fastnet yacht race results

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Rolex Fastnet Race winner declared as Caro takes victory overall

• Toby Heppell
• July 26, 2023

Max Klink's Botin 52, Caro has been declared winner of the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race, the 50th edition of the event after a big breeze start on Saturday

Max Klink’s Botin 52, Caro , has officially been declared the winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race 2023 , with the announcement coming early afternoon on Wednesday 26th July.

“This is a legendary group of sailors who I have been fortunate to sail with for a few years now,” said Swiss owner, Klink, “but when we set out on this race I never expected that we could win. It’s a dream come true, and all the more special that this is the 50th edition of such an iconic race.

“The first 12 hours we were just in survival mode, trying not to break anything, trying to keep the boat at 100 per cent. I wasn’t thinking about any title or trophy, it was just about getting through the conditions.”

Tactician aboard Caro for the race, Adrian Stead – himself a two-time winner previously with Niklas Zennström’s Rán – added: “Conditions were pretty extreme and to the west of Portland we found ourselves all sitting in the cockpit and sailing at 5-6 knots just to get through, just to make sure we didn’t break the boat.”

The team lost their wind instruments in those early moments and so had to complete the majority of the course without a significant amount of their instrumentation. But having weathered the early conditions well otherwise, they proved very quick, particularly after rounding the Fastnet Rock.

Stead admits they had the dream run back from the Isles of Scilly. “We pretty much straightlined it all the way and we realised we had a very good shot at winning IRC Zero so pulled out all the stops, got out some extra chocolate bars and had everyone hiking hard on the rail for the last few hours into the finish.

“We were fortunate how the weather worked out for us, but I think we did a great job of preparation and keeping ourselves in the game for as long as possible and we are so pleased how it all paid off.”

The Caro team had practised the start and all the way out to the Fairway Buoy on the Wednesday before the race start, with similar current and in 25 knots in order to ensure that they were acclimatised to the course start, and the conditions expected.

Caro crossed the finish line at 06:25:02 on Tuesday 25th July giving them a total race time of 2 days 16 hours 40minutes and 2 seconds. But they faced a long wait for confirmation of their win with the bulk of the fleet still out on the water and with several boats still hypothetically in contention.

However, the outlook was positive for the eventual winners as the wind dropped off for the fleets behind, particularly on Tuesday afternoon and evening when conditions turned very light, particularly in the English Channel.

Caro closing in on the Rolex Fastnet Race finish/ Photo: Paul Wyeth / RORC

Caro had already been declared winner of IRC Zero on Tuesday, so all eyes were on the slower fleets to see who might challenge. The wind was forecast to build again from the south-west overnight on Tuesday and during the course of the day on Wednesday 26 July, which potentially could have seen some of the smallest boats coming home in faster conditions towards the finish.

But, though the breeze did increase (and the forecast looks for much more wind and rain later on Wednesday night) the build did not come early enough for the smaller boats to put up any real challenge for the win.

“Max is a great owner, he’s got a fantastic team with a really well prepared boat and those are all the boxes you need to tick for a race like the Fastnet,” Stead concluded.

The winning crew on Caro are: William Parker, Wade Morgan, Ryan Godfrey, Justin Ferris, Jono Swain, James Paterson, Harry Hall, Cian Guilfoyle, Andrew McCorquodale, Andy Green, Adrian Stead and owner Max Klink.

Follow all our 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race coverage

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

1979 Fastnet Race: The race that changed everything

• Nic Compton
• May 18, 2022

Nic Compton investigates how the UK’s worst sailing disaster - the 1979 Fastnet Race - changed the way yachts are designed

The Royal Navy airlifted 74 survivors during three days of rescues. Credit: Getty

‘A soul-chilling surge of fear swept through all of us as we heard the terrifying sound of a breaking wave 40ft above us. In a few seconds the 10ft-high foaming crest was bearing down on us from behind like an avalanche. […] We braced ourselves for the pooping of our lives, but a split second before the onslaught from astern, the bow disappeared as we nosedived into a wall of water in front. […] As the bow submarined into this secondary wave, Grimalkin ’s stern rose until it arced over the bow and stood us on our nose. As we approached the vertical, crew were thrown against the back of the coachroof or out of the boat altogether. A split second later and we were hit from astern by the breaking wave and we pitchpoled.’

