Mix of modern and medieval welcomes sailors
Galway mixed the medieval with the modern on a night to remember in the City of the Tribes.
Three years ago, Galway stunned sailors and organisers when more than 10,000 people turned up in the small hours to welcome the boats.
This time, competitors were glad to be finishing in a city which captured the spirit of the world’s toughest sailing event in 2009 and was praised as being the best stopover port.
US skipper of Puma’s Mar Mostro said Galway was the one city he was looking forward to returning to. His thoughts were turning to sampling the beer, golf and hospitality —in that order.
If the sailors can’t get enough of the beer, the craic, and the fry-ups, just imagine how your ordinary Galwegian is feeling. With so much gloom in these straitened times, the city is looking forward to partying to all things nautical.
Many, scattered to the far corners of the Earth, came home. Frank Rushe, for instance, has been living in Boston for 24 years and decided to bring his wife and three daughters over.
Further afield, preparations of a more traditional kind were under way. On the Aran Islands, bonfires were lit to mark a uniquely Irish way of welcoming a sailor home.
To the sailors aboard the yachts, it no doubt looked like a welcome from another age and was all the more spectacular for it.
As harbour master Brian Sheridan pointed out, with 284 events still to come, it’s only going to get bigger from here on in.
“The harbour is looking fantastic, it’s really jumping. It’s become the St Tropez of Ireland for the week. It’s amazing but when the clouds roll away, the crowds roll in.”
