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Displaying items by tag: The Camino Voyage

Glen Hansard, Brendan Begley, Liam Holden and Brendan Moriarty were on The Late Late Show this past Friday evening (16 November) to talk their incredible adventure rowing and sailing a traditional curragh to Spain.

The ‘modern day Celtic odyssey’ is the subject of a new documentary, The Camino Voyage, that had its Irish premiere earlier this year. Footage from the expedition was also featured on TG4 in the spring of 2017.

Hansard, an Oscar-winning songwriter and frontman of rock band The Frames, tells Late Late host Ryan Tubridy how his five weeks on board the Naomhóig na Tinte along the coast of northern Spain sparked a reconnection with his sense of what it means to be Irish.

It also inspired a feeling of ‘meitheal’ with the late Danny Sheehy and his Kerry crew mates — the same spirit of community that’s seen in the Meitheal Mara boat-building collective in Cork.

The 20-minute interview is available for viewers in Ireland to watch back on the RTÉ Player till Sunday 16 December.

Published in Historic Boats
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#CaminoVoyage - Saturday night (10 March) saw the Irish premiere of The Camino Voyage as part of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival 2018.

The documentary follows a motley crew including a writer, an artist a stonemason and two musicians — including Oscar-winner Glen Hansard — as they embarked on a 2,500km odyssey by currach from Ireland to northern Spain, following the trail of the Camino de Santiago.

The 2016 adventure in the Naomhóig na Tinte was previously broadcast on TG4 and covered on Afloat.ie by our own Winkie Nixon, but this past weekend marked the first time the international feature-length version had been shown on the big screen in Ireland.

Crew members Brendan Moriarty, Brendan Begley and Liam Holden were in attendance with director Dónal Ó Ceilleachair at the Irish Film Institute on Saturday for the screening, which also served as a tribute to fellow crew Danny Sheehy (Domhnall Mac Síthigh), who died in 2017 while sailing the Naomhóg south to Portugal.

The Camino Voyage will have its next Irish screening as the opening film of the Dingle International Film Festival next week on Thursday 22 March, and can be seen in Westport on 13 April as part of the Celtic Camino Festival.

Published in Maritime TV
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Ireland & La Solitaire du Figaro

The Solitaire du Figaro, was originally called the course de l’Aurore until 1980, was created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault.

Half a decade later, the race has created some of France's top offshore sailors, and it celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new boat equipped with foils and almost 50 skippers Including novices, aficionados and six former winners.

The solo multi-stage offshore sailing race is one of the most cherished races in French sailing and one that has had Irish interest stretching back over 20 years due to the number of Irish stopovers, usually the only foreign leg of the French race.

What Irish ports have hosted The Solitaire du Figaro?

The race has previously called to Ireland to the following ports; Dingle, Kinsale, Crosshaven, Howth and Dun Laoghaire.

What Irish sailors have raced The Solitaire du Figaro?

So far there have been seven Irish skippers to participate in La Solitaire du Figaro. 

In 1997, County Kerry's Damian Foxall first tackled the Figaro from Ireland. His win in the Rookie division in DHL gave him the budget to compete again the following year with Barlo Plastics where he won the final leg of the race from Gijon to Concarneau. That same year a second Irish sailor Marcus Hutchinson sailing Bergamotte completed the course in 26th place and third Rookie.

In 2000, Hutchinson of Howth Yacht Club completed the course again with IMPACT, again finishing in the twenties.

In 2006, Paul O’Riain became the third Irish skipper to complete the course.

In 2013, Royal Cork's David Kenefick raised the bar by becoming a top rookie sailor in the race. 

In 2018, for the first time, Ireland had two Irish boats in the offshore race thanks to Tom Dolan and Joan Mulloy who joined the rookie ranks and kept the Irish tricolour flying high in France. Mulloy became the first Irish female to take on the race.

Tom Dolan in Smurfit Kappa competed for his third year in 2020 after a 25th place finish in 2019. Dolan sailed a remarkably consistent series in 2020 and took fifth overall, the best finish by a non-French skipper since 1997 when Switzerland’s Dominique Wavre finished runner up. Dolan wins the VIVI Trophy.

Dolan finished 10th on the first stage, 11th on the second and seventh into Saint Nazaire at the end of the third stage. Stage four was abandoned due to lack of wind. 

Also in 2020, Dun Laoghaire’s Kenneth Rumball became the eleventh Irish sailor to sail the Figaro.

At A Glance – Figaro Race

  • It starts in June or July from a French port.
  • The race is split into four stages varying from year to year, from the length of the French coast and making up a total of around 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles (1,700 to 2,300 mi; 2,800 to 3,700 km) on average.
  • Over the years the race has lasted between 10 and 13 days at sea.
  • The competitor is alone in the boat, participation is mixed.
  • Since 1990, all boats are of one design.

2023 La Solitaire du Figaro Course

Stage #1 Caen – Kinsale : 610 nautical miles
Departure August 27 (expected arrival August 30)

Stage #2 Kinsale – Baie de Morlaix : 630 nautical miles
Departure September 3 (expected arrival September 6)

Stage #3 Baie de Morlaix – Piriac-sur-Mer : 620 nautical miles
Departure September 10 (expected arrival September 13)

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