Round Ireland record falls

Cityjet reach destination ahead of schedule

Jean-Philippe Chomette's 60ft monohull CityJet which set off from Dun Laoghaire earlier this week passed the Kish Lighthouse in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin at 0414 this morning smashing the the monohull Round Ireland speed record by 17 hours and 46 minutes and winning the Cork Dry Gin Perpetual Monohull Trophy in the process.

CityJet left Dun Laoghaire on Tuesday at 1833 and sailing around Ireland clockwise, returning 57 hours and 41 minutes later.

On his arrival Skipper of CityJet Jean-Philippe Chomette said: “It has been a exhilarating and challenging 57 hours. It is a tough challenge but with a strong and motivated crew we reached above and beyond our goal. Suffice it to say that we are delighted to be the new record holders”.

The Round Ireland record was previously held by the monohull Irish Independent crewed by Garry Keegan, Stuart Fogarty and Daragh Cafferky. It sailed around Ireland in three days, three hours and twenty seven minutes in November 2002.

The eight-person crew for this record breaking challenge included co-skipper César Dohy, Matthieu Vincent as well as the British former Whitbread sailor and BT Global Challenge skipper Chris Tibbs, a renowned on-board navigator and meteorologist who holds the Round Britain records in both monohulls and multihulls. Also in the crew on mainsail is yachtsman Patrick Tabarly, brother of renowned sailor the late Eric Tabarly. They sailed under the Kinsale Yacht Club Burgee.

The record breaking attempt was monitored by the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire and will be registered with the World Speed Sailing Council (WSSC). Irish Distillers will present the crew with the Cork Dry Gin trophy.