Thirty-year-old monohull Cinzano pummels field of modern RIBs
The five-leg Around Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race was won on Saturday by Marcus Hendricks from Germany alongside his British throttleman, Eric Smiley, aboard Cinzano.
The pair virtually dominated the event from the start, winning every leg against what was thought to be much tougher competition.
A disappointing entry of only six boats set off from Galway on 7 June on the 145-mile leg to Killybegs, but it was obvious Cinzano had the edge.
Apart from Cinzano, the remaining contenders were all RIBs thought to have better seakeeping over conventional monohulls, but this was certainly not proven in this event.
Cinzano, designed by Don Shead and built in Italy by Cuv for Renato Della Valle over 30 years ago, was rescued from the scrapyard for the 2008 Round Britain where she didn’t fare well, suffering continually from mechanical problems.
Since coming under the ownership of Hendricks, however, the boat is seeing a new lease of life.
The 176-mile second leg from Killybegs to Bangor was again won by Cinzano, finishing almost an hour ahead of Sea Wolf.
The pattern was repeated in third, fourth and final legs, compensating Markus Hendricks for the disappointment he suffered in the Round Britain two years ago when his boat, Blue Marlin, sank on the opening leg in Lyme Bay.
With sea conditions sufficiently severe to prevent 50% of the small fleet completing the fourth leg, the result has to be seen an accolade for conventional monohulls.
