Competitor to the rescue

Irish paralympic Sonar issues in Athens as rescue mission swings into action

Irish paralympic sailor Paul McCarthy will arrive in Athens this afternoon, Tuesday, after a five day dash from Cork, towing his 23 foot Sonar yacht to replace that of the Irish crew who pipped him and his team at the post to represent Ireland at Athens. The Irish crew’s new boat was discovered to be unfit for racing on their arrival in Athens last week and they needed to get a replacement boat to Athens in time for measuring today.

McCarthy was due to fly to Athens today to act as reserve crew member for the team. Last Wednesday night after winning in his class in club cruiser racing at Kinsale Yacht Club, McCarthy received a call from John Twomey in Athens ‘asking him for a big favour’, according to his crew member Paul Ryan. Twomey arrived in Athens the previous day to find that the gelcoat was bubbling on the hull of his new boat. Expert advice on Wednesday confirmed what Twomey and his crew, Sean McGrath and Brian O’Mahony had most feared – their boat could not be raced. The only people they could turn to were fellow club members, but rivals in the Paralympic circuit, McCarthy, Ryan and Chris Thomas.

Within an hour of Twomey’s call, the plan was in place. Kinsale Boatyard assisted McCarthy to pack up his Sonar for the marathon journey. Keary’s of Cork, sponsors of the Irish Paralympic Sonar Team, gave Mary Twomey’s Toyota Camry a complete service to ensure the car would be in top shape for the trip to Athens. By Friday morning, McCarthy, rigger Francis Segretier and yachtsman Eddie Mullins were on the road for a journey that took them via Rosslare, Roscoff, Paris, Lyon, Mont Blanc, Milan, Bologna, and then to Ancona in time for a 20 hour ferry journey to Patras, from where they will drive to Athens this morning.

If that was not enough action for the crew in the lead-in to the Paralympics, Sean McGrath is also team trainer for the Cork team who won the All Ireland Hurling Final on Sunday. McGrath flew back to Dublin on Saturday for the match and was back in Athens by Monday night to prepare for the Paralympics.

Talking from Athens last night, Twomey was full of praise for his fellow sailors. ‘Paul and his team stepped up to the plate in our time of need and we’re very grateful to them’. Asked how the team had reacted to the news of the problems with their own boat, Twomey responded ‘We’ve remained very focused on our programme here. It was a great relief to know that Paul would get the other boat out here with such short notice, and once we knew that we were able to return to our preparation. We’ve had a very successful season so far, winning the Tappan Zee Challenge in New York in May and our class in Cork Week in July, and Seanie’s involvement with the Cork team this weekend has given us an extra boost.’