As I sit here in my office with a glowing fire, a pot of tea and a generous wedge of carrot cake, I feel a pang of regret that I am not doing something just a bit more extreme - and that regret feels particularly acute because reports from the inaugural Round Ireland Powerboat & RIB Challenge are now flooding in…

Round Ireland Powerboat and RIB Challenge crews take a breather.

Round Ireland Powerboat and RIB Challenge crews take a breather.



Plainly, this 1,000-mile Suzuki-sponsored epic, comprising a fleet of 27 RIBs from all over Europe, was every bit as spectacular as we expected. The entrants witnessed everything from light breezes to blinding rainstorms, with several RIBs even getting caught by a 300-foot twister and being forced to spend the night on a beach beneath the welcome shelter of a mountain. There was also a helicopter rescue off the Welsh coast and an RNLI lifeboat rescue off Loop Head - and as if a daily menu of high-octane scares wasn’t enough, the flotilla also enjoyed constant sightings of dolphins, arctic terns, puffins, sunfish and whales, plus a rolling backdrop of world-famous landmarks like the Giants Causeway, the Skellig Rocks and the Fastnet lighthouse.

 

In the end, 19 of the 27 boats completed this first ever anti-clockwise circumnavigation of Ireland by a powered flotilla and event organiser, Hugo Montgomery-Swann (pictured), was quite rightly delighted with the way things went: “This Suzuki-sponsored endurance challenge was a huge testimony to what well-found small boats are really capable of in the hands of those who are determined to push the boundaries of small boat cruising. This event will no doubt inspire many other people to broaden their horizons – and it has also provided the most excellent means of evaluating equipment, engines, clothing and other items. The results of these will be published in a special edition of Powerboat and RIB magazine…”

 

For a taste of the action in 2014, email Hugo ([email protected]) and get yourself booked in. Having been forced to abandon my own plans to enter this year’s event, I certainly don’t intend to miss out again.

Written by: Alex Smith
Alex Smith is a journalist, copywriter and magazine editor with a long history in boating and a happy addiction to the water. He’s worked on boats, lived on boats, bought boats, sold boats and – when he’s not actually on board a boat – he can generally be found in his Folkestone office, tapping away at the computer and gazing out to sea.