Green Armada Team Crew Revisions for SSL Gold Cup Announced

17th May 2022

Afloat.ie Team

Ireland's brand new 'Green Armada' sailing team will not have the benefit of Olympic talent when it debuts in Switzerland this week at the inaugural SSL Gold Cup.

Although the Irish bid to be crowned the world's best sailing nation includes Olympic medalist Annalise Murphy on its 'panel', the Rio silver medal winner and others, such as solo ace Finn Lynch, will not be sailing. Green Armada team captain Nicholas O'Leary confirmed to Afloat today that the Olympians are not available for Thursday's first qualifying rounds due to 'final exams and training camps etc'.

Dun Laoghaire's Finn Lynch, in particular, is in preparing to defend his Laser World Championships silver medal in Mexico from May 21st.

The SSL Gold Cup 2022 will start on May 19th with the Qualifying Series in Grandson, Lake Neuchatel.

All teams ranked from the Top 25 to 56 in the January 2022 SSL Nations ranking will meet in eight groups of four teams each. There will be five stages of the Qualifying Series running from May 19th to July 17th.

The Green Armada crew travelled out today (Tuesday) for two days of training before heading straight into four-boat fleet racing for a round of qualifiers. The top two teams go through to the next round.

Ireland's crew in Switzerland is:

Bow -Simon Johnson
Mid Bow/grinder/strategy - Ryan Glynn
Pit - Cian Guilfoyle
Grinder - Grattan Roberts
Trim - David Kenefick
Trim - George Kingston
Main/tactics - Nin O’Leary
Helm - Harry Durcan

The Green Armada panel includes Olympians Annalise Murphy, Robert Dickson, Finn Lynch, Sean Waddilove, Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne.

Published in SSL Gold Cup

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About the Star Sailors League Gold Cup

In 2022, Sailing finally got its own World Cup, according to the promoters of the SSL (STAR SAILORS LEAGUE) Gold Cup.

Like football in 1930 and rugby in 1987, the SSL Gold Cup is designed to crown the best sailing nation of all! The World's Top 56 countries, selected on their SSL Nation ranking, will battle their way through to raise the coveted and only Sailing World Cup trophy.

The SSL is the global inshore sailing circuit launched by Olympic athletes in 2012, by sailors for sailors. Its main philosophy considers the athletes (not the boats) as the “Stars” and it aims to showcase the annual global sailing championship with its over 15’000 regattas; it determines and celebrates the world leaders in sailing promoting the inshore regattas to the global audience.

The three main components of the SSL Circuit are the SSL Ranking published every Tuesday, updating the position of over 100,000 leading athletes, thus highlighting the world’s top inshore sailors. The SSL Finals taking place every year around November-December, it’s the annual final of the SSL Circuit among the 20/25 best athletes of the ranking, to crown the champion of the season. And the SSL Gold Cup, the ‘ultimate’ championship of the circuit with 56 nations among World Sailing members, to crown the best sailing nation.

In a mechanical sport where the race for technology sometimes gets in the way of the race for glory, the SSL aims for equal competition where the talent of the sailors is at the forefront and the champions become heroes that inspire new generations of sailors.

The SSL is a World Sailing Special Event since 2017.