challenge for the next Whitbread Round the World Race. A group of Irish businessmen led by Howard Kilroy and Dermot Desmond agreed to organise the backing to design and build a Maxi yacht to represent Ireland in this prestigious event.The Sail Ireland design effort was a far cry from the way I developed the internationally successful Golden Dazy, Big Apple, Marionette, Imp, Regardless, Morning Cloud and the maxis Kialoa IV and Condor. As with the America's Cup programme, I relied on a number of consultants, from weather analysts and inshore maxiboat skippers to research facilities such as Southampton University's Wolfson tank test unit and the celebrated Dutch design consultant Peter van Oossanen of winged keel fame.

The construction details were similarly based on the latest exotic composite materials. SP Systems, a Cowes-based organisation, were engaged as consultants on the design and analysis of the yacht structure, following their impressive input to the construction of Garuda, my 102 foot carbon/Kevlar epoxy sandwich design which in its day was the biggest Kevlar