SUNSET TONIGHT or before sunrise tomorrow – that’s the latest prediction for the arrival of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet into Galway Bay this weekend.
Race organisers have also temporarily renamed the bay “Galway ablaze”, with plans for “eco-friendly” bonfires on the Aran Islands as the seven yachts complete their last ocean leg.
Galway city is en fête to welcome in the crews, who have endured constant pounding in addition to the normal deprivations over the last 48 hours.
A Formula one-type celebrity welcome, complete with champagne, is planned for each yacht as it berths in Galway docks, and the race village opens to the public today.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen may visit the Volvo Ocean Race village tomorrow, and the official opening of the two-week festival is to be performed by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen and mayor of Galway Pádraig Conneely tomorrow at 10pm.
Dr Mark White of Nowcasting Weather, which is providing official forecasting for the Galway stopover through askmoby.com, said the fleet was travelling at 20 knots on average yesterday in gale force 32 knot winds.
“It is quite an incredible speed – powerboats would barely be able to keep up with the yachts sailing at that rate,” he said. “Once they come off the back of the low-pressure system and into Galway Bay, they will drop their speed. If they hold it together, they could all be in well before sunrise.”
Guy Salter, media crew member of Ericsson 4, reported yesterday from the windlashed deck: “The sound is unbelievable – it’s not the classic wind whistling in the rigging, but more the yacht whistling through the air. The sound is a mix between the turbo charge of an engine and the sound of a half-filled bottle as you blow over it – only louder.”
He admitted to having sustained so many bruises in recent days that he would be keeping his shirt well on his back on Galway’s “beaches”.
The US flag-bearer, Puma, had to drop sails and fit an emergency rudder, while the Irish-Chinese Green Dragon and Dutch-Irish Team Delta Lloyd were keeping well up with the fleet.
The RNLI is placing two additional lifeboats on temporary duty.
'Maggie B' report
A “combination of factors” led to the sinking of the Maggie B fishing vessel off the southeast coast three years ago, according to the official investigation just published.
Skipper Glynn Cott issued a Mayday but the vessel rolled to starboard and capsized. Mr Cott and crewman Jan Sankowski are still "missing". One crewman survived.
The investigation board said it is "not possible" to identify a definitive cause of the loss but there was no record of the vessel's stability being checked after modifications were done.
