2010 Cork Clipper Festival
The first stopover in Europe for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race since it departed the UK last September 2009 was Cork, Irelend where a festival, Cork Clipper Festival was held 7th-9th July, 2010.
This was the official website for the Cork Clipper Festival.
Content is from the site's 2010 archived pages as well as other sources.
Take a nostalgic trip back to 2010 to learn more about the Cork Clipper project which was funded by Failte Ireland, the Cork City Council and the Cork County Council.
~~~
02-07 July 2010 – Kinsale
07-09 July 2010 – Cork City
Cork Clipper Festival 7th-9th July, 2010
After an amazing week of festivities the Clipper Fleet have left to start the final leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. The yachts left in the traditional Parade of Sail from Port of Cork City Marina at 13.30 today, but the party conitnues!
50 Free Events featuring over 200 performers! Th Race Village main stage will feature The Lynch Mob and the Roaring Forties before global internet sensation Crystal Swing appearing at 7pm. The festival will be closed by Galway’s favourite sons, The Walls, at 8pm.
About
The Cork Clipper project is funded by Fáilte Ireland, Cork City Council and Cork County Council with the principal objective of promoting Cork as a tourism and business destination around the world. Working alongside Tourism Ireland, Cork has been promoted to consumers, trade and the media in key markets.
Cork Clipper Highlights
The Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race started from the Humber on the east coast of the UK on 13 September 2009. Tourism Ireland organized a consumer and media promotion in Hull– the crew onboard Cork Clipper feasted on black pudding, Irish cheese and smoked salmon and of course homemade brown bread as their last taste of Cork before setting sail for their 35,000 nm race around the world. Mayor of County Cork Councillor Derry Canty and Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork City Councillor Laura McGonigle were onboard to wish the crew a safe and successful race.
La Rochelle, France – His Excellency Paul Kavanagh, the Irish Ambassador to France, took time out from his busy schedule and travelled from the Embassy in Paris to La Rochelle in order to meet with the skipper and crew of Cork, Ireland. They were presented with an Irish traditional Bodhrán to reflect the rhythm and spirit of the Cork Clipper.
The Cork team have been a popular addition to the Race and won the leg from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town. The Cork team was guest of honour at an event hosted by Irish Ambassador Colin Wrafter, which was attended by top South African tour operators and travel media contacts. Sir Robin Knox Johnston, founder of the Clipper Race, was also present at the event. Tourism Ireland’s marketing activity in South Africa included a special Ireland promotion which ran for the week on popular radio station Cape Talk and was heard by almost 150,000 people. The promotion featured a competition for listeners to win a fantastic trip to Cork in July for the Cork Clipper festival.
Sadly, in the early hours of January 14th, the yacht struck a submerged reef in the Java Sea and had to be subsequently abandoned. On the advice of marine surveyor and salvage experts, she was deemed unrecoverable. Crew was safely rescued and continued their adventure on board one of the other nine yachts. Clipper has sourced a replacement boat for the Irish team and Cork will return to the race track in all her green and red glory when race 9 starts from Panama.
March 15th 2010 – new Cork Clipper skipper, Hannah Jenner was announced and plans were released for the development of Cork City pontoons which will host the Clipper Race in July but will also add a new mooring facility for leisure craft to visit the City of Cork. This will be a permanent legacy from the Clipper Round the World Yacht race visiting Cork.
April 8th 2010 – The Lord Mayor Councillor Dara Murphy, accompanied by Lady Mayoress Tanya Murphy, today welcomed the new Cork Clipper Skipper Hannah Jenner and crew at the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco. Club Director Jonathon Bailey joined the Mayoral couple in welcoming the new skipper to San Francisco where she too met her new crew for the first time since being made Skipper 3 weeks ago.
Clipper fans may note that you may have seen a bigger presence online - in fact you may be reading this because our internet outreach. Many outlets agree to carry our press releases. In addition we have secured the services of the highly regarded search consultancy TNG/Earthling. This tech savvy US firm has expanded our ability to reach a greater audience of avid Clipper followers when they search for us in Google. As of this posting of the event we are #1 for searches of Cork Clipper Festival.
