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2008 BMW Round Ireland 2nd Toughest in Races History

With three gales during the 2008 BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race this years proved to be one of the toughest on man and racings machine. Only in 1990, when 26 out of the 61 entrants (43% of the fleet) were forced to retire primarily due to boat or rig damage, did the attrition rate exceed this years figures of 16 retirements from a fleet of 46 (35%).

Previous releases have mentioned the great value of previous Race experience and this years Overall Winner Aodhan Fitzgerald figures high up the table of frequent Round Irelanders having competed in 7 so far, last time as a Two Hander, with 4th overall his best result ‘til now. In addition from his student days on he has, with others on his crew, covered the course many times over delivering racing boats from the West to and from events in Howth, Dun Laoghaire and the Southern clubs. So he may well have passed the marks on the course more often than any other competitor.

Ireland West is the perfect title for Aodhan’s campaign for this years BMW Round Ireland. His Sponsors recruited by Larry Hynes include Discover Ireland.ie/west, Ireland’s West.ie, and Ireland West Airport Knock.
Virtually every member of his crew hails from the Western seaboard with 2 Kerrymen and one each from Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal. The only interloper on the boat was Neil Spain from Dublin.

Their only mishap during the Race was when their Speedo popped out of its holder allowing seawater to pour unnoticed for several hours down onto the galley. This wasn’t discovered until bubbles of water appeared on the cooker as they tried to prepare some hot food (provided by Magnetti’s, Galway).
With 4 sailors from the Gaelteacht on board, Irish was as frequently spoken as English. The crew didn’t leave the rail from Clare to the finish, wrapped in sail bags for warmth, murmuring quietly “as Gaeilge", and kept happy by the occasional cigarette.

Well done Ireland West, Aodhan, and crew on a great achievement -

Overall Winner - BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race 2008