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The Irish Port of Waterford has launched a brand new report titled ‘The Maritime Heritage of Waterford Estuary’.

Marine resource economist, Dr Naomi S. Foley, the author of the report, was commissioned by the south-east port to highlight the variety of opportunities to develop and promote the estuary.

To consult the report which is available to view online here, offers an overview of the natural and cultural heritage of Waterford Estuary.

As highlighted in the report are the outlining opportunities for the future sustainable development, promotion and preservation of this heritage that could benefit the coastal communities of the estuary.

The Port of Waterford’s Heritage Committee Chairman, Joe Dreelan said, “This report is an important publication as it helps to place a framework around potential collaborations in order to achieve a number of objectives; including increasing the awareness of the maritime heritage of Waterford Estuary; contributing to a sense of community, pride and place through sustainable social and economic development and work towards strengthening and building on current community development projects.

The chairman added, for example "to those projects funded by the FLAG and LEADER programme in order to promote, preserve and enjoy our unique maritime heritage.”

Welcoming the report, CEO of Waterford Council Michael Walsh said, “Waterford Estuary has a rich maritime heritage and we are delighted to see the breadth of potential opportunities for potential future engagement and development across the areas of natural and cultural heritage".

The CEO also commented "We look forward to collaborating further with Port of Waterford to investigate the possibility of these project proposals. We have seen the success of the Waterford Greenway and note the proposition of a Waterford Estuary Blueway which is certainly something that is on our radar.”

The report gives us a full account of how the villages on both sides of the Wexford and Waterford estuary became such vital cogs in the trading success of Waterford City and the wider Southeast, and laterally how fishing became central to the villages’ economic wellbeing.

In commissioning and championing this report, Port of Waterford wishes to acknowledge the role Cheekpoint, Passage East, Duncannon, Dunmore East, Ballyhack and Arthurstown played in the Port’s development over the generations.

Published in Irish Ports

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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