 - Top: Garda rowers in white/blue
vests, Mick Ahern, John Dillon, Jonah Roche and
Brendan Duke with rowers from the Irish Defence
Forces and Fire Brigade aboard the Stena Line HSS
Explorer for the High Speed Challenge Race from
Dunlaoghaire to Holyhead.
 - Group Picture of Rowing Teams
aboard the HSS Ferry after rowing
- 56 miles from Dunlaoghaire to
Hollyhead
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- On Saturday 10th May,
2003, as part of National Exercise Weekend,
- the Diabetes Federation of Ireland
in conjunction with Stena Line, Stamina Sports
Ltd and Concept 2 organised a unique event. The
- High Speed Rowing Challenge saw 3
participating teams of 6 people drawn from the
Defence Forces, the Fire Brigade and the Garda
Siochana squaring up to the Stena line HSS
Explorer in the classic
- man against machine match up. The
three teams of rowers on
- Concept 2 rowing machines took on
the Stena Line HSS, the worlds largest, smoothest
fast ferry with 4 jet propelled gas turbine
engines
- in a race over the 100 minute
journey time and 56 nautical miles from Dun
Laoghaire to Holyhead.
-
- The rowing teams from the Defence
Forces, the Fire Brigade and the Garda Siochana
were certainly up against it from the off when
the Stena Line HSS Explorer started to move into
top gear and maximum speed before the rowing
could actually start this was due to a time delay
in assembling the Concept 2 rowing machines.
-
- The fast ferry had a 5 minute head
start that needed to be made up after 25 minutes
the rowers had clocked up 8.5miles with the ferry
on
- 10 miles after 45 minutes however
things had changed with the
- rowers on 24 miles and the ferry
on 20. The high levels of energy expelled and
constant strain that the 3 teams were put under
started
- to tell when news came through
that after 70 minutes the ferry was in front by a
whisker at this time it would have been perfectly
understandable if the ferry had pulled away with
it’s massive gas turbine engines quietly
humming away below deck surely it was
- going to be the case that the
valiant rowers had given it there all but failed
to match the might of the machine.
-
- When the ferry entered the port of
Hollyhead after being on the sea
- for 100 minutes the Captain of the
ship gave the final result the ferry had
travelled 54 miles before slowing right down and
the rowers had travelled 55 miles in the same
time. The result was a magnificent achievement
for the 3 teams that worked so well together in
racing
- and beating the ferry into
Holyhead.
-
- The Diabetes Federation of Ireland
conducted a public collection on board the Stena
Line HSS Explorer and realised a total of €
1,600, which will be used to raise much needed
awareness of diabetes in Ireland. The staff and
employees of Stena Line were fantastic with a
sumptuous buffet lunch being laid on for the
rowers in Holyhead.
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