As hinted at earlier in the week Mike Golding has been forced to pull out of the BMW Round Ireland Race which starts on Saturday.

Golding who hoped to put his Open 60, Ecover, up against the likes of Konica Minolta – the 95ft New Zealand maxi – for not only the Round Ireland course record but an overall handicap win has decided to give the race a miss this time.

Having just completed the SNSM (St Nazaire – St Malo) and broken the Open 60 race record Golding was concerned that the time slot between now and the Velux 5-Oceans Race was too short to enable a new keel to be fitted. See previous news story here. 

Commenting on his decision Golding said: “The team has come up with a long job list. Our priority this year is the Velux 5 Oceans. As such, with the combination of the new keel arriving, it is more sensible to concentrate on our preparation to that race.

“It is with regret that the Ecover team won’t be going to Wicklow, but the extensive work needed for the boat to be at her most competitive really makes the team’s schedule tight. Hopefully, we will be on the start of the Irish event the next time around!”