Irish the darlings of world sailing

The leading yachts are in Sydney at the end of the second leg of nine in the Volvo Ocean Race, and Irish sailors have played prominent roles so far.

The Irish-built illbruck Challenge, with Dubliner Noel Drennan on board, overcame a near sinking on the first night out of Cape Town to maintain its 100 per cent record and a second Irishman, Gordon Maguire, is on the podium with a highly-creditable third place on Team News Corp.

Arriving in Sydney's Darling Harbour just after midnight on Tuesday, just 75 minutes ahead of Sweden's Team SEB after 24 days of hard ocean race-sailing through the worst of the Southern Ocean, Drennan was met on the dockside by his Australian wife Angela and son Zacery, and Belfast-born Ian Moore, the man he displaced for the 6,550-mile second leg from South Africa to Australia.

Drennan (40), considered to be one of the foremost sail-makers in the world, had his skills tested to the limit through the notorious Southern Ocean in constant gale-force, occasionally gusting to storm- and hurricane-force winds and mountainous seas, with freezing conditions and a plethora of icebergs thrown in for good measure.

"No one could possibly prepare you for the Southern Ocean," said the man they call "Nitro", making his debut in one of the most inhospitable seaways on the planet.

"Sure, people can describe it to you," explained Drennan. "But you have to be there to experience it. It is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, with what we call the 'freezing fire hose' full on, howling gales and seas of up to eight metres high throwing you around, and the noise is amazing."

Drennan picked up a rib injury when thrown around the galley, but his spirit remained indomitable throughout. "I think it was the relentless nature of the cold, the wet and the noise, sailing on, and on occasions beyond the edge, with thoughts of collision with one of the many icebergs at the back of your mind."

Having replaced navigator Moore because of his helmsmanship and specialist sail-maker skills for the punishing second leg, Drennan found himself overwhelmed with sail repairs throughout the Southern Ocean stretch of the third longest leg in the race.

"The (battery-powered) sewing machine was working overtime," said Drennan. "As was I, and between steering the boat, and repairing damaged sails, rest was in short supply."

A victory in the second leg looked less likely than retiral on a disastrous first night out of Cape Town on November 11th, when a bow hatch seal enabled a dangerous amount of water into the forward tank, making illbruck initially sluggish, and latterly on the verge of going down.

"It was the worst night of my 20-year sailing career, and we thought that was it, abandon ship, but skipper John Kostecki kept our collective heads, and we managed to bail out, stay afloat, do the repair and claw our way back towards the fleet," said Drennan.

He added: "It was a good two or three days before we started sailing properly, as none of us had had any sleep, and were all a bit shell-shocked. Survival and not victory was uppermost in our minds at that stage, but such is the team spirit and resilience on board that we gradually got ourselves back into contention by toughing it out and racing hard through the Southern Ocean."

In fact, in a highly competitive leg which saw five of the eight identical V.O.60 yachts in the lead at some stage, illbruck took the lead briefly on day 13, before losing it to the SEB outfit it overtook again with only 500 miles left to claim an unlikely victory for the second leg in a row.

"We had no thoughts of winning until the last 36 hours," said Drennan. "Then a podium finish seemed within our grasp, but when we overtook SEB on the home straight, the timing was perfect, as they had no way back."

Moore was noble about being the unfortunate 13th man on the quayside to welcome Drennan and his team-mates ashore after 24 days at sea.

"Amazing, fantastic, what a comeback, and, although I was disappointed to lose my place, I understood the rationale, and am just so pleased that the guys survived, and had the courage and skill to push for an unlikely, but richly-deserved victory," he said.

Having created the world's first yacht club, the Cork Harbour Water Club (now the Royal Cork Yacht Club) in 1720, the Cork connection with the top of the sport remains intact, with the Farr-designed boat having been built by former Cork-based boat-builder Killian Bushe.

