The Notice of Race is now available for Kinsale Yacht Club’s Inishtearaght Race, once again generously sponsored by Matthews of Cork.

Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt on Cinnamon Girl won the race on IRC in 2022 and they have confirmed that they will be taking part again this year in the second edition.

The race starts on Friday 24 May and is approximately 240 nautical miles long, running along the coast of West Cork and Kerry to round Inishtearaght in the Blasket Islands and return to Kinsale.

One highlight of the race is the spectacular and varied scenery along the course.

In 2022 the fastest boat was Chris and Patanne Power Smith’s Aurelia with an elapsed time of one day, nine hours and 57 minutes.

The race has been timed to run about a month before the Round Ireland, so is perfectly suited as a shakedown race for any boats competing in that event.

SIs and the entry form will be available in due course from the KYC website.

Following a successful inaugural race in 2022, the date for the 2024 Kinsale Yacht Club Inishtearaght Race has been set to start on Friday, 24th May 2024.

The date has been set to be one month before the Round Ireland Race 2024 to give those competitors an opportunity to take part in a shorter shake-down race before the 700-mile circumnavigation on 22nd June.

The second Inishtearaght race starts in Kinsale and runs along the dramatic West Cork and Kerry coasts to round Inishtearaght and return to finish in Kinsale, a distance of around 240 nautical miles.

Inishtearaght is the westernmost of the Blasket Islands off the County Kerry coast. 

Tony O’Brien helming White Tiger on the return leg of the 2022 Kinsale Yacht Club Inishtearaght Race

"Competitors who took part in the 2022 race found it to be a really interesting course, and many commented that they were looking forward to doing the race again", Kinsale Yacht Club's Dave Cullinane told Afloat.

In 2022, line honours were taken by Aurelia (Chris & Patanne Power Smith) from the Royal St. George YC on Dublin Bay in a time of 33 hours 57 minutes.

Sunfast 3330 double-handed duo Sam Hunt and Cian McCarthy on their way to the overall win in the 2022 Inistearaght Race Photo: Bob Bateman

The overall winners on IRC rating were Kinsale Sunfast 3330 double-handed duo Sam Hunt and Cian McCarthy. 

Overall IRC and ECHO honours in Kinsale Yacht Club's inaugural Matthews Centre sponsored Inishtearaght Race went to double-handed duo Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt of the host club.

McCarthy and Hunt sailing the Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl finished with a corrected time of one day 12 hours 07 minutes and 26 seconds, some 20 minutes faster than line honours winner Chris Power Smith's full crewed J/122 Aurelia. (1:12:27:55 corr). 

McCarthy and Hunt sailing the Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl to an overall win pictured in the closing stage of the KYC Inishtearaght Race Photo: Bob Bateman

Third in the 240-miler on IRC was Denis Murphy's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo from Royal Cork Yacht Club which finished on 1:13:06:40 corrected.

As Afloat reported earlier, the Royal St. George J/122 Aurelia crew win the historic KYC Thullier Cup for the line honours win. 

Chris Power Smith skipper of J/122 entry Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club and his crew with Kinsale's Thullier Cup for the line honours win. Pictured from left are Dave Cullinane KYC Race Organiser, Chris Power Smith, Niall Smythe, Matthew White, John McManus, Luke Murphy, Sam Magill-Dohan, Sam Gillivan and James Matthews, Sponsor Matthews Cork and (below) Aurelia reaches to the finish line  Photo: Bob Bateman

 Full results in the six boat fleet here.

The next KYC Inishtearaght Race is scheduled for May 2024.

Chris Power Smith's J/122 entry Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire was the line honours winner of the inaugural Inishtearaght Race, finishing at 9 pm on Saturday.

The only Dublin entry in the Kinsale Yacht Club offshore 240-mile race took just under 36 hours to complete the challenging course from Kinsale along the Cork and Kerry coast and back to the West Cork port. 

"It was a tough race, big seas and big winds, but we were able for it", Chris Power Smith told Afloat after crossing the finish line. 

Subject to official confirmation, the Dublin crew will lift one of Kinsale Yacht Club's most prestigious trophies, the Thullier Cup, which dates back to 1850, for their line honours achievement.

Chris Power Smith's J/122 entry Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club closes in on the Kinsale finish line Photo: Bob Bateman

An enthusiastic Power Smith said that after the initial 'slog', the crew enjoyed 'champagne sailing', and the Dublin Bay sailors were already promising to return for the 2024 race.

Second home of the seven boat fleet was Cian McCarthy's double-handed Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl.

Cian McCarthy's double-handed Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl

Full handicap IRC results are awaited

There were great starts for the host club's Elan 40 Chancer (Brian Carroll) and Denis Murphy's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo from Royal Cork in the inaugural Inishtearaght Race from Kinsale this morning in the brand new Irish offshore yacht race fixture along the Cork and Kerry coasts.

An entry of seven boats started a new chapter in West Cork offshore yacht racing just after 9 am when the small but competitive fleet crossed the Kinsale Yacht Club line.

Cian McCarthy's two-handed Sunfast 3330 Cinnamon Girl Photo: Bob Bateman

The fleet, led by Chancer off the line, set out in 15-20 knot south-westerly conditions and light rain. Forecasts this morning indicate gusts to over 30-knots on the way to the Blasket Islands.

The single Dublin entry in the race is Royal St.George's J/122 Aurelia (Chris Power Smith) Photo: Bob Bateman

Unfortunately, the planned start using a Navy ship did not materialise due to the exigencies of the Naval Service but Club Race Officer Dave O'Sullivan got the fleet underway in a club vessel from the KYC's Charles fort startline inside Kinsale Harbour.

The Inishtearaght Race fleet set out in 15-20 knot south-westerly conditions and light rain Photo: Matthias Hellstern

As Afloat previously reported, the course is approximately 240nm long and will run along the spectacular south coast, round Inistearaght island and back to Kinsale.

Soft day - The Elan 40 Chancer crew all wearing offshore gear in anticipation of a wet trip to the Blaskets Photo: Bob Bateman

The first boats in the Matthews Centre sponsored event are expected home sometime on Saturday evening but as competitor Brian Carroll told Afloat in a podcast here, the fleet is expecting quite a lot of challenging upwind sailing today. 

Cian McCarthy's Cinnamon Girl on starboard and Chris Power Smith's Aurelia on port after the start Photo: Bob Bateman

The Inishtearaght Race fleet emerge from Kinsale harbour with (from left) Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl, Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo, Elan 40 Chancer and Dublin Bay J/122 entry Aurelia to weather  Photo: Matthias HellsternThe breeze is on for (from left) Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo, Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl and Dublin Bay J/122 entry Aurelia to weather  Photo: Matthias Hellstern

The Thuillier family have kindly allowed the oldest trophy in Kinsale YC to be presented as the line honours trophy for the race. The Thuillier Cup is 150 years old, having been originally presented by the Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers in 1871 and won by Michael Thuillier. The cup was presented to Kinsale YC by the Thuillier family to acknowledge the long tradition of yacht racing in Kinsale.

Noel Coleman's Oyster 37 Blue Oyster from Royal Cork YC on her way to the Blaskets Photo: Bob Bateman

The inaugural Inishtearaght Race fleet

Bob Bateman's Inishearaght Race Start Photo Gallery below