Debbie in 1961. Fastnet Rock Fastnet Rock () or simply Fastnet (possibly ). It is a small clay-slate islet with quartz veins, and rises to about above the low water mark and is separated from the much smaller Little Fastnet to the south by a wide channel. Fastnet is known as "Ireland's Teardrop", because it was the last part of Ireland that 19th-century Irish emigrants saw as they sailed to North America. Fastnet also gives its name to the sea area used by the Shipping Forecasts transmitted by the BBC. Fastnet Rock is used as the midpoint of one of the world's classic offshore yachting races, the Fastnet Race, a round trip from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, around the rock and back to Plymouth (from 2021 onwards, back to Cherbourg in France). It is also sometimes used as a mark for yacht races from local sailing centres such as Schull, Baltimore, and Crookhaven. See also "Carraig Aonair (The Lone Rock)" folksong about a disaster on the rock. List of lighthouses in Ireland List of islands of Ireland References Sources Morrissey, James (2005). A History of Fastnet Lighthouse. Columbia Press. The Fastnet Lighthouse: Light on a lonely rock, The Economist 18 Dec 2008 C.W. Scott, History of Fastnet Lighthouses, Schull Books 2001 R. Coates, 'Fastnet', Nomina 20 (1997), pp. 37–46 Fastnet Lighthouse Vital Statistics Pictures of the lighthouse Mizen Head Signal Station 9/28/1907;Fastnet Rock Lighthouses As Seen From Ooean Liners External links Fastnet Rock Commissioners of Irish Lights Fastnet Rock Tour from Baltimore and Cape Clear Island Fastnet Construction Lighthouses completed in 1853 Lighthouses completed in 1892 Towers completed in 1891 Lighthouses in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Cork Lighthouses on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage