An Irish boat crew is toasting its success in Australia after crossing the line in record time in one of the world's greatest yacht races. Well-known Limerick property developer Ger O'Rourke, of Chieftain Construction, and his 12-strong crew came first in their division in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
Over 60 years established, the 628 nautical-mile course is often described as the world's most gruelling ocean race. A total of 84 yachts took part in this year's event, which started from Sydney Harbour on December 26th.
The only Irish yacht to take part in the race was The Chieftain, which crossed the line at the historic port city of Hobart in just over 38 hours.
O'Rourke, who was skipper of the 50ft yacht, last night described the race as "the Everest of sailing" and said he was delighted with his crew's success.
While the official list of winners cannot be confirmed until all yachts have crossed the line, it is already clear that The Chieftain has won first place in its division and fourth place overall.
"The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is like the Everest of sailing and it's certainly one of the toughest races in the world," said O'Rourke.
"It was my first time competing in this race, as it was for almost all of the crew, and the boat suited the race so we did well."
Sponsored by Rolex, the race is conducted on the waters of Sydney Harbour, the Tasman Sea, Storm Bay and the Derwent River.
"We hit gusts of 50-knot winds at one stage and waves of almost 11 metres in height, but we were lucky to have had the wind behind us most of the time.
"We touched 24 knots at steady periods, so that was good going. If we had kept up those kind of averages we'd have done better," said O'Rourke.
The race has become an icon of Australia's summer sport, ranking in public interest with such national events as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Davis Cup tennis tournament and the cricket tests between Australia and England.
The prize-giving ceremony for the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will take place on January 1st at Hobart Yacht Club.