Cousins’ circumnavigation was heavy weather but worth the waves

GREEN AND RED Spailpin off Clare Island.

Áine Ryan

SINCE the sea is a second home for Westport sailors and cousins, Marcus Ryan (24) and Louis Mulloy (25) the 704 nautical mile 2016 Volvo Round Ireland Race was – well, not quite – a walk in the park. The race is Ireland’s premier offshore yacht race, and the second longest race in the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) calendar.
Up against ‘some very exotic offshore racing yachts, including the 88 Rambler and three Multi One Design 70ft offshore racing trimarans’ which broke all previous records competing the circumnavigation in circa 38 hours, the Spailpín (owned by Michael Cannon) was the second smallest and very nearly the slowest in the fleet and had never been in an offshore race previously. However, the pair were the youngest to ever complete the race in the double-handed category (as distinct from a full crew).  
The fact that Ryan is a trainee engineering officer in the Irish Naval Service, and Louis, a hugely experienced offshore sailor with over 40,000 offshore sailing miles completed,was a great help addressing many of the preparatory (fitting and fabrication) and practical challenges faced.
“The start was massively exciting as 52 boats in the Monohull fleet all rushed at exactly the same time to cross an imaginary start line between the Irish Naval Vessel LÉ Aisling and the Wicklow Pier. Spailpín started reasonably well but had difficulty trying to get clean wind in a fleet of bigger faster boats,” they say.  
Before long the fleet had stretched out with the faster boats pulling away and Rambler, the ultimate winner, just a distant shape on the horizon. However, the Spailpín pair benefited from ‘an astute tactical decision to keep more offshore than the rest of the fleet in an effort to find more wind and the cousins were doing well as they sailed south along the Wicklow coast’.
Battered by heavy winds, a number of crews retired from the race to the shelter of the ports of Cork and Kinsale.  Spailpín sailed well in her heavy weather configuration as they powered toward the Old Head of Kinsale.  
Their competitiveness meant they made a series of strategic decisions, sometimes bringing them right offshore, ion a bid to gain ground.  

Eagle Island
AS they rounded Eagle Island off north Mayo, competitor Pyxis was still eluding them.
“In a lull in the heaviest of the wind we hoisted the kite once more, heading for the Donegal coast near Bundoran. Making some good decisions by gybing off the windshifts, we soon found themselves on the advantageous side of the course with Pyxis stuck outside. Passing just north of Arranmore, Spailpín was suddenly 2nm (nautical miles) ahead of Pyxis who were still yet to fly a spinnaker. Approaching Tory Island the sun broke through and the wind eased to around 15 knots so that we could finally fly the big red and green kite,” the continue.  
Unfortunately, the wind died at Inistrahull, north-east of Mailin Head and Ireland’s most northerly island,  and they were forced to drop anchor as the rest of the fleet sailed onwards.
“Daylight found us back in a three boat race with Albireo and Pyxis having found wind and good fortune to just cruise through the tidal gates which had ensnared them on Spailpín,” they explain.
Ultimately, they crossed the finish line in a respectable 33rd place out of 52 starting boats, finishing nine minutes after their northeast coast rivals, Pyxis, in a final time of six days, four hours 13 minutes and three seconds after they began their voyage on June 18.
“Overall, we were delighted with the result given the very challenging conditions which prevailed in the race. From chatting with other competitors we learned that we had in fact pushed harder than a significant number who flew no spinnaker on the windy west coast. Once again though, the achievement would not have been possible without the generosity of those who supported the campaign and especially Michael Cannon who was so kind as to let us have the use of the boat,” the sailing cousins said.
They also expressed their gratitude to the members of Mayo Sailing Club, Mayo County Council and members of the wider Connacht sailing community including Yannick Lemonnier of WestSails.ie in Galway.