BROTHERS’ HEROIC ROW IS REMEMBERED 20 YEARS ON
CLUBPARTYTOMARK TRANSATLANTICTRIP
BROTHERS Eamonn and Peter Kavanagh from the Arklow Rowing Club celebrated the 20th anniversary of their trans-atlantic rowing race in the Olde Ship Pub last Saturday.
The club held a surprise party to mark the anniversary of their successful completion of the race. Members of the club, sailing club, Arklow Lifeboat, friends and family all came together to acknowledge this fantastic sporting achievements.
The story of the epic journey can be read in a new book called ‘Just Over the Horizon’ by Peter Kavanagh, which will soon be available to the public in the Maritime Museum and the local library.
The journey began with the founding of the Arklow Rowing Club in 1990 by four Arklow men – Pat Fox, Egon Frederick, and Eamonn and Peter Kavanagh.
The brothers left Tenerife to row across the Atlantic ocean on October 12, 1997. They covered 3,000 miles, each rowing two hours on and two hours off for 58 days straight.
After a tiring row, they finally reached Barbados on December 9, finishing fifth out of a total of 30 crews. The then President of Ireland Mary McAleese wrote to them and said ‘your courage and spirit are an inspiration to everyone in Ireland.’
Rowing at international level has been the target of the club since the start and this has required long-term investment and commitment. Eamonn Kavanagh purchased his first single coastal scull in order to introduce members to the rowing style that has since taken the club to the World Coastal Rowing Championships at San Remo, Cannes, Plymouth, Bari-Italy, Croatia, Sweden, Peru, Monaco and most recently, Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Geneva.
Eamonn and Peter have spent the last 27 years coaching and encouraging those who want to give rowing a try. They’ve spent their spare time hauling boats, driving trailers, building, buying and repairing boats and have consistently and selflessly given a wealth of experience to coaching others. Arklow Rowing Club would like to acknowledge their unwavering commitment to the development of rowing in both Arklow and Ireland.