Afloat.ie spoke to Niall Dowling, skipper of double-handed entry Slingshot, as he prepared his boat in Dun Laoghaire harbour yesterday.
Slingshot sits at 20/1 in the Afloat stakes.
Dowling had to fasten a new main to the boat after theirs was shredded in a RORC offshore earlier in the season.
Between himself and his sailing partner, Michael Boyd, the pair have already won a Round Ireland, and came close again in 2006, when weather snatched what was looking like an overall victory from them and the rest of their crew. This year they're heading up an 11-strong doublehanded entry.
Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.
Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.
More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.
Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.
So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.
Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
