On Friday night last at 10pm the ten yachts taking part in the tenth Round Aran Race set sail in light winds from Galway Docks.

The Round Aran Sailing Race organised by GBSC began more than 30 years ago at the suggestion of the late Mark Scully from Gort. The race is a nighttime race.

Leaving Galway Docks, entrants sail round all of the Aran Islands anti-clockwise, finishing in Kilronan. There is no finishing time limit on the race but in fresh conditions the race can take as little as five hours and 43 minutes, a record held by Tommy Smyth and his crew on 'Catalpa'. Longer races of 24 hours have also been recorded.

Friday was also Sunflower Day in aid of the Hospice Foundation, so it was decided this year that all race fees would go to the Galway Hospice Foundation.

Dave Vinnell, as Rear Commodore Cruising, took overall charge of the event, and Dermot Tynan was officer of the day for the start. Mark Bruzzi co-ordinated the finish times and results.

The race saw the fleet quickly separate into two main groups, with Tommy Smyth's 'Catalpa' and Glenn Cahill's 'Joie de Vie' exchanging places through the night at the top of the fleet. This was a Round Aran race where tactics and weather knowledge were significant.

While the leading boats only reported losing winds completely for a short period of about five minutes, not so for the majority of the boats behind. Some of the crews spent long hours becalmed and as I-Spy doesn't really work in the dark, alternative word games were devised to pass the time until finally the winds filled in again.

Early morning saw the fleet round Eearagh Lighthouse on the northern tip of Inis Mór and finally head southeast towards Finis Rock at the bottom of Inis Oir. Over to the West, some of the participating boats on another night race (Fenit to Clifden) could be seen heading north. Two Galway boats participating in that race included Martin Breen's 'That's Life' and Liam Burke's 'AWOL'. While 'Catalpa' and 'Joie de Vie' traded places at the top of the fleet, close racing continued in the main fleet with Henry Lupton's 'Quelle Surprise' and Ian Conboy's 'Sandrine' swapping race places and conversation for a short time. Tomás Furey's 'Rhocodar' kept the pressure on for a race to the finish. The beat to the finish from the bottom of Inis Oir up to Kilronan was in good winds in sunny weather.

Race results are scored under two headings:

Echo Results (Mark Scully Trophy): 1st Joie de Vie, 2nd Catalpa, 3rd Rhocodar.
IRC Results: 1st Joie de Vie, 2nd Catalpa, 3rd Sandrine.

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