Conneely sails Patches to victory in Rolex Global series

GALWAY sailor Eamon Conneely and his team on board Ireland’s first grand prix yacht, Patches, (sponsored by Oysterhomes) last night won the Rolex TP52 Global Championships in Miami Florida.

The Rolex Global Championships consists of six days of sailing, including short inshore races, one 45 mile coastal race and a 200 mile offshore race to the Bahamas. Teams consisted of the best in the world Olympic and Americas Cup sailors. Patches started the week with winning the first race followed by a 6th and a 3rd. The following day saw Patches win all three races. On Thursday, Patches had to retire from the 200-mile offshore race when they sustained structural damage to the deck of the boat.

Work was carried out overnight and Patches took line honours in the 45-mile race followed by a double win yesterday in the final two inshore races.