Charity Jetski Team to Shadow Around Ireland Powerboats

8th June 2010

Two county Clare businessmen have begun their bid to circumnavigate Ireland on jet-skis to raise funds for the Tipperary, Limerick and Clare branch of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland (CFAI).

The men and their water and land-based support teams left Lahinch in Co Clare on Sunday, stopping off in Galway for the night, where as many as 300,000 people were expected to visit the 2010 Round Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race.

Darren Hayes said: "This is going to be a serious challenge. Physically we are well able for it but mentally, we know it will be tough. I will be hard to keep the mind focused when all you can see is wave after wave."

From Galway the pair headed for Killybegs on Monday (7th) and left there at 7am this morning to power around to to Bangor Co Down today. Following a rest day on Wednesday, the two men will travel south to Waterford where they will take another well deserved break before continuing on to Fenit on Friday. The challenge will finish back in Galway with the pair hoping to make stops at Kilkee and Lahinch in Co Clare en route. Personnel will also be on hand at all the stops to collect funds for the charity.

While the Irish coastline is almost 1,500 kilometres in length, the challengers are expected to travel considerably more than that as they will be some distance off shore. They will come ashore every few hours to refuel expect to use up to 5,000 litres of petrol which they hope will be sponsored.

Half the money raised will go to the national CF organisation while the remaining cash will go to TLC4CF (Tipperary, Limerick, Clare for CF) which is involved in a drive to collect €4.2m to construct an in-patient and out-patient facility at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle in Limerick.Ennis car dealers Darren Hayes and Liam Cleary will set off from Lahinch in Co Clare on Sunday June 6th and are confident of jetskiing around Ireland in under a week. Both men, who are avid jetskiers, have been in training in recent months for the event and have undergone a K38 training course with an instructor from the UK. The pair, who operate separate businesses in Ennis, are confident that they can complete the challenge.

Updates will be posted on www.tlc4cf.org and on twitter.com/tlc4cfjetski

Published in Around Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race 2010

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