Offshore wind project links up with Galway Hooker Association to boost boat racing

Galway Bay fm newsroom-  A company planning to develop a large offshore wind farm nine miles west of the Connemara coast at Sceirde Rocks has teamed up with the Galway Hooker Association

The company, Corio Generation, is providing financial back-up for traditional sailboat racing spectacles on the West Coast

The Atlantic winds are a common theme in this link-up between Corio Generation and The Galway Hookers fraternity.

Corio Generation, an offshoot of Macquarie, a major Australian Banking group, plans to develop an electricity-producing wind farm on the Sceirde Rocks nine miles west into the Atlantic.

It could power 350,000 homes and reduce the emission of harmful gases.

In the meantime, Galway Hookers and other traditional sailboats continue to maintain a great heritage of seafaring on the waters south and west of Connemara.

They are a great spectacle but they also bring with them many expenses in maintenance and upkeep. Organising the races also poses financial challenges.

The entry of Corio Generation could be a key factor for the future.

The Hookers and sailing boats are a hallmark of Connemara and Galway Bay says Michael Cloherty, Stakeholder and Community Lead with Corio Generation and the Sceirde Project. The winds, he says, that will power our project will also unfurl the sails of the great traditional craft and we can go forward together.

Máirtín Ó Catháin for Galway Bay Fm in Connemara.