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#Rowing: Sanita Puspure won the women’s category at the Armada Cup in Switzerland. The Old Collegians sculler, competing for the first time in her new boat, was the fastest senior woman by over 20 seconds. Damir Martin of Croatia outpaced Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand to win the men’s open category. World champion Ondrej Synek was 12th.

Armada Cup, Bern, Switzerland  (Selected Results)

Men, Open: 1 D Martin (Croatia) 33 mins 16.39 seconds, 2 M Drysdale (New Zealand) 33:40.73, 3 P Fraga (Portugal) 33:48.10.

Women, Open: 1 S Puspure (Ireland) 37:50.84, 2 M Milosevic (Croatia) 38:13.68, 3 K Milosevic (Croatia) 39:10.90.

Published in Rowing

#VOR - In the latest video update following the construction of the Volvo Ocean Race's new one-design yacht, VOR expert Rick Deppe travels to the Decision plant in Lausanne, Switzerland to take a look at the production of the boat's internal structure.

The new footage shows the 'sandwich' construction of the lightweight internal frame of foam and carbon fibre which will give the yachts the strength and rigidity that will make them both fast and safe on the open sea.

Previously the series visited the USA, Italy and France for an all-round catch-up on the progress of the new VOR 65 design.

Fans of the Volvo Ocean Race should expect a "very forward thinking" design when the finished boat is finally unveiled ahead of the next edition of the round-the-world race.

As reported on Afloat.ie last week, Team SCA have unveiled the livery for their VOR 65 which they intend to launch when ready to race later this year.

Published in Ocean Race
RTÉ presenters Kathryn Thomas and Gráinne Seoige were among the 2,000 competitors who crossed the finish line at the Ironman triathlon in Galway yesterday.
According to the Irish Independent, the duo took part in the relay competition in aid of Irish Autism Action.
Meanwhile, fellow celebrity and Boyzone star Keith Duffy took on the challenge of completing the entire 70.3-mile course, finishing with a time of 5 hours 40 minutes.
The first Ironman event to be held in Galway comprised a swim across Galway Bay, a 90km cycle across Connemara and a 21km run through the streets of the City of the Tribes.
However adverse conditions at the start of the race saw the swimming stage reduced from 1.9km to 700m for safety reasons.
Among the elite competitors, first home was Switzerland's Mike Aigroz, with a time of 3:50:12. Best among the Irish men was Cork's Owen Cummins at 4:01:26.
Britain's Lucy Gossage came first in the women's section at 4:02:09, while Irish national record holder Joyce Wolfe set a time of 5 hours 44 seconds.

RTÉ presenters Kathryn Thomas and Gráinne Seoige were among the 2,000 competitors who crossed the finish line at the Ironman triathlon in Galway yesterday.

According to the Irish Independent, the duo took part in the relay competition in aid of Irish Autism Action.

Meanwhile, fellow celebrity and Boyzone star Keith Duffy took on the challenge of completing the entire 70.3-mile course, finishing with a time of 5 hours 40 minutes.

The first Ironman event to be held in Galway comprised a swim across Galway Bay, a 90km cycle across Connemara and a 21km run through the streets of the City of the Tribes.

However adverse conditions at the start of the race saw the swimming stage reduced from 1.9km to 1km for safety reasons.

Among the elite competitors, first home was Switzerland's Mike Aigroz, with a time of 3:50:12. Best among the Irish men was Cork's Owen Cummins at 4:01:26.

Britain's Lucy Gossage came first in the women's section at 4:02:09, while Irish national record holder Joyce Wolfe set a time of 5 hours 44 seconds.

Correction: The original version of this story had the distance of the swimming stage as reduced from 1.9km to 700m, but the official Ironman Galway website confirms the swim distance as 1km.

Published in Galway Harbour
Aisling Smith was the Irish team's best performer at the Junior Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in the Czech Republic, the Evening Herald reports.
Smith finished ninth in the women's K1 classic race at the event in Opava at the end of last month.
Her time of 17:48.31 put her 42 seconds behind the winner, Switzerland's Melanie Mathys.
Elsewhere at Opava, in the men's K1 classic Iomhar Mac Giolla Phádraig finished 23rd, Daniel Grimes was 43rd and Bearach O Casaide 44th.  In the K1 men's team race the Irish placed 12th, and Mac Giolla Phádraig came 39th in the K1 sprint.

