Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Fri 09 Sep 2007O'Rourke's Chieftain named RORC yacht of the yearSAILING:In a much-anticipated announcement this week, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has confirmed that Ger O'Rourke's Chieftain from the Western Yacht Club in Limerick is the recipient of their prestigious "yacht of the year" award and winner of the Somerset Trophy for outstanding achievement.The news crowns two years as one of the most successful campaigns of the modern era for any Irish yacht at many of the world's best known racing events and the citation notes in particular O'Rourke's overall victory in the Rolex Fastnet Race and second place in the HSH Nordbank Blue Transatlantic Race this year.