Ireland's Second entry into October's Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) is sinking before it leaves the dock, and a lack of sponsorship is to blame, according to its skipper, 2007 Fastnet race-winner Ger O'Rourke.

In a round-robin email sent yesterday, O'Rourke admits the project needs a lifeline. He is 2 million Euros short on a 4 million budget, and cannot proceed on his own.

A decision on the future of the campaign will be made in a week, and O'Rourke concludes that last-ditch efforts for sponsorship will be made up to next Friday. But he warns that the state of the capital markets means its not looking good.

The 2006 Sydney-Hobart class-winner bought the old ABN/Amro 1-winning boat from the 2005/06 race, and spent the last two months bringing it up to 2008 standard. The boat wiped the eye of the rest of the fleet in that race, and O'Rourke was quick to realise that, even after all the development work carried out by teams over the past two years, it remained the design benchmark for all new designs entered in the current race.

But having missed the Round Ireland race in July after a high-profile exit, when the boat was holed in harbour, the campaign started to take on water when it did not attract sponsorship.

The boat, now in Limerick docks completing a refit, has undergone costly modifications to bring it up to the required VOR Version 2 rule, including rewiring electronics, fairing and deck work, plus new engines and a modified keel.

To his credit, substantial work has been completed from a standing start, including the assembly of a professional crew who have agreed to put their salaries into the campaign, resulting in what O�Rourke says is the lowest-cost VOR project with a reasonable chance to make its mark. -- David O'Brien in The Irish Times,

www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2008/0725/1216917539310.html