There are a couple of boats from the club competing in a Round Ireland Challenge, a mammoth 1000 mile expedition (especially as Terry Newton is doing it in a RIB only a little bit bigger than the ones the club has!!).
Essentially they set off from Milford Haven last Thursday and will be stopping along the way. I'm hoping for updates from Gordon as they get on...
The Rib is called Topcat a 7.5m Scorpion with a 200HP Mariner Optimax, the whole rig is 13years old but has been recently restored & modified over the winter. I've been doing the final preps for the Challenge. It's been hectic as I've had two Ribs to prepare! The second one was my 25yr old Delta 5.5m which was in a bit of a sorry state. One month before we set off and Terry Newton decided he wanted to do it in a smaller vessel than his Phantom as it would be more of a Challenge! ! And also use a bit less fuel. It's now got a brand new 90HP Mariner Opti with hydraulic steering new electronics, long range fuel tanks, an additional seat for his team mate Alan McAdams & repairs to tubes and trailer. The engine has now done about 16hrs & runs like a dream obviously Terry would like it to be a lot faster! But it's a good sea boat and should easily cope with Irish sea and Atlantic, if they look after it!
We leave for Milford Haven marina this Thursday & I can't wait to get started after all the hours of preparation.
Regards
Gordon
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