Aisling Smith was the Irish team's best performer at the Junior Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in the Czech Republic, the Evening Herald reports.

Smith finished ninth in the women's K1 classic race at the event in Opava at the end of last month.
Her time of 17:48.31 put her 42 seconds behind the winner, Switzerland's Melanie Mathys.

Elsewhere at Opava, in the men's K1 classic Iomhar Mac Giolla Phádraig finished 23rd, Daniel Grimes was 43rd and Bearach O Casaide placed 44th. In the K1 men's team race the Irish placed 12th, and Mac Giolla Phádraig came 39th in the K1 sprint.

Published in Canoeing

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual offshore yacht racing event with an increasingly international exposure attracting super maxi yachts and entries from around tne world. It is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km).

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts in Sydney Harbour at 1pm (AEDT) on Monday 26 December.

This is the 77th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The inaugural race was conducted in 1945 and has run every year since, apart from 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

88 boats started the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, with 50 finishing.

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - FAQs

The number of Sydney Hobart Yacht Races held by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia since 1945 is 75

6,257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

About 60,061 sailors have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race between 1945 and 2019

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

116 in 2004 (59 finished); 117 in 2014 (103 finished); 157 in 2019 (154 finished)

Nine starters in the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945

In 2015 and 2017 there were 27, including the 12 Clipper yachts (11 in 2017). In the record entry of 371 yachts in the 50th in 1994, there were 24 internationals

Rani, Captain John Illingworth RN (UK). Design: Barber 35’ cutter. Line and handicap winner

157 starters, 154 finishers (3 retirements)

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW. Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish 

1 day 9 hours 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017 by LDV Comanche after Wild Oats XI was penalised one hour in port/starboard incident for a finish time of 1d 9h 48m 50s

The oldest ever sailor was Syd Fischer (88 years, 2015).

As a baby, Raud O'Brien did his first of some six Sydney Hobarts on his parent's Wraith of Odin (sic). As a veteran at three, Raud broke his arm when he fell off the companionway steps whilst feeding biscuits to the crew on watch Sophie Tasker sailed the 1978 race as a four-year-old on her father’s yacht Siska, which was not an official starter due to not meeting requirements of the CYCA. Sophie raced to Hobart in 1979, 1982 and 1983.

Quite a number of teenage boys and girls have sailed with their fathers and mothers, including Tasmanian Ken Gourlay’s 14-year-old son who sailed on Kismet in 1957. A 12-year-old boy, Travis Foley, sailed in the fatal 1998 race aboard Aspect Computing, which won PHS overall.

In 1978, the Brooker family sailed aboard their yacht Touchwood – parents Doug and Val and their children, Peter (13), Jacqueline (10), Kathryne (8) and Donald (6). Since 1999, the CYCA has set an age limit of 18 for competitors

Jane (‘Jenny’) Tate, from Hobart, sailed with her husband Horrie aboard Active in the 1946 Race, as did Dagmar O’Brien with her husband, Dr Brian (‘Mick’) O’Brien aboard Connella. Unfortunately, Connella was forced to retire in Bass Strait, but Active made it to the finish. The Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the first female skipper to finish the race

In 2019, Bill Barry-Cotter brought Katwinchar, built in 1904, back to the start line. She had competed with a previous owner in 1951. It is believed she is the oldest yacht to compete. According to CYCA life member and historian Alan Campbell, more than 31 yachts built before 1938 have competed in the race, including line honours winners Morna/Kurrewa IV (the same boat, renamed) and Astor, which were built in the 1920s.

Bruce Farr/Farr Yacht Design (NZL/USA) – can claim 20 overall wins from 1976 (with Piccolo) up to and including 2015 (with Balance)

Screw Loose (1979) – LOA 9.2m (30ft); Zeus II (1981) LOA 9.2m

TKlinger, NSW (1978) – LOA 8.23m (27ft)

Wild Oats XI (2012) – LOA 30.48m (100ft). Wild Oats XI had previously held the record in 2005 when she was 30m (98ft)

©Afloat 2020