This article is from page 26 of the 2007-08-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 26 JPG
KILRUSH is on the crest of a wave as yachts man Ger O’Rourke has won the prestigious and hotly con- tested Rolex Fastnet Race for the local club.
The Limerick native has long been associated with the Kilrush Western Yacht Club and has owned a number of both very large and small racing yachts.
Chieftain sails under the flags of the Western Yacht Club and under her nominated homeport of Kil- rush Ireland, and thanks to her suc- cess the club and Kilrush are being brought to the attention of a world- VA Celomr- LOCO BCA ron
Last week the Cookson 50, was declared the overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race and its captain presented with the Fastnet Chal- lenge Cup and a Rolex Yacht master timepiece at the prize giving on Fri- day at the historic Royal Citadel in Plymouth.
The Farr-designed carbon fibre yacht finished Wednesday night at 19:43:44 local time with an elapsed sailing time of 55:04:43.
Ger O’Rourke previously brought honour to the local yacht club by winning the Cork Dry Gin Sailor of the Year 2006 and the Cork Dry Gin Sailor of the Month for January, 2006.
Ger is the director of the Limerick
based Civil Engineering and Con- struction Company Chieftain Con- struction Ltd and is a mechanical engineer with a marketing degree.
The engineer is an avid competi- tive sailor and has taken part in yacht racing for a number of years including the 2004 BMW Round Ireland Race in which he finished well up the field.
However in 2005 Ger decided to have his own custom built yacht and put a programme in place to achieve that ambition.
He planned a Cookson 50 racing yacht with a canting keel built and awarded the construction contract to a boatyard in New Zealand.
The result of this endeavour was
the now famous Chieftain. With it he took part in the internationally renowned Southern Hemisphere, Sydney, Australia to Hobart, Taz- mania Race in December 2005 and won the event, which was a most auspicious start to his racing ca- KsLo
Following the yacht’s success in the Southern Hemisphere, Chief- tain came north and in 2006 won a string of major races in North- ern Europe and the Mediterranean. Chieftain was named as the Irish Cruising Racing Association Yacht of the Year for 2006.
Chieftain is sailed with a crew of 12 to 15 people depending on race requirements.