This is one of the defining moments of the 1979 Fastnet Race when, after having been knocked down multiple times and rolled through 360°, the 30ft Grimalkin was hit by a rogue wave and pitchpoled.

As she went through the roll, her rig collapsed and she remerged with a broken mast and the spars smashing against her topsides.

By then, the boat’s owner, David Sheahan, was dead, floating face down in the sea to windward, and two of the crew were slumped in the cockpit, also apparently dead.

Rescue helicopters went back in the days after the disaster to check every boat for survivors, including Grimalkin . Credit: Getty

Faced with this carnage, the remaining three crew – including the owner’s son, Matt Sheahan, then only 17, who wrote the passage above – decided to abandon ship and boarded the liferaft .

Only later did they discover that at least one of the crew left on board was still alive – Nick Ward, who went on to tell his tale in his book Left for Dead .

But of course Grimalkin wasn’t the only yacht to have succumbed to the Force 10 winds that ravaged the fleet that year.

By the end of the 1979 Fastnet race, 24 boats had been abandoned, five boats had sunk, 136 sailors had been rescued, and 15 sailors killed.

It was and still is the deadliest yacht race in history – well ahead of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race which left six people dead.

The rescue was described as the biggest peacetime life-saving operation in British history, and its impact has reverberated throughout the yachting world.

Stowage arrangements on yachts was one of the changes following the 1979 Fastnet Race, after many crews found it too dangerous to be below deck due to insecure equipment

It was a wake-up call for the emergency services and triggered a huge push for improved safety equipment.

But how much did it affect the course of boat design , and have the lessons of this deadliest of races really been learned, or is there a danger it could happen all over again?

When the 303 boats gathered for the Fastnet Race on 11 August 1979, racing was still governed by the International Offshore Rule (IOR), first introduced in 1969.

After 10 years of experimentation, designers had found ways of maximising the rule, not always with desirable results.

‘In 1979 all boat racing was done under IOR, but it was already in decline, mainly because designers had found their weaselly way into the rule,’ says the former Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) technical director Mike Urwin, ‘which meant that unless you had the latest and greatest you didn’t stand a chance. The IOR produced boats which wholly optimised the rule but which were opposed to the rules of nature, such as hydrodynamics.’

One of the main complaints about the IOR was that it produced boats which were ‘short on stability’, as Urwin puts it.

The 1979 Fastnet Race Inquiry looked at weather reporting, safety gear, crew experience and tactics, and search and rescue procedures.

The rule contained a Centre of Gravity Factor, which encouraged designers to aim for the minimum stability allowed, bringing ballast inside the boat and even fitting wooden shoes on the bottom of keels to reduce weight.

The result was lightweight boats with wide beams, pinched ends and high freeboards, which in extreme weather had a tendency to roll over and stay over.

Another major failing of the rule was that, as it wasn’t possible to physically weigh them yet, the boats were weighed theoretically by measuring their shape at a series of stations and calculating the overall shape accordingly.

This lead to designers adding all kinds of strange appendages between the stations to increase the waterline length, which in turn meant the hulls became distorted and difficult to steer.

It was an altogether bad state of affairs yet, speaking 40 years after the 1979 Fastnet Race, designer Ron Holland – responsible for dozens of IOR racers, including Grimalkin – defends his and his colleagues’ approach.

‘We were designing boats to the IOR rule, so it wasn’t just boat design, it was trick design. Without those restrictions we would have designed boats that were less distorted and faster, but they wouldn’t have won races under the IOR rules. The racing rule forced us to design narrow sterns, so the boats were tricky to sail downwind: you had to be skilled to stay on your feet – it was all part of the game. We just took the handicap system as it was and designed boats as fast as possible around that – still bearing in mind that if you don’t finish you can’t win and you need structural integrity to keep sailing.’

