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Displaying items by tag: Atlantic Race

#Rowing: Damian Browne has completed the Atlantic Challenge Rowing race. The big Galway man, a former professional rugby player, took 63 days to row from the Canary Islands to Antigua. He suffered through storms and capsizes and posted Facebook videos which showed the injuries he suffered. Rowing as Gulliver’s Travels, he was the final boat of the race to finish. He was greeted by a big group of green-clad Irish fans on land.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Irish boats are making progress in the Atlantic Rowing Race. Damian Browne, who was tested by difficult conditions and seasickness in the first two days, reported on his Facebook page that he has recovered. By 6pm on Monday he had rowed 154 nautical miles (285 kilometres) of the 2,700 nm/5,000 km journey from the Canary Islands to Antigua.

 Relentless, the Cork/Dublin four, were making good speed closer to the head of the field. They were adjudged to be sixth overall. Home to Portrush, tracking further south, placed eighth.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Irish crews competing in the Atlantic Challenge race from the Canaries to Antigua have had to battle seasickness and strong winds in the first two days. Relentless, a four, and Gullivers Travels (crewed by Damian Browne) both started well. However, Browne had to deploy the para anchor and was very disappointed with his progress in the first 24 hours when he struggled with blisters, cramps and dehydration. Relentless were reported to have deployed an emergency beacon, though this was apparently done inadvertently.

 The crews were showing steady progress on Saturday, as was the third boat from Ireland, Home to Portrush, which has taken a more southerly course.  

Published in Rowing

#OceanRowing: Damian Browne has just set off to row the Atlantic. The former professional rugby player, in his boat Darien, left today from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to embark on the Atlantic Challenge race to Antigua. The fours, Relentless, from Cork and Dublin, and Home to Portrush, went off before solo oarsman Browne, who was the last of the 25 boats to leave today.

 The start of the race had been delayed for two days because of high winds.

Published in Rowing

William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland and internationally for many years, with his work appearing in leading sailing publications on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been a regular sailing columnist for four decades with national newspapers in Dublin, and has had several sailing books published in Ireland, the UK, and the US. An active sailor, he has owned a number of boats ranging from a Mirror dinghy to a Contessa 35 cruiser-racer, and has been directly involved in building and campaigning two offshore racers. His cruising experience ranges from Iceland to Spain as well as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and he has raced three times in both the Fastnet and Round Ireland Races, in addition to sailing on two round Ireland records. A member for ten years of the Council of the Irish Yachting Association (now the Irish Sailing Association), he has been writing for, and at times editing, Ireland's national sailing magazine since its earliest version more than forty years ago