The Irish crew from Bantry returned home last Tuesday from the Atlantic Challenge in Canada with an overall second place finishing position.
After eight days of competition in Midland on lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes, the team were pipped at the post by the British crew.
After a great start winning the first few events the team looked like they were unbeatable but a last position in the first leg of the slalom event changed the outlook.
With a negeative points system in operation, (Winner gets 1 point, secont gets 2 etc.), this damaged the Irish teams lead placing them in second place overall.
However the team showed their metal in the second leg of the same event by coming first and the battle for overall first place began.
Over the following days the team placed well in all events but disaster struck when a mast step shattered just before the start of the Oars and sails race, one of the
teams better diciplines. The crew informed the events committee of their porblem and requested some time to do running repairs and participate in the race.
Their request was ignored, without reason, and the race was started with Ireland out of the picture.
The crew using their initiative and experience managed to fix the mast using a mallet, rope and piece of timber and crossed the start line under sail 10 minutes
after the other crews had started.
In 13th(and last) position a huge performance was needed to regain the lost ground, and again the Bantry crew pulled out all the stops and produced a fantastic display of
courage and determination picking off each of the other competiors one by one. The 10 minute delay at the start fueled this determination and the managed a very respectable 5th position
just eight minutes behind the winners. They raced the course 2 minutes faster than any one else.
On the last day of each Atlantic Challenge the Rowing race is final event. This is where the big guns normally battle it out and on this occassion they did not dissapoint.
The Irish crew demolished the rest of the fleet finishing the contest with a first place. However this was not enough to close the gap to win the contest outright and Britain took the overall honours, with Ireland second and Northern Ireland third.
Overall the team performed well and chef d'equipe Matt Murphy complimented the crew on their hard work and team spirit.
Team Captain Michéal Young said he was very proud of his crew and their acheivements and is looking forward to the event in Bantry in 2012
