Kinsale Ready for Clipper Festival

18th June 2010

Kinsale is the first port of call in Europe for the final leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and the fleet, including the Irish boat “Cork”, have now left Canada and are on their way to Kinsale. To celebrate the race’s arrival the town of Kinsale plans a party to remember. Kinsale Clipper Stopover Carnival will extend a fantastic welcome to all the participants. The Carnival will take place from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th July, with a whole host of free entertainment for all the family. The fleet of 10 Clipper Round the World yachts is expected to arrive during Friday/Saturday and the event, centred on Kinsale and, then on to Cork City, is estimated to be worth €10 million to the region.

The Carnival Weekend has something for everything and one of the centrepieces will be Live Music at the Square with local, national and international acts, featuring artists such as Ian Whitty and The Exchange; Aaron Dillon and Band; Novella Hermosa and Txutxukan.

Food and drink are key ingredients for a good carnival and there will be plenty of both at the fabulous Artisan Food Market on Long Quay where stallholders will participate in a market which will feature the finest artisan food to go, all from the locality. There will also be Tea Tents located at busking spots throughout the town offering the public a wide range of usual and unusual tea blends. The busking spots will feature performers such as The Invisible Men; Grant Goldie; The Fanzinis and their Cannonball Circus and Cork City String Quartet.

Highlights of the Carnival Weekend include “Ebb-Tide-Flow” an audio-guided walk on mp3 players. Designed by artist Fiona Hallinan and composer Alex Synge, the tour is accompanied by an original map and comprises a score and original text written for the Scilly walk. Kinsale Historical Walks with Dermot Ryan leaves daily at 10.30am and 3pm from the Tourist Office. Also, during the weekend, children and adults will be invited to come to the Methodist Church in the town to make a page for “The Clipper Adventure Book”.

Friday, July 2nd, will see the Kinsale Clipper Burrells. A Burrell is an evening of music in different venues, where, instead of the audience travelling to see different acts in different venues, the acts come to each venue in turn.

The Finale of what promises to a fun-filled weekend with free entertainment for everyone, on Sunday 4th July, will be the Kinsale Clipper Parade where the streets of Kinsale will be transformed into the mighty trade routes.

On Monday 5th & Tuesday 6th July come and see the Clipper Yachts at the Kinsale Yacht Club marina then, on Wednesday 7th July, 11am gather on Pier Road to wish farewell to the Clipper Fleet as they parade to Cork city for a three-day festival there.

There will be PARK & RIDE system in operation for the weekend, for information, pick up a traffic information leaflet at Kinsale Tourist Office or visit www.corkcoco.ie <http://www.corkcoco.ie>

The Kinsale Clipper Carnival is sponsored by Cork County Council, Cork City Council and Failte Ireland. For more details on the Clipper race visit www.corkclipperfestival.com

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About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is undoubtedly one of the greatest ocean adventures on the planet, also regarded as one of its toughest endurance challenges. Taking almost a year to complete, it consists of eleven teams competing against each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts.

The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors. Around 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never sailed before starting a comprehensive training programme ahead of their adventure.

This unique challenge brings together everyone from chief executives to train drivers, nurses and firefighters, farmers, airline pilots and students, from age 18 upwards, to take on Mother Nature’s toughest and most remote conditions. There is no upper age limit, the oldest competitor to date is 76.

Now in its twelfth edition, the Clipper 2019-20 Race started from London, UK, on 02 September 2019.