Although the only totally Irish entry in Tuesday's Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2023 is the Kinsale YC duo of Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt with the chartered Sun Fast 3300 Cinnamon Girl-Eden Capital, further Irish representation has emerged at the top end of the fleet, even though - as the reality of starting gets nearer - the number cleared to race has now been whittled down to 113 boats from an original 120.
Of these, only ten are from overseas with just three from Europe, the other two in addition to Cinnamon being the exuberant Eric de Turckheim from France with the 54ft NYMD Teasing Machine, and Chris Opielok of Germany with the JPK 10.80 Rockall. There's a name that will ring a bell, as an earlier Rockall was the Corby 36 which was originally Roy Dickson's Howth-based Rosie.
CARO RACES FOR NEW ZEALAND
Of course, the owner of hot favourite Caro, the Botin 52 where Gordon Maguire is on the strength, is Max Klinck from Switzerland. But as Caro is registered under a Cayman Islands sail number, it puts her into a different category, and in fact she sails as a New Zealand entry - one of only three Kiwi participants - as she was built in NZ by Mark Turner.
As briefly mentioned in the preview in Sailing on Saturday, Grattan Roberts Jnr of Royal Cork YC is with a numerous cast, crewing Seng Huang Lee's Hong Kong-registered Dovell 100 SHK Scallywag. A 2014 boat which has been much modified through the recent "winter" months in Australia, Scallywag is now fancied for line honours as she sallies forth with an improved hull and a larger rig.
BYRNE AND LANGMAN ON MONEYPENNY
The irrepressible Sean Langman, having done the Fastnet Race in July this year with Gordon Maguire on the up-graded vintage gaffer Maluka, is bringing another of his boats out of the stable with the Reichel-Pugh 69 Moneypenny. And at the sharp end is Will Byrne of the National Yacht Club, now one of top-level international offshore racing's elite group of bowmen. With south to southwest winds currently forecast for the start, he may well be busy in Sydney Harbour before the fleet settle down to slug to windward bound for Hobart, but even then with Moneypenny's multi-choice foresail arrangements, the bowman's job is no sinecure.