Lessons from the wreckage of the 1979 Fastnet Race

Holland experienced the storm first hand, first from the deck of Golden Apple of the Sun and then, when the boat’s rudder broke off the Isles of Scilly , from the inside of a rescue helicopter.

‘I personally felt bad afterwards, especially because of those people who died. We had never had that before. But the weather was so extreme; the waves were of a size, shape and frequency that I’ve never seen before. I’m convinced that even a Colin Archer would have rolled over in those conditions.’

As the crews licked their wounds and the families mourned their dead in the aftermath of the 1970 Fastnet race, the RYA and the RORC commissioned an inquiry to find out what had gone wrong.

Three questionnaires were sent to the skipper and crews of all 303 yachts, and 669 completed questionnaires were fed into a computer for analysis.

Yacht designer Ron Holland took part on the 1979 Fastnet. He said the waves were of a size and frequency he had never seen before. Credit: Getty

The result was a 74-page report, which looked at everything from weather reporting to marine safety gear , crew experience and tactics, and search and rescue procedures.

Yet, despite recognising that many people felt designers had ‘gone to extremes which surpass the bounds of common sense’ in their quest for speed, the section on boat design is relatively short: less than three pages out of a 74-page report.

Indeed, the authors seem to go along with the ‘consensus of opinion’ that it was ‘the severity of the conditions rather than any defect in the design of the boats’, which was the main cause of the problem – all the while noting that 48% of the fleet had been knocked to horizontal, 33% had gone beyond horizontal, and five boats had spent between 30 seconds and six minutes fully inverted.

The report didn’t bother investigating knockdowns to horizontal (so-called B1 knockdowns) because it considered that these ‘have always been a potential danger in cruising and offshore racing yachts in heavy seas’, so they regarded them as normal.

New measures

Buried in the appendices was a technical report comparing the stability of a Contessa 32 Assent – the only boat in the smallest class to complete the course – and a ‘1976 Half Tonner’ (generally assumed to be Grimalkin ).

The report showed the Contessa had a range of stability of 156° compared to just 117° for the Half Tonner, making the latter far more likely to stay inverted.

Despite these concerns, the report made few recommendations for changes in yacht design, apart from suggesting the RORC should consider changing its measurement rules and make it possible to exclude boats ‘whose design parameters may indicate a lack of stability’.

The overwhelming weight of the report, however, was about the weather, improving safety gear on boats and better procedures for search and rescue.

It concluded: ‘In the 1979 race the sea showed that it can be a deadly enemy and that those who go to sea for pleasure must do so in the full knowledge that they may encounter dangers of the highest order. However, provided that the lessons so harshly taught in this race are well learnt we feel that yachts should continue to race over the Fastnet course.’

Changes brought in after 1979 means boats have to meet the ISO 12217-2 stability standard in order to sail in the Fastnet Race. Credit: Carlo Borlenghi

Yet, despite this, racing rules did change.

From 1983, the Channel Handicap System (CHS) was introduced, initially alongside IOR and eventually, as the renamed International Rating Certificate (IRC), supplanting it.

The new rule encouraged a low centre of gravity by not penalising ballast in the keel.

Also, thanks to advances in technology, it was now possible to weigh boats which, according to Mike Urwin, ‘at a stroke’ stopped designers distorting the hull to get better rating – gone were the unseemly bumps and creases of IOR boats – and resulted in ‘more wholesome boats which were easier to handle’.

There were other changes.

From 1988, the CHS introduced a Safety & Stability Screening (SSS) system, which measured a boat’s stability and took into account factors such as rig, keel , and engine type.

Thus an inboard engine scored more highly than an outboard, and a sturdy, simple rig was favoured over the complex spiders webs of many IOR boats.

Features such as furling headsails, in-mast reefing and radar can have a big impact on a yacht’s stability. Credit: David Harding

Trisails and VHF radios became mandatory.

In due course, competitors were required to complete shorter, qualifying races before they were allowed to race in the Fastnet, and a certain percentage of the crew were expected to have a sea survival certificate.

