Name Gregor McGuckin
Born August 15th 1986 – Dublin, Ireland
Domicile Dublin, Ireland
Country of entry Ireland
Ever thirsty for adventure, Gregor McGuckin has been involved in the outdoors from an early age. Starting out climbing the hills and mountains around Ireland, he soon discovered the sea and windsurfing and surfing became a daily part of life. He chose sailing as his profession, starting as a dinghy coach, delivery skipper and in recent times, skippered of a 62ft yacht based in the Caribbean. He has logged over 45,000 miles crossing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and many other passages around the world. Always looking for the next challenge, Gregor was excited by the opportunity to compete in the 2018 GGR and hopes to become the first Irishman to complete a  non-stop, unassisted solo circumnavigation of the world. via the three Great Capes.
Gregor is sponsored by Hanley Energy, a specialist in the design, source, supply, install and commission of critical power, energy management and IT infrastructure solutions. His team has been renamed 'Gregor McGuckin Empowered by Hanley Energy' and has partnered with Irish publisher CJ Fallon and Irelandâs Marine Institute to create an education programme based around his GGR voyage, designed to engage primary children in adventure and the marine environment. Distributed free to classrooms across Ireland, the overriding goal has been to create an army of âOcean literateâ young people who understand the importance our oceans have on them so that they are well placed to ensure a sustainable and sensible future for Ireland the world.
He says of the GGR: "When I started sailing, the main attraction was the freedom it gave me to explore. As I grew older and started sailing larger vessels, the scope of the areas I could potentially explore became almost infinite. When I started reading about the GGR I had already crossed the Atlantic a few times and the Indian ocean and asking myself 'What next'. A circumnavigation was always a dream along with ocean racing, so when this came up as an affordable way of achieving both it was a no-brainer."
Boat
Name Hanley Energy Endurance
Type Biscay 36 Masthead ketch
Race No 22
Designer Alan Hill
Builder Robert Ives/Falmouth Boat Construction (UK)
LOA 35.92ft / 10.95m
LWL 27.00ft / 8.23m
Beam 10.75ft / 3.28m
Draft 5.75ft / 1.75m
Displacement 15680 lbs / 7112 kgs
Sail area 570sq. ft / 52.95sq. m
Gregor has selected the ketch rigged Biscay 36 ketch Mary Luck to compete in the GGR. Her refit was completed in April 2018, prior to sailing around his native Ireland to combine training with a promotional tour of ports.
The yacht is now named Hanley Energy Endurance.
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