PRESS
Clipper Festival makes a Splash in Port of Cork
The Cork Clipper Festival has been attracting huge audiences to the Race Village on Albert Quay since opening on Wednesday 7th July. A reported 20,000 people attended the first day of the festival which welcomed the Clipper Fleet as they arrived into the Port of Cork City Marina in a Parade of Sail from Kinsale. Radio station phone lines were jammed with the public calling in with breath taking sightings of the Clipper Fleet as they passed Cobh and Blackrock on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lord Mayor of Cork City Cllr Michael O’Connell honoured the Clipper Fleet with a Civic Reception. As each Clipper team made their way to the stage they were lead by a junior member of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the world’s oldest yacht club, to receive a Cork Coat of Arms which bears the appropriate Latin inscription ‘Statio Bene Fide Carinis’, – ‘A Safe Harbour for Ships’.
The Race Village, which is open from 10am to 10.30pm every day of the festival, has hosted fantastic free family entertainment every day. The festival finale on Friday promises to make the biggest splash of all with the Clipper Fleet Departure Ceremony starting on the main stage at 12.45 with The Band of the 1st Southern Brigade. All skippers will make their farewell from the main stage at 13.10 and the Yachts will start slipping their berths at 13.30. The Race Village main stage will feature The Lynch Mob and the Roaring Forties before global internet sensation Crystal Swing appearing at 7pm. The festival will be closed by Galway’s favourite sons, The Walls, at 8pm.
Cork Clipper Festival to conjure Galway Volvo Magic
Cork Clipper Festival goers are in for a treat this week as the festival moves to Cork from Kinsale from Wednesday 7th July to the festival finale on Friday 9th July. Fiona Bolger and Maria Moynihan-Lee, the same team behind the hugely successful Galway Volvo Ocean Race, have been the creative forces behind the Cork Clipper Festival which is expected to generate €10m in the local economy with 100,000 visitors expected.
The Clipper Fleet will leave Kinsale Harbour in a Parade of Sail at 11 am and will be visible from several Cork coastal areas passing Cobh between 2.30 and 3.30 and festival organizers have urged coastal dwellers and visitors to secure a good vantage point to wave at the nautical heroes who have circumnavigated the globe. The yachts are expected into the Port of Cork City Marina at 5pm and the people of Cork are invited to welcome the Clipper Fleet at the Race Village on Albert Quay. After this weekend’s fantastic festivities in Kinsale the Clippers’ welcome to the Port of Cork is expected to be even bigger with the Race Village opening daily from 10 am until 10.30 am featuring live music and entertainment.
Ballymaloe Country Relish will greet the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race with freshly made sandwiches prepared in Ballymaloe House. Locally sourced fillings including glazed ham from Cormac O’Connor in Mayfield, roast turkey from Nora Ahern in Midleton, Imokilly Cheddar, homemade mayonnaise, Robyn Allen’s organic salads, Ballymaloe Country Relish and Cranberry Sauce will be placed on Ballymaloe brown and white yeast breads and will be offered to the sailors as they arrive ashore. Over 60 concession stands will be situated in the Race Village providing festival goers with specialist retail, food, drink and craft stalls.
Some famous Cork names will appear as part of the celebrations with John Spillane headlining on the main stage on at 8.45pm Wednesday night and Cork’s chart-toppers Fred appearing at 8.45pm on Thursday night. The festival will be closed by finale headliners Crystal Swing at 7pm and The Walls at 8pm on Friday night.
All hands on Deck for the Cork Clipper Festival in Kinsale
Kinsale Harbour is currently decorated with international flags adorning the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Fleet. The crews have been enjoying a heroes’ welcome since their arrival on Sunday and are well rested ahead of the Cork Clipper Festival which begins in Kinsale on Friday 2nd July.
