Displaying items by tag: Senior Eight

16th July 2017

Commercial Retain Senior Eights at Irish Rowing Championships

Commercial (middle) about to win the senior eights from fast-finishing Skibbereen and NUIG (top)

#Rowing: The big crowds saw a close and exciting senior men’s eight final at the Irish Rowing Championships. Commercial carved out a small lead early on, and despite pressure from NUIG and Skibbereen, they held on to win.

In the women’s senior eights final, UCD/Old Collegians had to wait until the middle stages to take over in the lead, but once they did they built and built on it. They had over three seconds at the finish over Skibbereen/UCC.

Winners of senior men’s eights (Commercial)

Winners of senior women’s eights (UCD/Old Collegians – Claire Lambe not included)

NUIG took their ninth title as they lifted the women’s club eight, while Enniskillen brought a very successful end to a good regatta for them by taking the men’s junior pair through Aaron Johnston and Nathan Timoney.

Three Castles also had a fruitful Championships and their junior quadruple won.

Lee and Clonmel won the women’s junior quad and the men’s intermediate double respectively and Bann’s Hannah Scott took the women’s intermediate single sculls title.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 Commercial 5:46.04, 2 Skibbereen 5:47.95, 3 NUIG 5:48.39. Novice: Queen’s 6:21.56.

Four – Club, coxed: NUIG A 6:43.38.

Pair – Inter: NUIG 6:56.09. Junior: Enniskillen B 6:52.04.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: 1 Three Castles 6:21.53, 2 Shandon 6:22.75, 3 Clonmel 6:23.05.

Double – Inter: Clonmel 6:37.17. Junior: Three Castles A 6:50.22.

Single – Lightweight: Skibbereen (G O’Donovan) 7:22.32. Inter: Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:10.25.

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 UCD/Old Collegians 6:24.84, 2 Skibbereen/UCC 6:27.96, 3 NUIG/Cork 6:33.67. Club: NUIG 6:46.97.

Four – Inter, coxed: NUIG 7:23.65.

Pair – Senior: UCD (A Crowley, E Lambe) 7:37.41. Junior: Fermoy 7:53.37.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: Lee 6:54.96.

Single – Senior: Old Collegians (S Pupsure) 8:02.64. Lightweight: Skibbereen (D Walsh) 8:09.96. Inter: Bann (H Scott) 7:55.58. Club One: Carlow (C Nolan) 8:15.22.

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28th April 2017

UCD Senior Eight the Afloat Rowers of the Month

#Rowing: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for April are the UCD men’s senior eight. The crew, stroked by David O’Malley, beat Commercial, the champions of Ireland, at Skibbereen Regatta. They went on to Trinity Regatta and beat the hosts with another fine performance.

The winning crew at Skibbereen Regatta was: Sam Bolger, Shane O’Connell, Tiarnan Doherty, Max Murphy, Shane Mulvaney, Andrew Griffin, Eoin Gleeson, David O’Malley, Orlagh Reid (cox). James O’Sullivan replaced Shane O’Connell in the crew for Trinity.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, and David O'Brien, editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2017 champions list grow.

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15th April 2017

UCD's Senior Eight Impress in Final Flourish

#Rowing: UCD’s senior eight beat Trinity by two and a quarter lengths at Trinity Regatta today. The very strong crew, stroked by David O’Malley, fashioned a lead after the second bend and held off the hosts. This may be the last time this crew rows together competitively as O’Malley, Shane Mulvaney and Shane O’Connell (who did now row at Trinity) will be called up for international duty.

In a cracking junior 18 eight final, Commercial just pipped neighbours and rivals Neptune. Garda’s Damien Kelly and Piers Ryan won the senior doubles race. Commercial, who won the women’s senior eight, also took the women’s junior 18 eight.

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: UCD bt Trinity, 2 ¼ l. Club: Trinity bt UCD did not finish. Inter: UCD bt Cork BC row over. Novice: Queen’s bt Trinity easily. Junior: Commercial bt Neptune half canvas. Masters: Neptune bt Commercial ½ l.

