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Displaying items by tag: Mark Pickel

At 27 years of age Peter O'Leary has more achievements than many Irish sailors gain in a lifetime. Ireland's Beijing Olympic representative talks in this podcast below about his first tack in an Oppy (aged four), and how those formative years on the Owenabue river in Crosshaven have shaped his sailing career.

Latest Peter O'Leary Olympic Sailing News here.

His family continue to be a big influence (including one Grandad who won a Bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics). His early sailing was in Optimist and Laser dinghies and the ocassional cruiser until he started racing Cork's own 1720 sportsboat, a move the former Helmsmans Champion says was another big influence on him.

O'Leary reveals how local encouragement from Royal Cork club mate and four times Olympian Mark Mansfield first put him into the Star in 2007, a move that has given Ireland some stellar results.

He's sailing the Star now with David Burrows in a campaign for London 2012, the pair having just completed a month of training in Miami, Florida. 

The pair have secured a competitive edge through a new P Star boat that is proving very fast downwind. The boat and the sailors themselves will be back in Ireland next September for a crack at the class European title when it is sailed in Dun Laoghaire.

olearystar

Peter (left) and his stand in German Crew Frithjof Kleen celebrate their win in the Sail for Gold Regatta in August. Photo: Onedition

Peter O Leary – Sailing CV summary

1996     Optimist Europeans  Palma

1997     Optimist Europeans  Slovenia

1999     ISA Representative  Youth Worlds – Finland  24th place from 31 countries
2000     ISA Representative Youth Worlds – Sydney 12th place from 30 countries
2001     ISA Representative Youth Worlds – France   6th place from 39 countries

2000 / 2001/ 2002  Laser Irish National Champion

2005 / 2006    1720  National Champion

1999  – 2006  Tactician on several winning keelboats inc. Boat of the Series at Scottish Series(2004 and 2006) and at Sovereigns Cup 2005.

2006       ISA Helmsmans Champion

2008 Olympic Representative, Beijing

2010 Winner Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth

2010 Member of Winning Irish Rolex Commodore's Cup Team

Below a youtube clip of  Star keelboat sailing from Germany's Kiel Week

Published in Olympics 2012

Round Ireland Yacht Race Information

The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland's classic offshore yacht race starts from Wicklow Sailing Club (WSC) and is organised jointly with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC). This page details the very latest updates from the 2008 race onwards including the race schedule, yacht entries and the all-important race updates from around the 704-mile course. Keep up to date with the Round Ireland Yacht Race here on this one handy reference page.

2020 Round Ireland Race

The 2020 race, the 21st edition, was the first race to be rescheduled then cancelled.

Following Government restrictions over COVID-19, a decision on the whether or not the 2020 race can be held was made on April 9 2020 to reschedule the race to Saturday, August 22nd. On July 27th, the race was regrettably cancelled due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

Because of COVID-19, the race had to have a virtual launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club for its 21st edition

In spite of the pandemic, however, a record entry was in prospect for 2020 with 50 boats entered with four weeks to go to the race start. The race was also going big on size and variety to make good on a pre-race prediction that the fleet could reach 60. An Irish offshore selection trial also looked set to be a component part of the 2020 race.

The rescheduling of the race to a news date emphasises the race's national significance, according to Afloat here

FAQs

704 nautical miles, 810 miles or 1304 kilometres

3171 kilometres is the estimate of Ireland's coastline by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

SSE Renewables are the sponsors of the 2020 Round Ireland Race.

Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London and The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin.

Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, August 22nd 2020

Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs

Leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

It depends on the boat. The elapsed record time for the race is under 40 hours but most boats take five or six days to complete the course.

The Race Tracker is https://afloat.ie/sail/events/round-ireland/item/25789-round-ireland-yacht-race-tracker-2016-here.

The idea of a race around Ireland began in 1975 with a double-handed race starting and finishing in Bangor organised by Ballyholme Yacht Club with stopovers in Crosshaven and Killybegs. That race only had four entries. In 1980 Michael Jones put forward the idea of a non-stop race and was held in that year from Wicklow Sailing Club. Sixteen pioneers entered that race with Brian Coad’s Raasay of Melfort returning home after six days at sea to win the inaugural race. Read the first Round Ireland Yacht Race 1980 Sailing Instructions here

 

The Round Ireland race record of 38 h 37 min 7 s is held by MOD-70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail and was set in June 2016.

George David’s Rambler 88 (USA) holds the fastest monohull race time of two days two hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds set in the 2016 race.

William Power's 45ft Olivia undertook a round Ireland cruise in September 1860

 

Richard Hayes completed his solo epic round Ireland voyage in September 2018 in a 14-foot Laser dinghy. The voyage had seen him log a total of 1,324 sea miles (2,452 kilometres) in 54 sailing days. in 1961, the Belfast Lough Waverly Durward crewed by Kevin and Colm MacLaverty and Mick Clarke went around Ireland in three-and-a-half weeks becoming the smallest keelboat ever to go round. While neither of these achievements occurred as part of the race they are part of Round Ireland sailing history

© Afloat 2020

At A Glance – Round Ireland Yacht Race 2024

Race start: Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, June 22 2024

There will be separate starts for monohulls and multihulls.

Race course:  leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

Race distance: is approximately 704 nautical miles or 1304 kilometres.

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