And Urwin points to another way the 1979 Fastnet Race has improved boat safety.

When it came to devising an ISO standard for yacht construction in the UK in the 1990s, the starting point for stability was the SSS system produced by the RORC.

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The resulting ISO 12217-2 (which Urwin calls a ‘gold standard for stability’) is now not only used to qualify for RORC offshore races such as the Fastnet, but is used by most British designers to pass the EU’s Recreational Craft Directive rules.

Even more significantly, perhaps, the tragedy prompted a change of attitude, according to former ROCR race director Janet Grosvenor.

‘The 1979 Fastnet was the trigger that started a greater awareness of safety issues in sailing that exists today,’ she says.

‘You can see it in people’s ordinary lives and their perception of safety. Young people nowadays turn up with their own lifejacket , which they know fits them and is up to date, whereas before they used to all be provided by the boat. It’s a mindset. We are living in a more health and safety conscious world these days.’

The new approach came to the fore in 2007 when, for the first time in its 82-year history, the start of the race was delayed after the Met Office warned of extreme conditions in the Irish Sea, similar to 1979.

In her role as race director, Grosvenor delayed the start by 25 hours, ensuring the bulk of the fleet was still in the English Channel when the storm hit and could retire safely if necessary.

And retire they did, with 207 of the 271-strong fleet taking shelter in ports along the south coast.

For Grosvenor, the fact that no boats capsized and no lives were lost was a vindication of this new attitude.

Lasting legacy of the 1979 Fastnet Race

Matt Sheahan’s experiences during the 1979 Fastnet Race affected him for the rest of his life and sparked a personal crusade.

After studying Yacht Design at Southampton University, he worked at Proctor Masts before eventually joining Yachting World as racing editor.

In his guise as chief boat tester, he conducted a campaign to make yacht manufacturers more open about stability.

‘I was determined to include stability information with all our boat tests. I wasn’t trying to change the world or say there should be set limits, it was just about getting people to understand the issue and know what their boat is suitable for. When you sail an Ultra 30, with eight crew and minimal ballast, you know if you get it wrong you’ll be swimming and the boat will probably capsize. That’s ok, it’s a calculated risk taken by experienced sailors. What’s not acceptable is when you have a cruising family who don’t have much experience and just want a boat for weekend cruising, and you sell them a boat which is capable of capsizing if it heels beyond 100° or 105° – which is the case with many boats by the time you put all the extra bits of kit on the mast. But people aren’t aware.’

The Contessa 32, Assent , pictured taking part in Cowes Week, was the smallest boat to complete the 1979 Fastnet Race

As ever, suitability of a boat for a specific use is key.

It is important that buyers understand what a boat is suitable for and what it is not. So, are boats safer now than they were in 1979?

There’s little doubt that the advances in safety equipment, clothing and building materials have improved sailors’ chances of survival in extreme weather conditions.

And there are signs that designers are producing more seaworthy designs than before.

Conditions in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race were said to be at least as bad as in the 1979 Fastnet Race, yet only 18% of the 115 boats in the race had B1 knockdowns and only 3% had B2 knockdowns – compared to 48% and 33% in the Fastnet.

Heed the warnings

But Sheahan is cautious: ‘What worries me is that the lessons from the 1979 Fastnet get forgotten. Most yachts have better stability characteristics now, partly because of regulations but also because they are generally getting bigger, so they have more form stability anyway. But by the time you add in mast-furling , furling staysails, and all the other bits of kit on the mast, the centre of gravity starts to creep up and you have a problem again. There’s a trend to make cruising boats look like fancy hotel foyers down below, to make them more appealing to the family. But the minute the boat heels over, it’s a nightmare to get across. With nothing to hold onto, someone’s going to get hurt. There’s also a move towards fine bows and over-wide sterns, making boats harder to steer downwind. So stability might be better, but the handling is getting worse.’

Urwin also thinks we are far from immune from a repeat of 1979.

