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Displaying items by tag: Stand Up Paddle

It’s 38 miles from Campbeltown on the southeastern corner of the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland to Cushendall on the Antrim Coast across the North Channel.

Four men from Northern Ireland achieved this stamina-sapping feat in a fundraising prone paddle called Channel 38 on Thursday last. They raised valuable funds for the RNLI and the Air Ambulance Northern Ireland.

The four paddleboarders with Carla Jackson a volunteer with Campbeltown RNLI Photo Campbeltown RNLIThe four paddleboarders with Carla Jackson a volunteer with Campbeltown RNLI Photo Campbeltown RNLI

Brothers Carl and Jamie Russell, Connel McBrearty and Colm Watters were the intrepid four who paddled the 38 miles from Campbeltown RNLI station, and they were greeted by an excited crowd when they arrived at Redbay Lifeboat station just before dark on Thursday last.

The organiser, Carl Russell, has chosen Air Ambulance Northern Ireland after the touching story of John and Maura McAuley. Mr and Mrs McAuley sadly lost their son, Ronan, due to adult death syndrome a few years ago. He also has chosen the RNLI as their second charity, seeing first-hand how it saves lives at sea. Carl Russell is the founder of Sub6, a surf school based in Northern Ireland.

Stephen McKenzie accompanied them on the support vessel.

You can donate here

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#surfing – The Irish Surfing Association (ISA) is planning to introduce up to 500 girls and women to Stand Up Paddle, one of the world's fastest growing water sports, at a weekend for women on the 10/11 May at one of Ireland's leadng yacht clubs, the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.  

Stand Up Paddle or SUP is an ancient discipline of surfing that has re-emerged in recent years and is taking the world by storm. SUP can be enjoyed by everyone. Learning the basics is physically less demanding then surfing and it does not require waves to get going, therefore can be enjoyed on calm water.

The weekend is free. A team of all-female instructors will be on hand and all equipment required to get going will be supplied. Participants will only need bring a towel and swimming suit.

Our Stand Up Paddle weekend is hosted under the Women in Sport Initiative, run by the Irish Sports Council, to encourage more Irish women to participate in sport, and supported by the National Yacht Club.

For further information and booking contact-

Zoё Lally, Development Officer, Irish Surfing Association LTD, Easkey Surfing & Information Centre, Easkey, Co Sligo, Ireland Tel: Office: 096 49428 Mobile: 087 2333789

Published in Surfing

The Round Britain & Ireland Race

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race will feature a wide variety of yachts racing under the IRC rating rule as well as one design and open classes, such as IMOCA, Class40 and Multihulls. The majority of the fleet will race fully crewed, but with the popularity of the Two-Handed class in recent years, the race is expected to have a record entry.

The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race starts on Sunday 7th August 2022 from Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK.

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is organised by The Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with The Royal Yacht Squadron.

It is run every four years. There have been nine editions of the Round Britain and Ireland Race which started in 1976 Sevenstar has sponsored the race four times - 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and has committed to a longterm partnership with the RORC

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is a fully crewed non-stop race covering 1,805 nautical miles and is open to IRC, IRC Two Handed, IMOCA 60s, Class40s, Volvo 65s and Multihulls that will race around Britain and Ireland, starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes on the Isle of Wight starting after Cowes Week on Sunday 7 August 2022

The last edition of the race in 2018 attracted 28 teams with crews from 18 nations. Giles Redpath's British Lombard 46 saw over victory and Phil Sharp's Class40 Imerys Clean Energy established a new world record for 40ft and under, completing the course in 8 days 4 hrs 14 mins 49 secs.

The 1,805nm course will take competitors around some of the busiest and most tactically challenging sailing waters in the world. It attracts a diverse range of yachts and crew, most of which are enticed by the challenge it offers as well as the diversity and beauty of the route around Britain and Ireland with spectacular scenery and wildlife.

Most sailors agree that this race is one of the toughest tests as it is nearly as long as an Atlantic crossing, but the changes of direction at headlands will mean constant breaks in the watch system for sail changes and sail trim

Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race Records:

  • Outright - OMA07 Musandam-Oman Sail, MOD 70, Sidney Gavignet, 2014: 3 days 03:32:36
  • Monohull - Azzam Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, VO 65, Ian Walker, 2014: 4 days 13:10:28
  • Monohull All-Female - Team SCA, VO 65, Samantha Davies, 2014: 4 days 21:00:39
  • Monohull 60ft or less - Artemis Team Endeavour, IMOCA 60, Brian Thompson/Artemis Ocean Racing, 2014: 5 days 14:00:54
  • Monohull 40ft or less – Imerys Clean Energy, Class40, Phil Sharp, 2018: 8 days 4:14:49