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Displaying items by tag: Fast Military Rescue Boat

An apparent coastguard vessel from the United States has washed up in the Aran Islands today (Tuesday 3 September).

In a post on their Facebook page, the Doolin Ferry Company reported spotting an object in the water on the way to Inis Oírr that turned out to be an upturned boat.

With the help of a local fishing boat and a number of islanders, the red boat was brought onto the beach and investigated for clues — the biggest being its serial number.

That identified the vessel as “Fast Military Rescue Boat”.

It’s not yet clear how long the boat has been in the water, and how it came to drift to Ireland’s shores.

But the ferry company’s appeal for more information has potentially identified it as boat built in 2015 for use in gunnery training by the US Navy.

David K Hunt of Alabama-based Silver Ships says the vessel is a “foam collar boat” used for target practice.

“We do air collar boats that are intended to sink, not float to Ireland,” he added.

Published in Coastal Notes

About Match Racing

A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.

In yacht racing, it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consisting of 2, 3 or 4 boats compete together in a team race, with their results being combined.

A match race consists of two identical boats racing against each other. With effective boat handling and clever use of wind and currents, a trailing boat can escape the grasp of the leader and pass. The leader uses blocking techniques to hold the other boat back. This one-on-one duel is a game of strategy and tactics.

About the World Match Racing Tour

Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body – World Sailing – and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion. Previous champions include Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR), Taylor Canfield (USA), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Peter Holmberg (ISV), Adam Minoprio (NZL), Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Bertrand Pace (FRA), Jesper Radich (DEN), Phil Robertson (NZL) and Ian Williams (GBR). Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD23million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors