Irish sailors interested in solo and short-handed sailing are to gather in the National Yacht Club next month with a view to promoting the increasingly popular discipline. Two Irish veterans of solo campaigns, Paul O'Riain and Barry Hurley, will talk of their experiences at the gathering. Afloat has set up a dedicated forum here to facilitate discussion ahead of the meeting.
In the past two years Ireland has seen remarkable success on the sailing world stage. Two of these successes have occured in short-handed ocean racing with Damian Foxall winning the double-handed Barcelona World Race in 2008 alongside French co-skipper Jean Pierre-Dick onboard the Open 60 “Paprec-Virbac”.In June 2009 Barry Hurley won the Ostar (Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race) onboard his JOD 35 “Dinah” after a two-year self-funded campaign. Besides these two incredible victories there has been a large increase in the number of Irish sailors who are participating in solo & double-handed sailing. Many are travelling to take part in events in the UK and France where this type of sailing is firmly established.
All those interested in solo & double-handed yacht racing in Ireland are invited to attend this open forum meeting to put forward & discuss ideas and ways to put in place the structure and events necessary to develop this type of sailing in Irish waters.
The meeting will include two short informative talks by Barry Hurley about his Ostar campaign and by Paul Ó Riain on his experience competing in La Solitaire du Figaro and other Figaro events in France in 2007.
All are welcome. RSVP below. Those unable to attend should forward their contact details to receive minutes of the meeting and updates on developments.
The meeting is being chaired by Olivier Prouveur, Sailing Manager at the National Yacht Club. Olivier can be contacted as follows; [email protected] or +353 (0)1 280 5725 or +353 (0)87 7936212
