Organisers have claimed that the Venture Cup 2016 is fully funded and revealed the Cork to Dublin route for this offshore powerboat race
The Venture Cup will return in 2016 as a Round Ireland offshore powerboat race, after organisers secured more than €500,000 of funding.
The racing series, which has been beset by cancellations and delays over the past few years, looks set to get its moment in the spotlight next year, with TV coverage and harbour festivals in Cork, Galway and Dublin.
Funding comes from a mixture of private and public sector sources, and although they hope to double their current total the Venture Cup team claim that they already have sufficient funding in place to run the race.
The eight-day event will run from June 12-19 and will see the monohulled racers pass many notable coastal landmarks such as the Fastnet Rock, Blasket Sound (pictured above), the Giant’s Causeway and Belfast’s Titantic Quarter.
But the race promises to be much more challenging than a sightseeing trip, with 15m Atlantic swells threatening to catch out unlucky skippers.
Aidan Foley, event director for Venture Cup 2016, said: “The dream of the Venture Cup will be brought fully to life in June of 2016 as teams take on the Atlantic Ocean in some of the world’s most challenging and dramatic locations.”
Teams for the Venture Cup 2016 are yet to be announced, but the standard is set to be high, with current Cowes-Torquay-Cowes champion Peter Dredge signed up as racing director.
Entrants will have to pay a €500 entry fee and bring a vessel capable of taking on this 1,000nm clockwise round-Ireland course.
But there are likely be crowds to welcome the finishing powerboats as Críona Ní Dhálaigh, lord mayor of Dublin, added:
“Dublin City Council looks forward to working with the Venture 16 team and Dublin Port to deliver a unique shore-based festival experience to complement the spectacular water sport activity in Dublin Bay.”