There is a palpable buzz around Kinsale Town as months of preparations finally come to fruition. The free family-friendly festival will see 14 Kinsale venues hosting 20 national and international musical acts which kicks off on Friday with the Kinsale Clipper Burrells. A Burrell is an evening of music in different venues, where instead of the audience travelling to see different acts in different venues, the acts come to each venue in turn. The Burrells will run from 7pm -9pm in several Kinsale locations: The Trident Hotel, Actons Hotel, Vista Bistro, Jolas Restaurant, The White Lady, The Blue Haven and artists include Colin McLean Latin Trio and Kinsale’s own The Good Rain. On Saturday live music will be performed on the Main Stage in Short Quay with Cork favourites the Aaron Dillon Band and Ian Whitty and the Exchange. Sunday will see a cultural crossover in the form of Crossbones Cork and Cape Breton outdoor Ceili.
In a town known for its “Craic and Culture”, the latter is catered for in several events over the weekend. The Goldifish Artisan Food and Craft Market will feature over 40 stalls showcasing the best of Irish Food and Craft. Audio Detours, where participants collect Ipods maps, will inform and entertain with stories detailing the local harbor history and history of the Clippers. Kinsale historical walks with Dermot Ryan will begin at Kinsale Tourist Office Daily at 10.30 am and 3pm and the newly renovated Mill will host “Stopover” the art exhibition featuring art from all regions the Clipper Race has visited.
Festival organizers have issued an open invitation to all boats to join in a Parade of Sail as the Clipper Fleet leave Kinsale at 11am on Wednesday 7th July and make their way to Port of Cork at approximately 5pm. The celebrations will continue on Albert Quay in a specially constructed Race Village complete with craft, food and drink stalls and a main stage which will host big name acts including Fred, John Spillane, The Roaring 40’s and recently announced festival finale headliners Crystal Swing and The Walls.
Lord Mayor welcomes Clipper Fleet with Civic Reception
Last night the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Michael O’Connell honoured Skippers and Crew of the Clipper Round the World yacht race with a Civic Reception at Millennium Hall in Cork City Hall. The event was held to welcome the visiting crews to Cork and to recognise the exceptional feat of circumnavigating the globe by many of the Clipper Crews .
To celebrate the event artist Don Meany donated a painting of the Cork Clipper completed during the Clipper stay in Kinsale, to be hung in City Hall as a lasting legacy of the Clippers only stopover in Ireland. The Clipper Race is not only a nautical adventure but an exchange of cultures which was encapsulated by the UNESCO book exchange spearheaded by the Edinburgh Clipper. As the UNESCO City of Literature, Edinburgh is eager to create an international legacy of its global voyage in the 35,000 miles Clipper Round the World Yacht Race by exchanging books by local authors in ports of call around the world. The Cork City Lord Mayor took part in the cultural exchange by presenting Edinburgh Inspiring Capital Skipper Matt Pike with books by several local Cork authors.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Lord Mayor had greeted the Cork Clipper Crew as they arrived in a Parade of Sail into Port of Cork City Marina at 5pm. Each Skipper of the ten yacht fleet was invited on stage in the Race Village in Albert Quay and presented with a Cork Coat of Arms which features the appropriate Latin inscription ‘Statio Bene Fide Carinis’ – ‘ASafe Harbour for Ships’.
The Cork Clipper Festival began in Cork City yesterday on Albert Quay in the specially constructed Race Village which is open daily from 10 am until 10.30 pm. The Festival features some famous names Cork chart-toppers Fred appearing at 8.45pm tonight. The festival will be closed by finale headliners Crystal Swing at 7pm and The Walls at 8pm on Friday night.