The subsequent inquiry into the 1979 Fastnet Race recommended that blocking arrangements on main companionways should be totally secure

‘With the best will in the world we can’t forecast exactly what weather is going to do. If it happens again, modern boats are less likely to get into trouble, and if they do get into trouble the safety equipment is much better. We have by various means, some directly related to the 1979 Fastnet, improved the design of boats so they are more seaworthy. But never say never. With climate change creating extreme weather, it could happen again.’

The truth is that boat design is always going to be a compromise between speed and safety and that no boat is guaranteed to survive all weather conditions.

And one thing that becomes clear from all the first-hand accounts of the 1979 Fastnet Race is that the conditions were beyond anything competitors had encountered before.

Today’s sailors would do well not to assume that modern boats could survive any better than those flawed boats of 40 years ago.

As Ron Holland puts it: ‘If a fleet of boats racing on the Solent was hit by that Fastnet storm, they would still find it difficult to steer and the result wouldn’t be that different. I’ve done a lot of miles at sea but I’ve never seen conditions like that.’

Sailors take heed.

Stability research after the 1979 Fastnet Race

The Contessa 32 was used in the research into the causes of knockdowns after the 1979 race Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

The Fastnet disaster prompted the Wolfson Unit at Southampton University to undertake detailed research into the causes of B1 (90°) and B2 (full inversion) knockdowns.

Its conclusions were striking.

•  yacht with a stability range of 150° or more, like a Contessa 32 (pictured), will not remain inverted after capsize, as the wave motion alone is enough to bring it back up.
• If the wave height is 60% or more than the length of the boat, then capsize is almost inevitable, therefore, smaller yachts are more liable to be capsized than bigger ones.
• The Wolfson Unit also found that a yacht which has a stability range of 127° when fitted with conventional sails drops to an alarming 96° when fitted with in-mast mainsail and roller-furling genoa.

Yacht construction

The 1979 Fastnet Inquiry also highlighted several ‘weaknesses’ in relation to yacht construction.

Steering gear

Many rudders failed during the race due to the weakness of the carbon fibre used in the construction.

The report authors highlighted that although emergency steering would only give ‘minimum directional control’ it was important it would work to get a yacht safely to harbour.

Watertight Integrity

The design and construction of main companionways was ‘the most serious defect’ affecting watertight integrity.

The inquiry recommended that blocking arrangements should be totally secure but openable from above and below decks.

Bilge pumps should also discharge overboard and not into the cockpit, unless the cockpit is open-ended.

Many of the crews found it too dangerous below decks as their yachts rolled due to insecure equipment, like batteries, becoming flying ‘missiles’.

The stowage arrangements in some boats were designed to be effective only up to 90° angle of heel.

Deck Arrangements

The inquiry found cockpit drainage arrangement in some of the boats was ‘inadequate’, and called for a requirement for cockpits to drain within a minimum time.

The report also highlighted the problems with yachts under tow, and recommended a requirement for a strong securing point on the foredeck and a bow fairlead for anchor cable and towing warp.

The report also called for adequate toe-rails to be fitted, especially forward of the mast.

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Rolex Fastnet Race: 50th Edition Grows the Legacy

Cherbourg, 28 July 2023 - The 50th edition of a contest as legendary as the Rolex Fastnet Race deserved to be special. The largest ever fleet in the history of offshore racing spanning fully professional ocean racing greyhounds as well as more Corinthian entries combined with conditions that tested preparation, determination and expertise. The result, an epic that will be remembered not just for the celebratory element, but its contribution to a near 100 year legacy. First held in 1925 and organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the Rolex Fastnet Race sits alongside the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race as a pillar of Rolex’s longstanding and privileged relationship with yachting, and as one of the most revered and challenging ocean races in the world.

