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FRIDAY, JUNE 24th, 12:58
A slight improvement in the weather conditions and a conversation with Niall Quinn resulted in Larry attempting to hoist the spinnaker, broaching, and damaging the spinnaker pole! Currently he's running downwind (without the kite) and will sail back in to Dun Laoghaire in his own time. He has about sixty nautical miles left. We'd expect him to finally get to the pub and that well-deserved elixir before closing time.

Meanwhile, Niall and others from the Galway Bay Sailing Club will be racing around the Aran Islands, an annual event in aid of Larrys charities. The race kicks off at Galway harbour tonight at 10PM (22:00), sailing through the night, anti-clockwise around all three islands, around the Straw island lighthouse and into Kilronan for breakfast (or maybe lunch or dinner?).

FRIDAY, JUNE 24th, 10:22
"Just rounded South Rock. Delighted with myself!"

South Rock is about 68 nautical miles from the Bailey lighthouse. It could be another twelve hours (at best) before Larry makes Dun Laoghaire. He is currently sitting in flat calm waters, being carried along by a weak tide. Even if the wind builds at this point, it is unlikely Larry will break the record, having been a victim of unusually calm weather.

Larry set out to achieve two things; to circumnavigate the country single-handed, and to raise money for charity while doing so. Breaking the world record would have been nice too. While he has definitely succeeded in his two main aims, it looks like he won't make the record books just yet.

Larry would like to thank the Galway Bay Sailing Club for donating all race fees for Wednesdays race to Larrys charities.

If you haven't donated anything yet, it's still not too late!

THURSDAY, JUNE 23nd, 14:08
The intrepid voyager is off the coast of Belfast and making extremely slow progress towards Dublin. The wind is very light and fluky, no more than 3 to 4 knots. The tide has now turned and he will face the next five or so hours against the current.

He is unsure if he'll make it to Dun Laoghaire in the next 24 or even 48 hours unless the wind picks up. According to Larry, if he still isn't home by Sunday, he'll fire up the engine!

THURSDAY, JUNE 23nd, 08:32
Larry is still making slow progress and now his mobile phone battery is running out of steam so not much in the way of updates today.

Larry has asked that people refrain from texting him as he has not much battery left and doesn't really want to be distracted by everyone asking about his ETA. He also needs to be able to keep in touch with Vincent Jordan who is keeping him apprised of weather conditions.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22nd, 20:26
"Flogging around STILL 35 miles from Rathlin. Wind and tide against me from here, tis all to play for!"

Rathlin island is off the Antrim coast and a mere 16 miles from the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland (made famous by Paul McCartney who in turn was made famous by the Beatles who have no known connection with Antrim in general or Larry in particular).

The world record for "Round Ireland (single-handed)" is currently held by Peter Keig of the UK. He completed the 708 nautical mile circuit in 7 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes and 27 seconds. Our manic statisticians suggest that Larry needs to be in Dun Laoghaire before 17:54 (5:54PM) on Friday and who are we to argue?

Less than 46 hours left, Larry!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22nd, 13:25
"No, I'm afraid the only self steer on this boat is when I steer it myself! Oh well. Got the soup and a quick nap, making for inistrahull."

The nice people at Met Eireann are forecasting "Southerly F5 to 6. Veering Southwest to West later tonight and decreasing F4 to 5. Decreasing F3 to 4 during Thursday."

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22nd, 11:35
"Just past Tory island on a hint of a reach and the self-steering wind vane appears to be working! Soup and snores for me."

Tory Island is situated 11km off the north-west coast. From here, it's due east along the north coast with a sharp right-hand turn down into the Irish sea and the finish line. I'm sure he's already starting to smell the full Irish breakfast already.

Here's an interesting article on sleep deprivation in yacht racing.

TUESDAY, JUNE 21st, 18:37
"5 miles due west of eagle island/erris head, lively spin, all well, will press on til morning."

The weather seems to be looking good for Larry's record attempt with the winds from the south today, from the west on Thursday and a nice northerly to bring him powering into Dun Laoghaire on Friday.

We wonder if he'll be able to make it back to Galway for the Round Aran race on Friday night???

