Ireland's most westerly Atlantic outcrop, the Blasket Islands, are so imbued with mythology and an almost supernatural ruggedness that no-one had previously thought of using the group’s lighthouse island, Inishtearaght, as the turning point for a 240-mile offshore race. But they think outside the box in Kinsale YC. On the morning of Friday May 20th, the inaugural Inishearaght Race got underway with a fleet which made up in quality anything it lacked in quantity.
Among the renowned fully-crewed boats, the smallest competitor was the eye-catching little Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl, and the interest was heightened by the fact that owner Cian McCarthy and regular shipmate Sam Hunt were undertaking this new challenge two-handed. Yet after a rugged race taking them to an even more rugged setting, when the boats got back to Kinsale in late evening on the Saturday, not only was the big-hearted little Cinnamon Girl second across the line, but she won handsomely on a corrected time which made no allowance for the fact that there were only the two of them on board. We salute their special achievement – only one crew will ever be down in the records as the winner of the first Inishtearaght Race.
Cinnamon Girl approaching Kinsale Harbour and a great win – sailors of fully-crewed boats might care to note the absence of trailing lines Photo: Robert Bateman