Now based in Sweden, but having built illbruck at the team's headquarters in Leverkeusen in Germany, Bushe is conscious of the pressure on the builder to give the team the edge, especially with the design specification being identical for all eight yachts.

"Creating a fast boat is not about a single factor, but lots of small facets which add up," explained the man who learned his craft at the family business, the South Coast Boatyard in Cork.

Bushe continued: "Attention to detail, accuracy with the drawings, and coming in bang-on weight were vital, and I am delighted that the team survived the panic, and came through the rigours of the Southern Ocean with flying colours. It says as much about the crew as it does about the boat, and I'm very, very proud."

The American skipper of illbruck, John Kostecki, praised Bushe's boat building: "Killian Bushe and his team really delivered with a fast, strong boat, and, being first to completion, gave us much more time to prepare."

In third place into Sydney, the same finish as the 7,350-mile, 31-day opening leg from Southampton to Cape Town, Team News Corp has two Irishmen on board, helmsman Gordon Maguire, the three-times round-the world veteran who joined the squad in Cape Town, and bowman Justin Slattery, making his round-the-world debut.

Maguire (40) made a big difference according to English skipper Jez Fanstone: "Having someone of Gordon's experience, especially his helmsmanship through the rigours of the Southern Ocean, was a big plus for us, but it is very much a team effort."

Maguire, from Kilbarrack in Dublin, said: "I am old enough and experienced enough not to be impressed by many things now but News Corp, individually and collectively, really does impress me, and I really do think we will win the race overall. We are improving and learning with each leg, and the skill levels and team spirit are as good, if not better than I have ever seen before."

If illbruck Challenge and Team News Corp are enjoying the limelight, Team Tyco was out of luck, becoming the first major casualty of the race, retiring while in the lead with a broken rudder only five days into the second leg.

Tyco limped the 600 miles back to South Africa, undergoing significant repairs before being shipped to Sydney on board the container ship Katie.

Kerryman Damian Foxall (32) said: "It was pretty clear from the sound of the bang that something serious had happened, but it was especially disappointing being in the lead, and flying at the time. We really fancied our chances after a slightly disappointing opening leg."

Speaking from Freemantle, where he is on board the mother-ship en route to Sydney to rejoin the race, Foxall was upbeat about the prospects: "We have had added time to work on the boat, and to get some serious training and rest, so it's not all gloomy as we start to head for our home waters and the USA in the spring."

Playing catch-up is something Team Tyco and Foxall will need to get used to, but Drennan and illbruck will have greater short-term ambitions.

The Dubliner, with 17 Sydney to Hobart Races to his name, looks certain to retain his place for leg three from Sydney to Auckland, a 2,050 nautical mile dash leaving Sydney on St Stephen's Day and incorporating the 2001/2 Sydney to Hobart Race.

"The huge advantages of winning a leg are not only the elation brought about by victory, but the very practical aspect of having more time in port than anyone else, both to rest, recover, and work hard towards the next leg."

Asked whether he thought he might regain his place in the starting 12 for leg three, Northern Ireland's Moore was philosophical, saying: "I'll just have to wait until John (Kostecki, illbruck's skipper) announces the team, but it would be fantastic to sail with Noel. If not this short leg, where two navigators might be a luxury, then definitely for the last long leg of the race from Auckland to Rio de Janeiro."

Maguire and Slattery described themselves as, "very, very optimistic and upbeat", and, "confident we are getting better and better as the race goes on", but leading Irishman Drennan displays all the confidence that comes from success.

"Our objective from the outset was to be in the first three for every leg, and we have exceeded expectations, and we'll just stick to the game-plan, and see what transpires.

"However, as we 'got out of jail' a bit on November 11th off Cape Town, you just never know what is around the corner in this greatest race on earth."

The race leaves Sydney on St Stephen's Day, with the leaders expected in Auckland on January 3rd. The fleet then calls at Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Baltimore, La Rochelle and Gothenburg, before concluding in Kiel, northern Germany, on June 9th.