#roundireland– In spite of identfiying a weather window for a bid on the Round Ireland speed record early yesterday morning, Sidney Gavignet and Damian Foxall's French based Oman Sail cancelled their attempt when the weather forecast changed. It is the third time this year that Ireland's Damian Foxall and the team of Omansail have ditched plans for an attempt on the speed sailing record.
Instead of a circumnavigation of Ireland, the MOD70 trimaran, completed a training run between its home base at L'Orient, France and the Fastnet Rock off the Cork coast, according to the World Speed Sailing Record (WSSR) Commissioner in Ireland, Chris Moore, at the National Yacht Club.
For a time it looked like an anti–clockwise bid might produce the required conditions on Sunday to break the 44-hour time, coincidentally marking the 20th anniversary of the 1993 record set by Steve Fossett, Con Murphy and Cathy MacAleavey.
Foxall and the crew came to Ireland in March for a dedicated attempt but were beaten back by gales on the Welsh coast. Their attempt was also foiled by the weather in June too. For now, the 20–year record set by the late adventurer Steve Fossett on the Lakota Catamaran lives on. Perhaps Foxall and Omansail might make it fourth time lucky sometime soon?
