IRELAND’S ENTRY in this year’s Volvo Ocean around the world yacht race is due to leave a Chinese shipyard this week, on the first leg of its passage to Galway.
The Volvo Open 70 yacht was built at McConaghy Boats in Zhuhai, China, and will be taken by ship to Britain on May 8th.
The hull will be assembled and tested in Britain for two weeks in early June, before delivery to the Irish team’s home port in Galway.
Delays in manufacture mean the vessel will not compete in the Round Ireland race in June, but will train in Irish waters before leaving to train for the start of the ocean yacht race in Alicante, Spain, in October.
Ian Walker, skipper for the “Green Team” Irish entry, said he couldn’t wait to get the vessel to “start preparing for the adventure ahead of us all”.
Galway is the first Irish stopover for the event, formerly known as the Whitbread. Stops include Capetown, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro and Boston before Galway on May 23rd, 2009. The race will finish in St Petersburg.