Setting off from Cowes, England, on 22 July, into winds gusting 40 knots, crews were set an immediate and extreme examination of boat-handling and resilience. When those who completed the course crossed the finish line in Cherbourg, France, fatigue from their exertions was matched by pride at passing the test. The sense of accomplishment was evident throughout. In terms of prize winners, Max Klink’s 52 foot (15.85 metre) Caro from Switzerland secured the Fastnet Challenge Cup for overall victory under IRC time correction, adding a new name and country to the honour roll on the coveted trophy. Two records were set: first home across the entire fleet, the 105ft (32m) French trimaran SVR Lazartigue  skippered by François Gabart, established a new benchmark time for the 695-nautical mile (1,287 kilometre) course, while Charlie Dalin’s 60ft (18.29m)  Macif Santé Prévoyance  beat the previous best for a monohull.

Overall winner Caro ’s battle was against the main body of yachts, 358, spread across five classes. Diverse entries ranging from the 88ft (27m) carbon-fibre canting-keeled racing maxi, Lucky , from the United States with 20 crew, down to  Maluka , sailed by five. The 90-year-old design is built of pine, a mere 30ft (9m) in length and gaff-rigged like the winner of the first Fastnet, Jolie Brise . Its Australian owner is a 30-race veteran of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Such is the heritage and status of the northern hemisphere’s premier offshore competition, that Sean Langman, who has raced immensely powerful skiffs, trimarans and maxis over a long career, chose to compete in his first Rolex Fastnet Race in yacht almost the same age as the race itself. Langman commented:

“Racing offshore [in Maluka] is, for our team, a connection with the purity of the sport.”

The win for   Caro   was a source of immense satisfaction although anything but straight-forward. The navigational and technical skills, as well as the courage, determination and fortitude, required to succeed in this type of competition reflect the quest for excellence inherent in the sport from its earliest days, attributes which drew Rolex to begin its support in the late 1950s. According to Klink:

“ The first hours we were just in survival mode, trying to keep the boat at 100 per cent. I wasn’t thinking about any title or trophy, it was just about getting through the conditions.   Winning the Rolex Fastnet is any sailor’s dream,   It’s all the more special that this is the 50th edition of such an iconic race."

This was a victory born of exemplary planning as much as performance on the course. Klink is a committed ocean racer. His latest   Caro   first went offshore at the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart, where it finished third overall only 17 minutes behind the winner.

" The boat is meant to do well in all these Rolex 600 milers, the Fastnet, the Middle Sea Race, the Hobart … "

Armed with a boat clearly suited to challenge, the crew also needed to play their part. British sailor and tactician Adrian Stead, already a two-time winner in 2009 and 2011, blended his substantial experience of the course area with the acumen of Andy Green, the navigator, remarkably on his first Rolex Fastnet Race. Stead felt their work ahead of the start was key to managing the early conditions and being able to press at the end: 

“ The practice run we did before, out in the Solent in 25 knots of breeze, was useful preparation for everyone on the team. Practising starting and then a full circuit of the Isle of Wight, a good seven-hour shakedown for all of us and the boat. ” 

“ It was very tough, particularly the first eight hours with the front coming over. Our goal was to survive that and then race hard. The Volvo 65s and Lucky had got away from us at the rock, but we had a good run to Scillies. Over the last 180nm we saw the boats in front slowing, so we worked extra hard. ”

Fortune with the weather is always a component in any offshore win, but for Stead there are more significant factors:

“ An owner who is passionate for the sport, great preparation, a great team. Those are the ingredients it takes to win a Rolex Fastnet Race .”

Line Honours Technology and innovation play a critical part in being the fastest over the course. Both the multihull and monohull line honours boats proved their cutting-edge credentials, surpassing their closest rivals in tactics and speed, and outwitting the weather. Although few in number, the multihulls always make a huge impression. Particularly the grand prix foiling trimarans, whose immense power was plainly demonstrated.   SVR Lazartigue   crossed the line at 21:38:27 BST on 23 July beating   Banque Populaire   by just under an hour. By contrast, at the same time, the leading monohulls were reaching the Fastnet Rock, half the racetrack in arrears. Gabart’s time of one day, eight hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds set a new outright race record, beating the 2021 time by just over 36 minutes.