Race Schedule
Leg 1 |
Race start from the Humber, UK: 13 September 2009La Rochelle, France: ETA 18-20 September, depart 22 September |
Leg 2 |
Rio de Janeiro: depart 27 OctoberCape Town, South Africa: ETA 14-16 November |
Leg 3 |
Cape Town: depart 22 or 23 NovemberGeraldton-Greenough, Western Australia: ETA 14-18 December |
Leg 4 |
Geraldton-Greenough: depart 3 January 2010Singapore: arrive 23 January, depart 2 February |
Leg 5 |
Qingdao: depart 2 MarchCalifornia: ETA 1-5 April |
Leg 6 |
California: depart 19 AprilPanama: ETA 11-12 May, ETD 18 May |
Leg 7 |
Jamaica: depart 24 MayNew York: ETA 2 June, depart 6 June |
Cork in the Clipper Race
The Crew
Around half the Cork crew have no previous sailing experience – but what all of them have in common is that they have put their everyday lives as air traffic controllers, bankers, interior designers, taxi drivers, lawyers, and students on hold to take on this incredible challenge. The Cork Clipper crew age from 25 to 61 year of age and 40% of the sailors are female. The original Cork Clipper carried 17 crew, who with a watch system in operation onboard, sleep on average for only 2 and a half hours at a time.
Cork Clipper Crew |
|
| Total crew | 43 |
| Round the world crew | 6/43 |
| Men | 26 |
| Women | 17 |
| Oldest | 61 |
| Youngest | 25 |
| Average age | 41 |
| Nationalities represented | 9 |
SKIPPER – Hannah Jenner
Born in Surrey, Hannah grew up in Shrewsbury in the heart of England, perhaps not the most obvious place to produce a round the world skipper. “It’s about as far away from the water as you can get, she laughs, “but then, Dame Ellen McArthur grew up in Derbyshire so it must be something about being landlocked!
After getting a degree in English from Southampton University, where she sailed with their racing team, Hannah went straight on to Hamble School of Yachting to get her qualifications to be a cruising instructor so she could teach sailing. Since then she has racked up more than 130,000 miles and raced across the Atlantic nine times – the stage from Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia to Kinsale and Cork will be her tenth transatlantic race.
Hannah has worked with Clipper since 2004 in a number of roles. As a training skipper she has helped prepare crews for three editions of the Clipper Race and took the helm of Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper in the 07-08 race, successfully leading her team to a podium finish and the Scottish team’s highest ever placing in four campaigns – third overall. Her highly professional attitude and appreciation of the commercial requirements of sponsors also makes her a much requested skipper for corporate and team building events.
Since making her mark in Clipper 07-08 she has developed a reputation as one of the rising stars of the British ocean racing scene. In 2009 she completed a double-handed Fastnet Race, raced across the Atlantic on the Open 60 Aviva and ran the New York Marathon having started running just four months previously.
Hannah Jenner will celebrate her 30th birthday as she races into Kinsale as the skipper of Cork’s entry in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race.
Round the World Crew
Noreen Osborne, 30 is a Customer Services Duty Manager at Belfast International Airport and is originally from Lisburn. She knew she had to do the Clipper when she heard about the experience of a previous crew member from Northern Ireland. Noreen probably has more ocean experience than any other crew having sailed across the Atlantic with her uncle in the 40ft steel boat that he built himself where they encountered a tropical storm and a twister!
Marco Giana, 26 is originally from Hobart, Tasmania. He started travelling around Europe but loved Ireland so much he decided to stay! He works as an IT Consultant in Dublin but is taking a year out to complete the biggest challenge of his life.
Orla Mellett, 29 from Galway is a corporate banker in London. She learnt to sail as a student in Chicago and Howth. She loves to sing and intends to continue to do so onboard – hopefully her crew members think the same! Orla has linked up with two charities, Croí and Aware and has set up her own website www.orlamellett.com Her greatest fear of the race is that the boat might capsize while she is asleep!
Michael Lewis, age 30 currently living in Derby, UK but originally from Dublin is an engineer. He applied to Clipper because he really wanted to challenge himself and do something memorable. Although Michael suffers from epilepsy, it is controlled so he can do the race. Michael has set up his own website www.lewisroundtheworld.com where he is hoping supporters will contribute to his chosen charities for epilepsy research and support.