Four – Inter, coxed: UCD bt Cork row over. Club, coxed: Neptune bt UCD A disq. Masters, coxed: Neptune bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Junior, coxed: Commercial bt Neptune row over.

Pair – Senior: UCD bt KSRV Nord easily

Sculling,

Quadruple – Nov, coxed: Commercial bt Sligo easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Commercial bt Blackrock easily. Jun 16: Commercial bt Three Castles 2l.

Double – Senior: Garda bt Tralee/Shandon 3/4l

Single – Inter: Sligo (Patterson) bt Commercial (Casey) easily. Club One: Portadown (N Hull) bt Shannon (C Carmody) 2 ½ l. Jun 18: Neptune (J Butler) bt Commercial (K Brown) 4l. Jun 16: Three Castles (Keogh) bt Three Castles (Flynn) easily. Masters: Athlone bt Commercial 3l.

Women

Eight – Senior: Commercial bt Trinity 3 ½ l Club, coxed: Commercial bt Trinity 2l. Nov: Trinity A bt KSRV Njord 2l. Jun 18: Commercial bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Jun 16: Graiguenamanagh bt Athlone easily.

Four – Inter, coxed: Trinity B bt Trinity A 1l. Club, coxed: Commercial B t Commercial A 3l.

Sculling – Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Commercial bt UCD easily.

Double - Senior: Neptune bt KSRV Njord easily.

Single – Inter: Neptune (Feerick) bt Athlone (Curley) easily. Club: Neptune (A Clark) bt Garda (J Ryan) 3l. Nov: Commercial (Ballot) bt Graiguenamanagh (B Hennessy) 3l. Jun 16: Neptune (Clarke) bt Neptune (Daymon) 2l.

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2nd April 2016

Commercial Senior Eight Best at Neptune Regatta

#Rowing: Commercial beat UCD in the men’s senior eights final at the Neptune Regatta in Islandbridge today. The winners had taken on and beaten Trinity in a fine race in the semi-finals, while UCD had beaten Trinity’s second crew. Commercial also won the men’s junior 18 quadruple.

Neptune Regatta, Islandbridge Saturday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: Commercial (C Dowling, M Maher, R Peguet, S McEoing, F Groome, D Burke, W Hurley, N Gahan; cox: M Crockett) bt UCD 3l, 3 mins 25 seconds. Club One: Commercial B bt St Michael’s 2l, 3:44. Novice: Trinity bt UCD, disq. Junior 18: Neptune bt Commercial 1¾ l, 3:40. Jun 16: Portora bt Blackrock. Masters: St Michael’s bt Neptune ½ l.

Four – Senior: Trinity bt UCD 1¼ l, 3:50. Intermediate, coxed: Trinity bt Commercial 2l, 4:23. Club One, coxed: Trinity bt Commercial 1l, 3:57. Masters, coxed: Carlow, Athlone, Northridge bt Neptune 3l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: Belfast RC bt Commercial A 3l, 4:06. Jun 18: Commercial bt Castleconnell 2l, 3:44. Jun 16, coxed: Commercial bt Castleconnell, disq. Jun 15, coxed: Castleconnell bt Portora 3l, 4:23.

Double – Jun 16: Killorglin bt Graiguenamanagh easily, 4:25. Jun 15: Three Castles bt Blackrock easily, 4:34.

Single – Senior: Trinity (M Corcoran) bt Neptune (K Coughlan), 2l 4:23. Inter: Clonmel (D Lynch) bt Castleconnell (E Whittle) 1l, 4:15. Club One: Castleconnell (E O’Connor) bt Commercial (J Healy), canvas; 4:29. Club Two: Trinity (S Addison) bt Clonmel (J McKenna) 3l, 4:40. Jun 18: Graiguenamanagh (A Lennon) bt Commercial (N Beggan) 1½ l. Jun 16: Clonmel (O’Donnell) bt Commercial (Browne) 2l, 4:38.