TUESDAY, JUNE 21st, 08:14
"Got gas working! First cup of tea and hot meal since last Friday coming up! Happy Summer Solstice."

Larry is just past Inishbofin and making good progress. Now that the cooker is working again, the 20 to 25 knot winds and heavy seas of the last couple of days will be forgotten. Nothing like a cup of tea to calm the nerves and soothe the senses!

Not much let-up in the weather, however. Met Eireann predicts: "Southwest to west force 4 or 5, backing southwest to south early tonight and increasing force 6 later."

MONDAY, JUNE 20th, 17:42
Having turned the second corner last night, he is now heading North up the west coast of Ireland. This coastline is exposed to the rigours of the Atlantic with no protection from the huge Atlantic seas.

At 5:42PM, Larry was off the coast at Slyne head, having bypassed his native Galway bay and the Aran islands. He has been sailing downwind for 24 hours without a break, in very large seas. It has been said that the seas between Loop Head and Black Head near Galway bay can match some of the worst in the world.

What's more, the gas on board isn't working so he hasn't had a warm meal or cup of tea since Friday morning. He is hoping to get some quiet seas beyond Inishbofin where he can fix the gas and maybe get some sleep for an hour or two before braving the wilds of north Mayo and Donegal.

SUNDAY, JUNE 19th, 15:52
Larry has reached the Skelligs and is on course for the trip up the west coast.

SUNDAY, JUNE 19th, 11:09
Larry reports that it is "going well, after a frustrating night of thick fog, slack winds, wind shifts and a pigeon who shat on the drivers seat. Making good way towards Skelligs."

The Skelligs are a fierce outcrop of rocks off the Kerry coast which were once inhabited by monks. Ahead, Larry can look forward to the rugged beauty of the Kerry coastline before he reaches the west coast.

The forecast is for southeast winds, force 2 to 4.

SUNDAY, JUNE 19th, 06:49
Coming up on 48 hours at sea, and Larry has rounded the Fastnet, one of the most famous lighthouses in the world. It was known as Ireland's teardrop as it was the last sight of Ireland for those aboard the emigrant ships heading for America.

It also gives its name to a famous and prestigious sailing race from Cowes in the Isle of Wight across the Irish sea, around the Fastnet lighthouse and back. In 1979 the race turned to tragedy when a storm ripped through the fleet and fifteen sailors lost their lives. Most recently, the lighthouse features in a beer commercial with a digitally-added red coat of paint!

SATURDAY, JUNE 18th, 15:05
Larry has been out of radio coverage all day, but has just made contact and is near the beautiful Old Head of Kinsale. It was on this shoreline that the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in 1915. The sinking of the passenger ship resulted in the loss of 1,195 lives and American entry into World War II. The ship was a mere ten miles off the Old Head of Kinsale.

SATURDAY, JUNE 18th, 01:13
Larry has just passed the Tuskar rock and is now turning onto a south-westerly course, making good time along the south coast. The weather is breezy but still roughly on the nose. Beating into the wind for such a long period can be very tough on the nerves especially when it's just you, the boat and the sea. Larry has now been sailing for 17 hours without a break and without sleep. Only another 150 or so to go!

FRIDAY, JUNE 17th, 16:48
Larry is currently beating down the east coast. It's going well and conditions are good. His next report will be when he reaches the Tuskar rock this evening. According to the forecast, the wind has dropped to a force 3 to 4 from the south.

FRIDAY, JUNE 17th, 07:46
"I'm away..."

After four years of planning, Larry has finally left the marina in Dun Laoghaire and is heading for Tuskar Rock. Alll going well, the next time he arrives in Dun Laoghaire he'll have circumnavigated Ireland single-handedly.

The weather forecast on the east coast calls for winds from the south to south-west, force 4 or 5 occasionally 6. The tide is also coming in which means for the next six hours he'll be pushing into a strong tidal current with the wind dead ahead. Add to that mist and fog, and he'll be relieved when he reaches the Tuskar lighthouse at Irelands south-east corner.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15th 2005, 8:15AM
All the major preparations are finished and Larry is heading to Antrim to pick up the boat. He plans to set sail on his world record challenge on Friday, at 7:30AM from Dun Laoghaire, heading clockwise around the country. You can follow his trip with daily updates on this website.

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