THEY lost their first yacht after striking a reef in the Java Sea, they capsized 3,200 kilometres off the American coast, and they have sailed through the teeth of wild Pacific storms.

A SAILOR on the Irish entry in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, which was abandoned after hitting a reef, said she and her crew-mates will be back on a Cork boat by the time the race arrives Ireland this summer.

ONE of the Irish sailors who narrowly escaped disaster after their yacht struck rocks in Indonesian waters during a major worldwide race has spoken of his near-death escape.