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Clontarf's Trevor Smyth Defending Sydney-Auckland Title in Former Patches

8th October 2025
“Historic
Historic TP52 veteran - Australian Mickey Martin's TP52 Frantic was originally Eamonn Conneely's first Patches

Inaugurated in 2024, the 1250-mile Trans-Tasman Sydney-Auckland Race is a demanding offshore challenge. Line honours in the maiden race were taken by the Santa Cruz 72 Antipodes, while the overall winner was "the Irish boat", Mickey Martin's updated TP52 Frantic, which, at the beginning of time as we know it, was Eamonn Conneely of Connemara's first Patches.

The 2025 Sydney-Auckland gets going this Saturday, and once again the headline players are Antipodes and Frantic, with Frantic seen as the Irish boat in more ways than one, as once again a lead crewmember is Trevor Smyth, formerly of Clontarf but now very much into the Australian sailing scene.

Published in Racing
WM Nixon

About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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