Women

Eight – Club One: Commercial bt Trinity 1l, 4:20. Novice: UCD bt Trinity B 4l, 4:22. Jun 16: Portora bt Carlow easily, 4:28.

Four, Club One, coxed: Commercial B bt Commercial A 3l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: Athlone bt St Michael’s 1l, 5:15. Jun 18: Commercial bt Belfast RC easily, 4:50. Jun 16, coxed: Portora bt Graiguenamanagh B, 5 min 16. Jun 15, coxed: St Michael’s A bt Offaly 6l, 4:56.

Double – Jun 15: Killorglin A bt Killorglin B 3l.

Single – Senior: Killorglin (M Dukarska) bt Garda (J Ryan) easily, 4:42. Club One: Killorglin (M O’Connor) bt Commercial (A Rodger) row over. Club Two: Garda (Ryan) bt Garda (Moore) easily, 5:14. Jun 18: Neptune (Feerick).

Jun 16: Belfast RC (A Hall) bt Castleconnell (L Mulligan) easily, 5:22.

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29th April 2014

Trinity Senior Eight are Afloat Rowers of the Month for April

#ROWING: The Trinity men’s senior eight are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for April. The crew won at the Irish Universities’ Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork, beating UCD, and they were convincing victors over NUIG/Gráinne Mhaol at the first Grand League regatta of the year, Skibbereen Regatta. Gráinne Mhaol/NUIG, in some combination, have won four of the last five national titles.

In March, Trinity had been beaten by UCD in a stirring battle in the Gannon Cup and they had also been joint winners of the Dublin Head of the River, dead-heating with a composite crew of Commercial, Gráinne Mhaol and Old Collegians.

Rower of the Month Awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2014. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2014 champions’ list grow.

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About The Middle Sea Race

The Rolex Middle Sea Race is a highly rated offshore classic, often mentioned in the same breath as the Rolex Fastnet, The Rolex Sydney–Hobart and Newport-Bermuda as a 'must do' race. The Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club co-founded the race in 1968 and 2007 was the 28th Edition. Save for a break between 1984 and 1995 the event has been run annually attracting 25–30 yachts. In recent years, the number of entries has rissen sharply to 68 boats thanks to a new Organising Committee who managed to bring Rolex on board as title sponsor for the Middle Sea Race.

The race is a true challenge to skippers and crews who have to be at their very best to cope with the often changeable and demanding conditions. Equally, the race is blessed with unsurpassed scenery with its course, taking competitors close to a number of islands, which form marks of the course. Ted Turner described the MSR as "the most beautiful race course in the world".

Apart from Turner, famous competitors have included Eric Tabarly, Cino Ricci, Herbert von Karajan, Jim Dolan, Sir Chay Blyth and Sir Francis Chichester (fresh from his round the world adventure). High profile boats from the world's top designers take part, most in pursuit of line honours and the record – competing yachts include the extreme Open 60s, Riviera di Rimini and Shining; the maxis, Mistress Quickly, Zephyrus IV and Sagamore; and the pocket rockets such as the 41-foot J-125 Strait Dealer and the DK46, Fidessa Fastwave.

In 2006, Mike Sanderson and Seb Josse on board ABN Amro, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, the super Maxis; Alfa Romeo and Maximus and the 2006 Rolex Middle Sea Race overall winner, Hasso Platner on board his MaxZ86, Morning Glory.

George David on board Rambler (ex-Alfa Romeo) managed a new course record in 2007 and in 2008, Thierry Bouchard on Spirit of Ad Hoc won the Rolex Middle Sea Race on board a Beneteau 40.7

The largest number of entries was 78 established in 2008.

Middle Sea Race History

IN THE BEGINNING

The Middle Sea Race was conceived as the result of sporting rivalry between great friends, Paul and John Ripard and an Englishman residing in Malta called Jimmy White, all members of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. In the early fifties, it was mainly British servicemen stationed in Malta who competitively raced. Even the boats had a military connection, since they were old German training boats captured by the British during the war. At the time, the RMYC only had a few Maltese members, amongst who were Paul and John Ripard.

