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It's arguably the case that the best way through lock-down is to assume it's all going to last a bit longer – maybe a lot longer - than most people think. Thus the most effective way to negotiate your way through it is to give yourself over with total dedication to the alternative virtual pursuits which have emerged online as the outside world comes to a halt, such that - in your enclosed little world - the time flies entertainingly by.

Thus although there were old salts whose response to the new availability of the Virtual Regatta in April 2020 was to grumble that if they wanted a nautical version of an entertainment arcade then they'd have long since been going to a nautical entertainment arcade, there were many others – almost a thousand – who have taken to it with enthusiasm.

The precise number since April 2020 is 960, and from it there emerged the ten top Irish eSailors of such ability that they reached international standards and two of them – Colin Kavanagh of Howth YC, and Cillian Dickson of Lough Ree YC (and HYC) – contested the final, with Colin Kavanagh emerging as the champion.

Far from being a screen addict, he's very much of the real world, racing in the local intensity of the Puppeteer 22 Class as the continuation of a sailing career which started with Mirrors at Sutton aged 12, and went on through Laser 2s, offshore 40-footers, 1720s, and Etchells 22s, while a couple of years as an instructor gave him a taste for serving sailing, such that he is now an Irish Sailing Board Member and has been on the Olympic Steering Group since 2013.

In the current pandemic stasis, he's the perfect guide for the Howth Yacht Club-hosted eRacing Introductory on Wednesday evening (January 20th) at 7 pm – sign on here

Published in Esailing

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.

At A Glance – K2Q (Kingstown to Queenstown) Race 2024

The third edition of this 260-nautical mile race starts from the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay on July 12th 2024 finishes in Cork Harbour.

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