CLIFDEN SEA SPORTS CENTRE - "SHANNON DESCENT RECORD"
Boat "Enterprise 2"
Driver: Damian Ward, Co-driver: Pat Pryce
8th November 1997
Damian Ward and Pat Pryce both from Clifden in the County of Galway have beaten two speed records in one run: the "Shannon Sprint" and the full "Shannon Descent". "Shannon Sprint" Definition; The fastest navigation of the river Shannon from Battlebridge to Limerick 1996 record: 3hr 27min. Our Record 1997: 3hr 06min. "Shannon Descent" Definition - The fastest navigation of the full length of the river Shannon. (Lough Allen to Loop Head) 1996 record: 5hr 04min .
Our Record 1997: 4hr 20mins.
The "Shannon Sprint" was set by Capt. Stewart McNamara and his team, the "Costume Cats" of the Athlone Defence Forces in 1991 with a time of 4hrs 58mins. This record was then beaten in 1993 by Bundoran Lifeboat crew with a time of 4 hrs 00mins 58secs. 1996 saw John Plummer, Mark Griffin and David Nolan, all from Dublin, on board their boat "Scappa 2" bring this record down to 3hrs 27mins.
This
year (1997), the boys from the "Wild West", that is, the team from
"Clifden Sea Sports Centre" in their boat "Enterprise 2" took another
chunk off that time and brought the new record down to 3hrs 06mins. The
"Sprint" is timed from Battlebridge in Co. Leitrim to Sarsfield Bridge
in Limerick City. The trophy for this run has been sponsored for many
years by Jimmy Redmond of "Sean's Bar" in Athlone, a familiar name to
most frequent users of the Shannon.
The "Shannon Descent" record was set in 1996 for the first time by John
Plummer and his crew in "Scappa 2" and their land crew of about 60 people
(which also included Capt. Stewart McNamara, Damian Ward and Pat Pryce)
and they navigated the full length of the river, from the top of Lough
Allen to Kilcredan Point near Loop head (just under 200 miles) in a time
of 5hrs 04mins. This new run, the "Descent" also has a fantastic trophy
which was sponsored by Paddy Pounch of "Aerlybird Productions" in Dublin.
The team from "Clifden Sea Sports Centre", which consisted of Damian and
Pat, plus a land crew of 20 (including Capt. Stewart McNamara and the
boys from Scappa 2) and the cooperation of seven "lock keepers" now possess
both trophies after taking an amazing 44 minutes off the '96 "Descent",
bringing the '97 "Descent" to a mere 4 hrs 20mins.
The "kit" (boat and engine) consisted of Enterprise 2, a 7.5 metre R.I.B. (rigid-hulled inflat-able boat) built in Dungarvan, Waterford, by Leneraft Boats Ltd. and a specially imported, from Yamaha-Japan, 250 hp 3.2 litre V6 2 stroke outboard supplied by Bobby Killen of Killen Marine, Dalkey, Co. Dublin. All the equipment worked and performed very well on the day, except for the navigation system, a "Lowrence Global Map 1000" GPS, which is giving recurring problems, so we are going to throw it in "the dump" and get a different brand name (which is open for sponsorship). We had to rely on good old fashioned com-passes and charts. But the problem didn't stop there - we lost one of our charts over-board, which proved hard to handle in an open boat at 60 mph.
The Lead up. Friday morning (7th November '97). We're in Athlone, outside the Hudson Bay Hotel, supposed to be on the water for 9am to do some final familiarity runs down towards Limerick. All this had to be done before 12:30pm at which time the lock keepers finished work (Winter hours). The place was fogged down, we couldn't see past the harbour. The fog didn't lift until 11:30am. If this happened the next day, we would have to cancel the run. We launched the boat, got prepped and went as far as "Meelick Lock", only to find the lock keepers had already left. We then rushed back to get through Athlone Lock before they finished. So much for our final familiarity run. We took the boat out of the water again, and proceeded with the rest of our day's plan, which ended with meeting up with the rest of our team (the land crew) and the "starting boat", and the "Independent timekeepers". Well, the rest of the day didn't go according to plan either, and our 9pm meeting with the land crew to finalise plans consisted of booking in to "Paddy Mac's" B&B in Drumshanbo, close to midnight, and telling everyone "Just be here ready to launch at 7:30am." Pat and I were to go over the river charts then, one last time, but Pat spotted Charlie McGettigan (of Eurovision "Rock'n'Roll Kids" fame) in the corner of the bar, that lead to introductions all around, and Pat brought out his guitar (yes we all know where that leads); a great sing-song followed (there go the river charts). They say if you're not prepared by the eleventh hour you won't be. Well maybe we were prepared enough but just didn't know it. I hoped so, as time had just run out. The weather forecast was not for fog, but wind and rain. Rain would hamper visibility a bit, and wind didn't worry us too much, unless it was strong (and it was forecast strong). The Run itself is only permitted by the Office of Public Works during the winter months when there is the least amount of traffic on the river. Inspector of Navigation, Lieutenant Commander Charlie Lawn, acknowledged our chosen date was suiitable for the event and didn't clash with any other major event on the river, keeping safety top of the list of priori-ties.
