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Displaying items by tag: Conor Totterdell

Conor Totterdell, hailing from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, recently participated in the 2023 Sydney-Hobart Race, finishing in seventh place in IRC Division 1 on the TP52 named Frantic before moving on to Sydney Harbour cruiser fleet success.

After returning to the water in the new year, he has won several significant cruiser class events in Sydney. In particular, he won the NSW ORC State Championships 2024, DIV 2, on 'Let's Get it on' (Corby 36) and also claimed victory in the Sydney Harbour Regatta 2024, DIV 2, on the same boat.

The National Yacht Club sailor has set his sights on some notable regattas in Sydney, including 'Sail Port Stephen's' at the end of April and the Australian National Championships on April 5-7.

Totterdell's Sydney trip will culminate in the TP52, Frantic, taking on the epic 1,064nm race from Sydney to Nouméa, New Caledonia, beginning on May 25th.

Published in National YC
Tagged under

The Royal Cork’s Volvo Ocean Race winner Justin Slattery is among the Irish interest involved in this year’s Chicago Yacht Cub Race to Mackinac, which got under way yesterday (Friday 12 July).

Afloat.ie’s Sailor of the Month for June 2015 — for this key role in Abi Dhabi Ocean Racing’s win in that year’s VOR — is racing Whitehawk, a classic 105ft super yacht, in the world’s oldest annual freshwater distance race, now in its 111th running.

More than 2,000 sailors across 270 boats are racing the 289 nautical miles offshore from Chicago, north across the length of Lake Michigan, to where it meets Lake Huron at Mackinac Island.

Another Irish entrant is National Yacht Club sailor Conor Totterdell, who is racing the J109 Smee Again, part-owned by Irishman David Neenan.

The boat, which sets off with the more nimble boats in the race later today (Saturday 13 July), is in contention for ORR winners as well as the J109 one-design trophy, won by Neenan and his fellow owners’ previous boat, Impluse (J111).

Later this month, Totterdell will join Slattery on board Whitehawk for the Bayview Mackinac Boat Race from Port Huron (north of Detroit) to Mackinac.

Whitehawk, a custom-built King 104’ from 1978, is racing in the cruising division of ‘The Mac’ that set off yesterday, and as of 12.30pm IST was due east of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. (Follow along with the online race tracker HERE.)

Whitehawk 1

Whitehawk 2

It was recently bought by Peter Thornton who owned Il Mostro (Puma V70), on which Justin Slattery and Willie Lynch were regular crew.

Despite the distance from this island, The Mac has longstanding Irish connections. In 2002, the late Roy Disney, who was certainly no stranger to these shores, set the race’s monohull record of 23 hours and 30 minutes in his Maxi Z68, Pyewacket.

Published in Offshore

Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat

For the first time in sailing's Olympic history, a Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat event will be on the slate at the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition.

The Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat will join kiteboarding, windsurfing, multihulls, singlehanded and doublehanded dinghies and skiffs, promoting the diversity of the sport. This, in turn, will support World Sailing's desire to promote and grow universality in all disciplines and increase female participation with gender-equal medals and athletes.

Offshore sailing is the ultimate test of endurance, skill, discipline, navigation and critical decision making.

Embracing a major part of sailing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will enable new stars of the sport to come to the forefront.

Qualification

Offshore sailing is a universal discipline that every World Sailing Member National Authority (MNA) can participate in.

Up to 20 nations will be on the start line at Paris 2024 and sailors from every continent will be represented. To qualify for the Olympic Games, continental qualification events will be held and competition for a spot will be hotly contested.

Equipment

For qualification events, World Sailing will approve a list of one-design boats that are already regionally available and can be accessed as a charter boat. Boats will be equalised to ensure fair competition.

For Paris 2024, World Sailing's Council will select a list of different Equipment it considers to meet the key criteria by 31 December 2020 and then make a decision on the Equipment, selecting from the list, no later than 31 December 2023.

MNAs, Class Associations and Manufacturers have all been invited to propose Equipment for the list and a World Sailing Working Party will evaluate each proposal. A recommended list will be presented to Council for approval in November 2020.

This recommended Equipment list will ensure that event organisers, MNAs and the sailors have opportunities to train and compete in Equipment that is readily available and affordable within their continent and country. It will also ensure each MNA has a fair opportunity to prepare for qualification events and eventually, Paris 2024.

Format

Starting and finishing in Marseille, the Mixed Offshore event is expected to last for either three days and two nights or four days and three nights off the French coastline and whoever crosses the finish line first will be declared Olympic champion.

The race course and length will be announced in the lead up to the start so the competition can take advantage of the latest weather forecast. Current options proposed include long and short courses heading towards the West and East of France.

Safety and Security

The French Navy and Mediterranean forces have extensive experience of supporting major oceanic sailing races. They will provide safety and security at Paris 2024.