Royal Cork's Denis Murphy and Annamarie Fegan sailing Nieulargo were the winners of the IRC All In Fleet in Kinsale Yacht Club's Fastnet SCORA Race sponsored by UK Sailmakers Ireland.
The Grand Soleil 40 crew that included former All Ireland Sailing champion Nin O'Leary and 2004 Olympian Killian Collins were winners of KYC's will Fastnet Trophy awarded to the yacht with the lowest corrected time on IRC rating.
Onboard the winning Grand Soleil 40
Second overall was the race organiser Finbarr O Regan of the host club for his performance in the Elan 333, Artful Dodger.
Third was another Elan 333 Stephen Lysaght Reavra Too also of the host club.
Tom Roche (pictured centre in green top) and the Meridian Crew return to the Kinsale dock after the race. Among the Meridian crew (pictured right) is Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, DSM, the current Chief of Staff of Ireland's Defence Forces Photo: Bob Bateman
Racing began on Friday evening at 6.30 pm and the nine boat fleet raced through the night over the 100-mile course.
As Afloat reported previously, Nieulargo was first out of the harbour after the start and one of the first to return just after mid-day.
Reaching home under spinnaker along the Kinsale coast Photo: Bob Bateman
Winds were westerly and averaged 10-knots.
Prizes were presented in IRC and ECHO. Full results are here
KYC adds: Glorious conditions greeted the nine Cork & Dublin boats that came to the start line for the McWilliam Sailmakers sponsored annual Kinsale-Fastnet race. While the present Covid conditions may have affected the numbers those that turned out were well campaigned ensuring a very competitive event. The race was a fantastic tactical challenge working the tides in and out of the bays with a beat to the rock & run home. The sail to the rock was a fantastic offshore experience with a full moon, shoals of dolphins and even a meteorite shower to entertain the crews.
Meridian rounded the rock in first place with Nieulargo hot on her heels but the AIS positions & quick calculations showed Artful Dodger & Cinnamon Girl were proving difficult to shake off. The run home was nearly direct downwind bar the reach from the Old Head to the finish which didn’t suit the new Sunfast 3330 but both Niulagro & Artful Dodger relished those conditions. While Meridian took line honours and Nuilargo came home second it was impossible to know who was going to win the IRC Fastnet Trophy with all boats bringing home fresh breeze.
Prize giving was on the club balcony with Denis Murphy’s Grand Soleil 40 Nuilargo taking the Fastnet trophy after nineteen hours IRC racing by a mere three minutes from Finbarr O Regan’s Elan 333 Artful Dodger who won the newly presented Ocean trophy. Cian McCarthys Cinnamon Girl took the Echo trophy.
