Red Army joined by naval convoy

IT’S being dubbed the Munster Armada — and hopefully it will be plain sailing.

Thousands of red-clad rugby buffs will be travelling to Wales by car, bus, rail, ferry and aeroplane this weekend.

But a group of intrepid fans are going by yacht.

A flotilla of five vessels will cast off from Crosshaven, Co Cork, tomorrow afternoon for a 225-mile crossing to Cardiff — where Munster will be hoping to make it third time lucky as they face Biarritz in the Heineken Cup final.

It’s going to be a novel way to travel to the big match, taking approximately 27 hours before the group of 20 tie up at Cardiff’s Penarth Marina.

Tony Mahon, rear admiral for Cruising at Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC), said he believed the group would be able to get a water taxi all the way up the River Taff to the Millennium Stadium.

“The cost of the trip will be negligible. We’re all rugby fans and most of us are seasoned sailors,” said Mr Mahon.

The idea was born during a conversation about tickets when some of the RCYC members were in Kinsale Harbour recently.

“One of those present needed a ticket and I had a spare one. Then he remarked that his only problem was getting there and we all said we’d sail,” Mr Mahon said. “We looked at the charts and it seemed feasible.”