It was inevitable that the Around Ireland Race would involve much more than just a race around Ireland. John Cooke went along to investigate the goings on . . .

It was set to be a huge event. In addition to the actual race around Ireland, the organisers had invited Fiona Pascoe and the Thundercats to come over from England for a race, as well as the new SuperStock series, fresh from their event in Penzance. In fact, the organisers had been so confident in the draw of the event that they had anticipated 150,000 visitors on the first weekend alone - and why not? After all, this was to be a free eight-day festival, with 500 performers, food stalls, a craft fair, street theatre, family amusements and live performances all week long. And all this in Galway, a town famed for its party atmosphere and with previous experience of hosting the Volvo Ocean Race. It was looking like a week that would live long in the memory . . .

The warm up
Galway kicked things off with the ever-entertaining Thundercat brigade. Short, furious races close to the spectators kept the public well entertained, while the shore-side entertainment got into full swing. The P1 SuperStock races (with the new Mercury 300XS powered class) then gave the crowds added pace, with speeds approaching 80mph. It was a great start to the week - so much so that the organisers’ own estimates were proving quite modest. In the event, more than

200,000 people turned out, plus an additional 5,000 for the Killybegs Extreme Festival and another 5,000 for the Sea Breeze Festival in Fenit. If ever proof were needed that powerboat racing still commands genuine pulling power, this was it . . .

The main event
The main event was of course the Around Ireland Race itself - and with the start positioned rather precariously on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, with nothing but open water between Galway and the USA, it was plain from the start that it was going to be a challenge just to finish, let alone win.

The pre-event favourites were definitely Marcus Hendrick’s newly refurbished Cinzano, and when I say refurbished, I don’t mean a coat of paint and a wash. Cinzano was treated to new engines in the form of a pair of Ilmor 710s (that’s 710hp each), with Mercury Number 6 Drives, a major hydraulic overhaul and a fresh paint job. Peter Unwin is fast becoming the hydraulic guru for this sort of thing, and he certainly produces great stuff.

Second favourites were Drew Langdon’s Buzzi RIB, crewed for this event by Tom Montgomery-Swan and Enda O’Coineen, who is something of a legend in RIB circles. He crossed the Atlantic in a tiny RIB before anyone else and, while it was also assisted by a sail (yes, he really did use a tiny RIB with a sail) you have to give the man credit. His co-pilot Tom, meanwhile, is the son of Hugo Montgomery-Swan, owner of RIB magazine and organiser of the Ribex exhibition, so he practically grew up playing with fast boats.

Wolf, an 8.5-metre Humber, and Seawolf, a ten-metre Humber, were entered by Pulsar Racing and, with experience from Round Britain 2008, they were also well aware that the race would be won by consistency rather than outright speed.

Dreamer, driven by Philip Fitzgibbon and Mick Shanahan in a ten-metre Excalibur, would only be finished and put on the water for the last three legs of the race, but the guys would enjoy themselves nonetheless. And last but not least, brothers John and Oisin Ryan with Gareth Tolan, brought along their Zodiac RIB to complete a small but plucky fi eld.

The action
Day One took the crews from Galway to Killibegs, and the Atlantic certainly lived up to its reputation. Cinzano set off at a restrained pace, knowing that, as the biggest and most powerful boat, the rest of the field would have to work much harder to keep up. Their tactics didn’t take long to bear fruit, as Tom and Enda in the Buzzi RIB found out the hard way that their boat wasn’t invincible. They stuffed it in a big way, filling the boat full of water and disabling the bulk of their electrics. After rigging up a fuel line to one of the outboards, they managed to get ashore to fix the boat but Day One was over for them. Only Cinzano and the two Pulsar boats made it to Killybegs. The rest of the fleet lost the fight to run at pace against a belligerent Atlantic Ocean and finished the leg by road. Day Two saw the crews head to Bangor and Tom and Enda again struggled with electrical problems, having spent pretty much the whole night trying to get the boat working. Sadly, they were problems that would keep coming back to haunt them until the last leg and the return trip to Galway.

Meanwhile Cinzano was off again and with their strongest challengers out of contention, they could concentrate on taking care not to over-stretch their boat. The Pulsar boys in Wolf and Seawolf put in another great day, while Zoolander also achieved their first finish of the week.

Day Three to Waterford saw another good day of racing but Day Four would again brutalise the fleet, with only Cinzano and Dreamer making it all the way to the overnight stop by water. Zoolander suffered some damage, Seawolf and Wolf were both forced to retire and the Buzzi again had to stop, this time in Castletownbere, with more engine problems caused by the Day One incident.

By this point, Day Five and the final run back to Galway was probably greeted with nothing but joy by the beaten up race fleet. And yet here, at last, we saw all six boats finish the leg. Cinzano came home first, with Dreamer in second place, followed by the Pulsar boats and Zoolander bringing up the rear.

The unequivocal result
Marcus Hendricks and Eric Smiley have to be congratulated for their victorious run in Cinzano. It was a totally faultless performance as far as results go, especially given the age of the boat. The Seawolf crew came home in second place with Justin McInerney (one of the organisers of the event) and Andrew Varley on board. Third place went to the second Pulsar boat, Wolf, with Zoolander, Dreamer and fi nally the Buzzi RIB of Tom and Enda that promised so much but showed its potential too late. Guinness ensued and the rest (at least until next year) is history . . .