A class winner in 2013 and cruelly beaten on the line in 2019, Gabart was thrilled with his team’s achievement:

“ The start was not easy with strong winds for the first six or eight hours. The Rolex Fastnet is an incredible, mythical event. I have been looking for a win for a long time now, so I am very proud to do so with this beautiful boat and crew. ”

Racing with just two crew,   Macif   was launched in June 2023. Dalin carries great experience of both the race and competing at the highest level. A class winner here in 2013, he finished second in a solo round the world race in 2021.   Macif   is equipped with the latest offshore foils, which were used to good effect to overhaul the larger   Lucky   en route to the Scillies. Finishing in two days, seven hours, 16 minutes and 26 seconds, Dalin improved the previous monohull record, also set in 2021 and by a yacht twice the length of   Macif , by one hour, 15 minutes.

ROLEX AND YACHTING Rolex has always associated with activities driven by passion, excellence, precision and team spirit. The Swiss watchmaker naturally gravitated towards the elite world of yachting six decades ago and the brand's enduring partnership now encompasses the most prestigious clubs, races and regattas, as well as towering figures in the sport, including ground-breaking round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester and the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, Sir Ben Ainslie. Today, Rolex is Title Sponsor of 15 major international events from leading offshore races such as the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, to grand prix competition at the Rolex TP52 World Championship and spectacular gatherings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup. It also supports the exciting SailGP global championship in which national teams race identical supercharged F50 catamarans on some of the world's most famous harbours. Rolex's partnerships with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Ocean Racing Club, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Yacht Club Italiano, New York Yacht Club and Royal Yacht Squadron, among others, are the foundation of its enduring relationship with this dynamic sport.

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With the Rolex Fastnet Race this year celebrating its 50th edition, many past overall winners and winning boats are returning.

Most significant of those who have previously lifted the race’s Fastnet Challenge Cup is the 2021 IRC Overall winner, Tom Kneen’s JPK 11.80 Sunrise. She led a superb effort when, after a decade of French domination, Britain finally wrestled back control of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s premier event with a ‘perfect’ scoreline, winning the top three spots under IRC Overall (Sunrise, plus with RORC Commodore James Neville’s Ino XXX and Pata Negra) just as France had done in 2013 and 2015.

In December, Sunrise competed in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, winning her class by almost six hours and finishing 25th overall, despite breaking her boom. While there were plans to sell the boat there, being unable to find a suitable replacement has meant that Sunrise is being shipped back to the UK for a campaign culminating in the Rolex Fastnet Race.

“I just love the race,” admits Kneen. “I would love to win it for a second time. I don’t start any race not intending to win. We have the boat that can do it and the team is so well gelled together, I am absolutely going to give it 100%.” However, he is concerned about the competition, especially all the new hardware (reference last release): “The standard will be amazing. It will be incredible to watch – it could bring a whole new level of performance.” Aside from Sunrise, Kneen reckons one of the biggest threats will be the RORC Vice Commodore Eric de Turckheim’s NMD 54 Teasing Machine, recent winner of the Rolex Middle Sea Race and the RORC Transatlantic Race.

Kneen hopes to have Sunrise back for the De Guingand Bowl. He intends to race with his 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race winning crew, assuming all are still available. Since the 2021 race, Sunrise has continued to be optimised and, for example, now carries a watermaker (so they can carry less water). They are looking to fit a spinnaker pole/symmetric kite – useful if it is a run to Cherbourg. “Last time we were very lucky we had the perfect wind angle downwind for us on starboard – 10 degrees different and we wouldn’t have won the race,” says Kneen.

As previously reported, London-based Swede Niklas Zennström, who won back-to-back races in 2009 and 2011 aboard his all-conquering Maxi 72 Rán II is returning with a Carkeek-designed CF520 Rán 8.

Many past winners are also back from France. Didier Gaudoux won in 2019 on Lann Ael 2, but for this race has replaced his JPN39 with a more modern, powerful, semi-scow, water ballasted, dreadnought-bowed, twin rudder affair: Lann Ael 3, a MN35 design by Vittorio Malingri.