So it was in the early sixties that Paul and Jimmy, together with a mutual friend, Alan Green (later to become the Race Director of the Royal Ocean Racing Club), set out to map a course designed to offer an exciting race in different conditions to those prevailing in Maltese coastal waters. They also decided the course would be slightly longer than the RORC's longest race, the Fastnet. The resulting course is the same as used today.

Ted Turner, CEO of Turner Communications (CNN) has written that the Middle Sea Race "must be the most beautiful race course in the world. What other event has an active volcano as a mark of the course?"

In all of its editions since it was first run in 1968 – won by Paul Ripard's brother John, the Rolex Middle Sea Race has attracted many prestigious names in yachting. Some of these have gone on to greater things in life and have actually left their imprint on the world at large. Amongst these one finds the late Raul Gardini who won line honours in 1979 on Rumegal, and who spearheaded the 1992 Italian Challenge for the America's Cup with Moro di Venezia.

Another former line honours winner (1971) who has passed away since was Frenchman Eric Tabarly winner of round the world and transatlantic races on Penduik. Before his death, he was in Malta again for the novel Around Europe Open UAP Race involving monohulls, catamarans and trimarans. The guest list for the Middle Sea Race has included VIP's of the likes of Sir Francis Chichester, who in 1966 was the first man to sail around the world single-handedly, making only one stop.

The list of top yachting names includes many Italians. It is, after all a premier race around their largest island. These include Navy Admiral Tino Straulino, Olympic gold medallist in the star class and Cino Ricci, well known yachting TV commentator. And it is also an Italian who in 1999 finally beat the course record set by Mistress Quickly in 1978. Top racing skipper Andrea Scarabelli beat it so resoundingly, he knocked off over six hours from the time that had stood unbeaten for 20 years.

World famous round the world race winners with a Middle Sea Race connection include yachting journalist Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Les Williams, both from the UK.

The Maxi Class has long had a long and loving relationship with the Middle Sea Race. Right from the early days personalities such as Germany's Herbert Von Karajan, famous orchestra conductor and artistic director of the Berliner Philarmoniker, competing with his maxi Helisara IV. Later came Marvin Greene Jr, CEO of Reeves Communications Corporation and owner of the well known Nirvana (line honours in 1982) and Jim Dolan, CEO of Cablevision, whose Sagamore was back in 1999 to try and emulate the line honours she won in 1997.

THE COURSE RECORD

The course record was held by the San Francisco based, Robert McNeil on board his Maxi Turbo Sled Zephyrus IV when in 2000, he smashed the Course record which now stands at 64 hrs 49 mins 57 secs. Zephyrus IV is a Rechiel-Pugh design. In recent years, various maxis such as Alfa Romeo, Nokia, Maximus and Morning Glory have all tried to break this course record, but the wind Gods have never played along. Even the VOR winner, ABN AMro tried, but all failed in 2006.

However, George David came along on board Rambler in 2007 and demolished the course record established by Zephyrus IV in 2000. This now stands at 1 day, 23 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

At A Glance - Middle Sea Race 2024

First held: 1968

Organising Authority: Royal Malta Yacht Club

Start

The 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race will start on Saturday, 19 October 2024.

Grand Harbour, Valletta: seven separate starts, at 10-minute intervals, from 11:00 CEST Saturday, 21 October 2024

Start Line: between the Saluting Battery, Upper Barrakka Gardens (Valletta) and Fort St Angelo (Birgu)

Various vantage points all around the Grand Harbour, high up on the bastions or at water level. Harbour access for spectator boats is restricted during the period of the start.

Course

Set in the heart of the Mediterranean and is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It starts and finishes in Malta, passes two active volcanoes and takes in the deep azure waters surrounding Sicily, and the Aeolian and Egadi Islands, as well as lonelier outposts of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, both closer to the African continent than Europe.

Length: 606 nautical miles (1,122km)

Outright Race Record: 33h 29m 28s, Argo, United States, Jason Carroll

Monohull Race Record: 40h 17m 50s, Comanche, Cayman Is, Mitch Booth