On The Day (Sat. 8th Nov.), the day was here, no fog, no rain, no wind, perfect...for now. Everything looked like it was falling into place nicely. All our landcrew were there, ready, willing, and very able. Next...the boat we brought to act as "starting boat" failed to start, the first obstacle for "team mechanic" (the same Pat Pryce) to overcome, which I got the blame for (and correctly so, I suppose, but we won't go into that). Our start time of 8:30am was planned allowing for a delay of up to half an hour - we reckoned 9am would suit "Locks, Bridges & Tides" perfectly. As it turned out we started out at 9:15am. (Not bad).
The
first eight miles of the "Descent" were down through Lough Allen, which
was perfectly calm and uneventfull. But not so the next leg, through the
next three locks, down the nar-rowest parts of the upper river, which
makes navigation simple but top speed difficult to maintain, because of
this narrow winding section with dangerous, sharp, blind turns as the
river meanders its way south to Lough Ree.
This section of the "Descent" becomes more difficult to navigate at speed
because of the vastness of the waterways and the multitude of markers
showing the many optional scenic routes. We had to make sure we picked
the right one. This was hampered, second-ly by the beautiful sunny day
that reflected in the mirror-like, calm lake as we headed straight south
into both suns (one in the sky, the other the reflection in the water).
Along the way we had a couple of situations where the boat was beginning
to show signs of petrol starvation, but this didn't slow us down as "On-board
Mechanic" (as well as the many other titles he carries) Paddy sorted out
the problem and the Yamaha 250HP (3.2 litre V6) never let us down as we
maintained our 60mph "cruising" (???) speed.
The next section of the river was quite uneventful, all bridges cleared
successfully, including Portumna Bridge which we hoped to time to be open,
but it wasn't when we got there. We stopped the boat and drifted under
it with only a couple of inches to spare. Lough Derg had more of the navigation
challenges that Lough Ree had given us but with-out as much of a problem
from the sun.
We lost one of our charts overboard, but it turned out to be the one of
Lough Ree, which we no longer needed on that day. Killaloe to Limerick
- through the "60ft Lock" at Ardnacrusha power station, which gave us
time for a teabreak, then on to Limerick City where we had to take a detour
through the canals of the city due to rapids on that particular section
of the river.
We did come across a floatilla of canoes en route, but they had been advised
of our presence well beforehand by a team of safety boats which made sure
the way was clear, and no-one was in danger. And likewise we were aware
of the canoes via our communication network of marine VHF radios and cellphones,
to each other, from boat to boat as well as through the Event Co-ordinator
(Cathal Walsh) in Kilrush. Now we take on the Shannon Estuary, where the
navigation markers change from the black and red of the river to the green
and red buoyage system of the sea.
As we approached Loop Head, the seas were getting "lumpier". This tends
to worry most, but it made us feel quite at home., being used to the Atlantic
Ocean rolling in on the Wild West of Ireland where we normally play. After
crossing the finish line we called Adrian O'Connell (overall time keeper)
on the radio to confirm our finish time.
Then it was back to base - Kilrush Creek Marina - to celebrate, and so we did (no further details available on celebrations - you can guess).
Thanks again to our sponsors, Killen Marine, Lencraft, Parnell Trailers, Cyber lnk, A1 Signs. And thanks to our land crew, and of course all the lock keepers.
