Day 3, Monday, 1600 hrs: The demanding Fastnet 450 course kept crews working very hard indeed until the last couple of miles running in towards the finish in the entrance to Cork Harbour under the iconic Roche's Point Lighthouse this (Monday) morning. Out at sea in the Harbour approaches, and struggling to reach the final turning point at the Daunt Rock Buoy, a sloppy sea and light winds had downwind sailing speeds down to below four knots as Chris Power Smith's J/122 Aurelia kept her cool to stave off a persistent line honours challenge.

Chris & Patanne Power Smith's line honours winner, the J/122 Aurelia, finally finds an encouraging breeze as she shapes her course for the finish from the final turning mark at the Daunt Rock Buoy. Photo: Robert Bateman

We made it! Line honours winning crew from Aurelia celebrate keeping the superstars on Nieulargo at bay. Photo: North Sails Ireland

This came from corrected time leader Denis and Annamarie Murphy's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo, which in turn was constantly keeping an eye over the shoulder toward the much smaller Cinnamon Girl, Cian McCarthy's Sunfast 3300 with the determined Mark Mansfield aboard and always looking for a way to pull another Lazarus Act out of the hat.

But it was not to be. In fact, weather and wind-wise, the only time Cinnamon Girl really had conditions which truly suited her was during the short three-sail dash from the start at Dun Laoghaire to the Muglins at the entrance to Dublin Bay, where she duly led the entire fleet.

Just about done in……the little Cinnamon Girl's crew can finally ease the pressure as they cross the finish line after a tough race. Photo: Robert Bateman

Yet now approaching the finish many miles later off Cork with the Daunt finally astern, for the last three miles Aurelia found herself more comfortably in business at the front of the fleet, sailing in a slightly firmer breeze in a more purpose-like way for the finish, which she reached at 10.26, having covered 304 nautical miles to complete the 263.5 miles course.

When Nieulargo came in just 23 minutes later, she'd covered 303 miles, and immediately with her lower rating had jumped into an unassailable Corrected Time lead. But although the Murphy boat had Cinnamon Girl clearly beaten as they have the same IRC Rating, when the McCarthy boat finally finished at 11.46 she still had corrected time comfortably in hand on Aurelia to move into second overall on IRC, which no other boat can now challenge.

Handsome is as handsome does – the highly-individual-looking Cinnamon Girl gave an extremely good account of herself despite having a tough rating. Photo: Robert Bateman 

Interestingly, Cinnamon Girl had sailed 314 miles, but this reflected the successfully determined tacking on every wind shift she'd done in getting herself back in the frame while still beating towards the Fastnet, after her placing had slipped a bit yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.

Fourth to finish was John O'Gorman's Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie (National YC) with The Prof on the strength. But although the Cookie had been in a CT battle for much of the race with Simon Knowles' J/109 Indian from Howth for the fourth overall slot, at the finish Indian succeeded in being ahead on CT of the O'Gorman boat, and she'd also staved off the challenge of both Andrew Algeo's J/99 Juggerknot II (Royal Irish YC), and James Tyrrell's J/112E Aquelina from Arklow, which was racing with a vigorous crew mix made up from both Arklow SC and the 250-year-old Lough Ree Yacht Club which, like the Fastnet 450's sponsoring clubs of the National YC and the Royal Cork YC, has been severely constrained in its celebrations.

Leave no turn unturned…..When the 250-year-old Lough Ree YC and the much newer Arklow SC get together to race James Tyrrell's J/112E Aquelina in the Fastnet 450, it's a case of all hands to the wheel. Photo: John Malone

It will be well into this evening when the low-rated tail-enders Big Deal (Derek Dillon, Foynes YC) and Blackjack (Peter Coad, Waterford Harbour SC) finally get to the finish. But while the weather in the end panned out to suit the biggies, both of these vintage craft had their time well in the frame at some stage during the course of an extremely interesting race. It's a race which has miraculously managed to be staged, despite everything that the pandemic problems and the cussed Irish weather have tried to throw at it. So all credit to those involved in organising and promoting it - they never gave up hope that it should and could and would happen, and we now have a real sailing highlight for this frustrating year.

The 2020 season has a highlight after all the frustration – Nieulargo crosses the finish line at 1049 hrs this morning to win the Fastnet 450. Photo North Sails

If this is as good as it gets, then that's just grand – having already won the Kinsale-Fastnet-Kinsale Race a fortnight ago, Nieulargo's crew celebrate the Fastnet 450 win at their home port of Crosshaven today. Back: Denis, Annamarie and Molly Murphy, Mark ‘Nipper’ Murphy (no relation), Killian Collins, Clive O'Shea. Front: Mia Murphy, Cian Byrne, James Fegan, Nin O'Leary Photo: North Sails

Read all our Fastnet 450 coverage in one handy link here