Kevin Austen, age 25 is a law student from Dublin who is taking a year out. Kevin is one of the few crew with good sailing experience as he has been sailing since he was a child in Dun Laoghaire. He has also won rugby at college level and will be bringing his lucky Leinster jersey onboard Cork!
Keith Hale, age 49, Interior/kitchen designer
More Background On CorkClipperFestival.com
CorkClipperFestival.com functioned as the official online home of the Cork Clipper Festival, a large-scale maritime and cultural celebration held in July 2010 in Cork City and Kinsale, Ireland. Created in conjunction with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the site documented one of Cork’s most ambitious tourism-driven international events of the early 21st century. Though the festival itself was brief in duration, the website remains an important archival artifact—capturing a unique intersection of ocean racing, regional branding, civic pride, live music, food culture, and international media outreach.
At its peak, CorkClipperFestival.com served multiple roles simultaneously: an event guide, promotional platform, press hub, and historical record of Cork’s participation in a globally recognized sailing competition. Today, the site offers insight into how cities like Cork leveraged major sporting stopovers to project themselves onto the world stage during a period when experiential tourism and destination marketing were rapidly evolving.
Ownership and Organizational Background
CorkClipperFestival.com was developed as part of a publicly funded initiative involving Irish tourism and municipal stakeholders. The festival itself was supported by Fáilte Ireland, Cork City Council, and Cork County Council, with coordination alongside Tourism Ireland. These organizations collectively aimed to position Cork as an attractive destination for international visitors, investors, and media audiences.
The website was not a private commercial venture but rather an event-specific digital platform created to support a finite cultural initiative. Its ownership and oversight reflected a public-sector collaboration model common in large tourism activations of the late 2000s. As such, the site emphasized accessibility, broad public engagement, and promotional storytelling rather than long-term monetization or brand continuity.
Geographic Focus and Strategic Location
Cork’s role as a stopover for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was geographically and symbolically significant. Located on Ireland’s southern coast, Cork has long been associated with maritime trade, naval history, and ocean-going culture. The festival centered primarily on Cork City’s Albert Quay and Port of Cork City Marina, with earlier activities staged in Kinsale, a historic harbor town renowned for sailing, gastronomy, and tourism.
CorkClipperFestival.com highlighted these locations not merely as venues but as experiential backdrops—emphasizing parade-of-sail routes, coastal vantage points, and walkable festival zones. The site consistently framed Cork and Kinsale as places where global maritime narratives intersected with local tradition.
Historical Context: The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a biennial sailing competition founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to complete a solo non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Unlike many elite sailing races, the Clipper Race is distinctive in that it allows amateur sailors—many with no prior ocean-racing experience—to participate after extensive training.
Cork’s involvement in the 2009–2010 race cycle represented Ireland’s sole stopover during that edition. CorkClipperFestival.com documented the arrival and departure of the international fleet, the achievements of the Cork-branded yacht, and the city’s role within the race’s global itinerary spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and the Caribbean.
Festival Goals and Strategic Objectives
The primary objective of the Cork Clipper Festival, as reflected throughout the website, was to promote Cork as a tourism and business destination on a global scale. This ambition extended beyond attracting short-term visitors; it aimed to generate international media exposure, strengthen Cork’s maritime identity, and leave a lasting infrastructural and reputational legacy.
Key goals included:
-
Showcasing Cork’s capacity to host large international events
-
Generating economic impact through visitor spending
-
Strengthening Ireland’s association with global sailing culture
-
Encouraging cultural exchange through music, art, and public programming
-
Leaving behind improved marina and mooring infrastructure
CorkClipperFestival.com framed these objectives in accessible, celebratory language, emphasizing community participation and civic pride.
Programming, Events, and Cultural Scope
One of the most striking aspects of the festival, as documented online, was its scale. The Cork Clipper Festival featured dozens of free public events over multiple days, with programming designed to appeal to families, sailing enthusiasts, tourists, and local residents alike.
The Race Village on Albert Quay served as the festival’s centerpiece. According to information presented on the site, it hosted live music, cultural performances, food stalls, craft markets, and official race ceremonies. Musical acts ranged from local Cork performers to nationally recognized Irish artists, reinforcing the festival’s blend of global spectacle and regional identity.
