Sail of the century: Irish rower smashes Atlantic record

JUST as the nation was celebrating the European Championships silver medal won by Cork runner, Derval O’Rourke, another Irish athlete gave Ireland something to cheer about at the weekend as part of a record-breaking rowing team.

Ray Carroll, 33, from Salthill in Galway, is among the crew that has broken a 114-year-old record for rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. The four rowers completed the voyage in 43 days and 21 hours.

The challenge team, skippered by Leven Brown, 37, from Edinburgh, left New York on 17 June in their vessel, ‘Artemis Investments’. They crossed the finishing line at St Mary’s Harbour in the Scilly Isles at around 4pm on Saturday after almost 44 days at sea.