K2Q Race Well On Move Again as Welsh J/97 Jac Y Do Holds Handicap Lead

13th July 2024

Mark Thompson's J/97 Jac Y Do from Wales holds the handicap lead on the morning of day two of the K2Q Dun Laoghaire to Cork Race Credit: Afloat

K2Q Day Two, Saturday at 08:30 hrs: After spending more time than they might have wished in the Tuskar Rock area during a dead period in the small hours, struggling with adverse tide and light winds, the K2Q fleet got going properly again around 0430 this (Saturday) morning, and the finish is steadily nearing.

The breeze remains light from the north, but with the turn of the tide there was a fresh sharpness to their performance. The on-water leader Opal, Frank Whelan's Elliott 57 from Greystones, has reasserted her dominant position to such good effect that at 07:30 she was south of Mine Head, far out at sea and ploughing a lonely furrow towards Cork at a good 10.6 knots, with 35 miles still to sail.

The on-water leader Opal, Frank Whelan's Elliott 57 from Greystones, has reasserted her dominant position on day two of the K2Q Race Photo: Afloat

CLIFFTOP CROWDS

While the winds may have been light, at least they've been mostly favourable, in contrast to the original race of 1860. After a tough night with headwinds 164 years ago, the well-advanced second day found several lead competitors closing in together on Mine Head. How the news had managed to get around we don't know, but coastal folk have their ways of community communication, and there was a crowd on the clifftops to see them sail past to a finish in Cork Harbour on the third day.

Opal and her competitors meanwhile were being observed by many, but probably from the comfort of their beds by electronic means, rather than in the crisp cliff-top air of a West Waterford headland in The Ring Gaeltacht.

Good speed on day two for Andrew & Sam Hall's J/125 Jackknife from Pwllheli Photo: Afloat

PWLLHELI IN THE MIX

Next on the water but ten miles astern of Opal was Andrew & Sam Hall's J/125 Jackknife from Pwllheli, with her speed pushing towards 8.7 knots, closely accompanied by their PSC clubmates Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop with the J/122 Mojito, which lies second overall in IRC 0, and was racing well against Chris Power Smith's J/122 Aurelia from Dun Laoghaire.

Chris Power Smith's J/122 Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club has already won May's Inistearaght Race from Kinsale and is now well placed in the K2Q Photo: Afloat

Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop with the J/122 Mojito Photo: Afloat

HOLD-UP FAVOURED SMALLER BOATS

In handicap terms, the overnight semi-stoppage favoured smaller boats or those with an age-honouring rating, with the overall leaders at 0830 being Mark Thompson's J/97 Jac Y Do from Wales and George Radley's 1977-vintage Ron Holland 39 Imp from Cobh.

George Radley's 1977-vintage Ron Holland 39 Imp from Cobh Photo: Afloat

Published in Fastnet 450 Race

'K2Q' Dun Laoghaire to Cork Race Live Tracker 2024

Track the progress of the 160-mile K2Q Race (formerly known as the 'Fastnet 450 race') fleet on the live tracker and see all Afloat's K2Q Race coverage in one handy link here

Published in Fastnet 450 Race

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About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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The Kingstown to Queenstown Yacht Race or 'K2Q', previously the Fastnet 450

The Organising Authority ("OA") are ISORA & SCORA in association with The National Yacht Club & The Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The Kingstown to Queenstown Race (K2Q Race) is a 260-mile offshore race that will start in Dun Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown), around the famous Fastnet Rock and finish in Cork Harbour at Cobh (formerly Queenstown).

The K2Q race follows from the successful inaugural 'Fastnet 450 Race' that ran in 2020 when Ireland was in the middle of the COVID Pandemic. It was run by the National Yacht Club, and the Royal cork Yacht Club were both celebrating significant anniversaries. The clubs combined forces to mark the 150th anniversary of the National Yacht Club and the 300th (Tricentenary) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Of course, this race has some deeper roots. In 1860 the first-ever ocean yacht race on Irish Waters was held from Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) to Queenstown (now Cobh).

It is reported that the winner of the race was paid a prize of £15 at the time, and all competing boats got a bursary of 10/6 each. The first race winner was a Schooner Kingfisher owned by Cooper Penrose Esq. The race was held on July 14th 1860, and had sixteen boats racing.

In 2022, the winning boat will be awarded the first prize of a cheque for €15 mounted and framed and a Trophy provided by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world.

The 2022 race will differ from the original course because it will be via the Fastnet Rock, so it is a c. 260m race, a race distance approved by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club as an AZAB qualifier.

A link to an Afloat article written by WM Nixon for some history on this original race is here.

The aim is to develop the race similarly to the Dun Laoghaire–Dingle Race that runs in alternate years.

Fastnet 450 in 2020

The South Coast of Ireland Racing Association, in association with the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay and the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork, staged the first edition of this race from Dun Laoghaire to Cork Harbour via the Fastnet Rock on August 22nd 2020.

The IRC race started in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, August 22nd 2020. It passed the Muglin, Tuscar, Conningbeg and Fastnet Lighthouses to Starboard before returning to Cork Harbour and passing the Cork Buoy to Port, finishing when Roches's Point bears due East. The course was specifically designed to be of sufficient length to qualify skippers and crew for the RORC Fastnet Race 2021.

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