In Kinsale, the festival emphasized intimate cultural experiences such as historical walking tours, art exhibitions, and rotating live music events across multiple venues. This dual-location approach allowed CorkClipperFestival.com to present the festival as both expansive and locally rooted.
Food, Drink, and Local Enterprise
Food culture featured prominently in the festival’s presentation. CorkClipperFestival.com devoted considerable attention to the role of local producers, artisans, and restaurateurs. The site highlighted Irish ingredients, regional specialties, and the participation of well-known Cork food brands.
This emphasis aligned with Cork’s broader reputation as a culinary destination and reinforced the festival’s economic impact on local businesses. The website positioned food not as a secondary attraction but as a central component of the visitor experience—an approach that has since become standard in destination marketing but was still gaining momentum at the time.
Audience and Public Engagement
The festival’s intended audience was broad and intentionally inclusive. CorkClipperFestival.com addressed multiple demographics simultaneously:
-
International sailing fans following the Clipper Race
-
Domestic and overseas tourists visiting Ireland
-
Local Cork residents and families
-
Media professionals and travel writers
-
Corporate sponsors and trade representatives
The website’s tone balanced excitement with clarity, offering schedules, background information, and human-interest stories about crew members and performers. This approach helped demystify ocean racing for newcomers while still providing depth for enthusiasts.
Media Coverage and Press Strategy
CorkClipperFestival.com functioned as an active press hub during the event. It featured news updates, attendance figures, ceremonial highlights, and official statements from civic leaders. The site reflected a sophisticated understanding of media dynamics, emphasizing visuals, crowd numbers, and economic impact statistics likely to resonate with journalists.
Coverage extended beyond Ireland, with references to international media interest generated by the Clipper Race’s global footprint. The site also underscored Cork’s ability to attract high-profile attention, reinforcing its positioning as an outward-looking, globally connected city.
Digital Presence and SEO Awareness
For its time, CorkClipperFestival.com demonstrated a notable awareness of digital outreach and search visibility. The site openly referenced its online promotion strategy and its efforts to reach international audiences through search engines and syndicated press content.
This transparency offers a valuable snapshot of early 2010s event SEO practices, when destination websites increasingly recognized the importance of discoverability. The site’s structure, frequent updates, and keyword-rich content reflected best practices of the era and contributed to its visibility during the festival period.
Social and Cultural Significance
Beyond tourism metrics, the Cork Clipper Festival carried deeper cultural meaning. It celebrated maritime heritage, volunteerism, and international cooperation. Crew profiles emphasized diversity of age, profession, and nationality, reinforcing the race’s ethos of inclusivity and personal challenge.
CorkClipperFestival.com framed the event as a shared civic achievement—something created not just for visitors, but with the active participation of Cork’s residents, artists, and institutions. This community-centered narrative helped distinguish the festival from purely commercial events.
Legacy and Long-Term Impact
Although the Cork Clipper Festival itself was a one-time event tied to the 2009–2010 race cycle, its legacy extended beyond its closing ceremonies. Infrastructure improvements, particularly marina enhancements, were positioned as lasting benefits for Cork’s maritime tourism sector.
The website now serves primarily as an archival resource. Its continued availability through web archives allows researchers, historians, and cultural analysts to examine how mid-sized cities leveraged global sporting events during a transitional period in tourism marketing.
CorkClipperFestival.com as a Historical Website
Today, CorkClipperFestival.com stands as a digital time capsule. It captures a moment when Cork aligned itself with a global narrative of exploration, endurance, and cultural exchange. While the site is no longer actively maintained, its preserved pages remain valuable for understanding event-driven destination branding, public-sector collaboration, and early digital outreach strategies.
For anyone studying maritime festivals, Irish tourism history, or the evolution of event websites, CorkClipperFestival.com offers a detailed, authentic snapshot of how one city embraced the world—and invited the world to embrace it in return.
