THE IRISH CHALLENGE
The two sailors attempting the first rounding of Ireland on beach catamarans
have reached Cork, 153 nautical miles around the track of 760nm.
Setting off from Dublin on the afternoon of August 2nd, Digby Fox and Tim
Swinburn have made steady progress aboard two 16ft singlehanded Shadow
catamarans.
"We've had light winds," says Digby, "so we're averaging around 50nm through
the water each day. A chunk of this is zig-zagging upwind, so we're looking
forward to some downwind spinnaker days - that's when we can knock off
serious mileage."
The challenge for the two is to complete the trip by the 21st. The pair are
raising money to build a hydrotherapy pool in the UK, and readers can
sponsor them on the charity's website -
http://www.harrys-hydro.org -
through a secure online donation scheme courtesy of justgiving.com.
From Cork, the sailors head south-west towards Fastnet, then northwards up
the Atlantic west coast. Talking of the experience so far, Digby says:
"Ireland is beautiful, so stopping off each night is fun. Passers-by are
fascinated by the boats and what we're doing, mainly thinking we're nuts of
course. And the Irish sailing clubs are wonderfully helpful."
**********************************************************
SCUTTLEBUTT EUROPE #46 - 7 AUGUST 2002
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, go to
http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com 
