40 Entries For Cong-Galway Sailing Race This Weekend

30th August 2024

Participants in the 2024 Cong-Galway Race include local sea scouts and dinghy sailors from many clubsv

Two Galway Hookers are among a fleet of 40 boats entered for the Cong-Galway race which takes place on Saturday (Aug 31).

Six cruisers are among entries from all over the country, with participants including local sea scouts and dinghy sailors from many clubs.

The rescheduled date is benefiting from a long-awaited band of high pressure over the west, after weeks of gales and heavy rain. Wind is forecast to be light and from the south.

The first gun is at 10:30 a.m., and the race runs over a 30-nautical-mile course from Lisloughrey pier, near Cong at the north end of Lough Corrib, to Galway City.

It follows the old steamer route across the lake. Finishing the course—which involves several navigational hazards—is regarded as an achievement in itself.

Several television crews will film the event this year.

Five Galway clubs are hosting and organising the race, including providing safety RIBS and refreshments at mid-way break for lunch at Kilbeg pier.

They are : Corrib Rowing and Yachting Club (CRYC), Galway Bay Sailing Club (GBSC), Galway Hooker Sailing Club, Galway City Sailing Club and Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (Spiddal Sailing Club).

The finish on the river Corrib, hosted by CRYC, is close to the city and upriver of the Quincentennial Bridge.

"The Cong to Galway sailing race is not just a competition; it's a celebration of our rich maritime history and a testament to the strong sailing community we have here in Galway,"

Tiernan O Brien of Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil said.

“It’s always an honour to be involved in this race as we have been for many years. It’s great to see it continue and young people out competing,”Margot Cronin of GBSC said.

Last year, 26 entrants in the dinghy class and six in the cruiser class participated in a rescheduled event, which had been postponed from the original date due to weather.

Gary Mangan (ISA) won the 2023 dinghy class in a Catapult catamaran, with Rob Talbot and Cian de Bairéad of Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) coming second in a 420.

Andy Flanagan and Astrid Plaas of Galway Bay SC were third in a Dart 16, while the Port of Galway Sea Scouts crew, helmed by Daniel Concannon with David Schirliu, Aaron Fahy and Lorcan Carron, took first in the cruiser class last year.

Published in Cong-Galway Race, Galway Hookers

Published in Cong-Galway Race

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CongGalway race

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The Cong-Galway: Ireland’s oldest inland sailing race

The annual Cong – Galway Sailing Race is Europe’s oldest and longest inland water sailing race.

The original Cong-Galway Race started at the Royal Galway Yachting Club in Galway City and travelled to Ashford Castle in Cong before returning to Galway City, a race distance of 61.5 nautical miles.

The 2020 race is the 137th such race.

The Cong-Galway Race was a huge social event in Galway until 1914. It never recovered after the First World War and was last held in its old format in 1931. The race was later revived in 1972. Now half the original length, the race starts at Lisloughrey pier, near Ashford Castle, and ends just past the Quincentennial Bridge in Galway City.

Cong Galway Race Course

The Cong to Galway Race start is from Lisloughrey Pier in Cong, Co. Mayo and is typically scheduled for 10.30 a.m. on a course through Upper and Lower Lough Corrib to the finish line at Corrib Village on the River Corrib in Galway. The race makes a stop for lunch at Kilbeg Pier, approximately half way, where timings will be taken for the restart.