the Green Dragon team started the Volvo Ocean Race yesterday, Dublin businessman and sailor Tom Roche was plucked from the sea in Alicante bay having gone over board from the Galway yacht. But there was no panic because it was all part of a pre-arranged manouver to allow Roche, one of a group of Irish business people who funded the build of the boat, to start the race on board the 70-footer.The race commenced at 1400 (local time) and after the first 90 minutes of the race Tom was thrown into the sea in a dry suit and was picked out of the water by Shore Manager Johnny Smullen who was on standby in the team RIB.
As he returned to dock Tom commented 'to start the race with some of the top sailors in the world was a fantastic opportunity and incredibly exhilarating. I wish Ian and the team onboard Green Dragon good luck in their race around the world.
The group of Irish business people who funded the boat include John O'Sullivan, Richard Burrows, Jed Pierse, Gerard Barrett, Eamon Conneely, Michael Cotter, Tom Roche, Denis O'Brien, John Killeen, Gerard O'Hare, Brian Lynch, John Flaherty, Enda O'Coineen, John Coyle, Anne Heraty and Paul Carroll.
The 8 teams in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 are expected to arrive in Capetown on 03 November. The race will continue to Cochin, Singapore, Qingdao, Rio de Janeiro and Boston before arriving in Galway on 23 May for a two week stopover. The race then continues to Stockholm, Maarstrand and St Petersburg where it finishes in late June 2009.