Cherbourg’s own son, Alexis Loison, who in 2013 with his father Pascal on their JPK 10.10 Night and Day became the first doublehanded crew to win the Rolex Fastnet Race outright. He is again entered on the JPK 10.30 Leon. Loison has always sailed this race doublehanded and of the last five has won IRC Two Handed four times.

Another returning French winner is Géry Trentesaux, who in 2015 claimed the Fastnet Challenge Cup in supreme style with his JPK 10.80 Courrier Du Leon. Since winning eight years ago, Trentesaux, who is Vice President of the Yacht Club de France, competed in 2021 aboard the Class40 Courrier Redman, in 2019 on his own JPK 11.80 Courrier Recommandé (winning IRC Two) and in 2017 on the TS42 catamaran Guyader Gastronomie.

Since his first in 1977, this year’s race will be Trentesaux’s 17th. In this he will race his own boat, which will be a Jason Ker-designed Sydney 43 GTS. Under her previous owner, as Imagine, she won the Rolex Giraglia offshore race under IRC overall in 2021 and in 2019.

According to Trentesaux, his new steed is to be rechristened Long Courrier, as he only intends to race her offshore. “I was looking for a competitive boat and everybody said that she was a good boat. She is quite fast, but I have a lot of work to do on her.”

Trentesaux hopes to regather his previous race winning team, but as the boat is bigger may have to bump the crew up to 10-12. His intention is to bring Long Courrier to the Solent for the RORC Series, starting with the Cervantes Trophy.

A past Rear Commodore of the RORC, Trentesaux is keen on being part of the 50th edition of one of his favourite races and has long term plans for his new boat including the RORC’s centenary season in 2025.

Several of the winning boats mentioned are returning but with new owners. Trentesaux’s 2015 steed is now Paul Archer’s Play and won IRC Two in last year’s Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race. Lann Ael 2 is Xanaboo, campaigned by Bruce Huber as a replacement for his J/112e, while the Loison family’s JPK 10.10 is now Romain Gibon’s Abracadabra.

A blast from the past competing this year is the famous Ron Holland-designed IOR 40 Imp. Built in Florida in 1976 for American owner David Allen, the following year Imp was top scoring boat for the 2nd placed USA Admiral’s Cup team and won the Fastnet Race outright. She also completed the disastrous 1979 Fastnet Race taking the USA Admiral’s Cup team to another second placed finish. Since then, perhaps because of her stripy 1970s green paintjob, she has passed through several significant Irish owners and is today considered something of an Irish national maritime treasure.

Since 1994, Imp has been owned by Cork-based George Radley. He has continued Imp’s winning ways: coming first in the 1996 and 2000 Round Ireland Races and nearly winning again in 2002. Imp also won her class in the 1987 Fastnet Race, with Radley repeating this in 1997. “We were sixth overall out of 268 boats. I’m not saying she is going to do it again this time but she has always had a good run in the Fastnet.”

Radley and a semi-shorthanded crew raced Imp in the IRC class of the 2006 ARC and then in the Pineapple Cup from Miami to Jamaica followed by two editions of Charleston Race Week before the boat shipped back to the UK for an intended refit that never happened. Finally Radley in 2017 got Imp back to Ireland on a lowloader and began the overdue refit, which was completed in 2022: “I just put new Harken deck gear and winches on her and I made the foretriangle a little smaller because she had 60sqm headsails – I can’t get anyone to pull those in anymore! You can’t even see where you are going!

“Around the cans she is a handful but in any offshore stuff, she is still able to go, believe it or not. Down to the Fastnet and back we held our time against a J/122,” Radley reflects. Part of the reason for entering the Rolex Fastnet Race is that Radley’s son and bowman, also called George, is enjoying it just as much as his dad. “He just lives for it. I am trying to bring him along.”

Of a similar vintage and returning again in 2023 is the 1977 Swan 65 ketch Desperado. Richard Loftus has owned her since 1986 and aboard Desperado won the race overall in 1989 under CHS. A regular competitor, Desperado is renowned for her unique traditions such as a black tie dinner while rounding the Fastnet Rock and having their pet ape and mascot Joe Powder on board.

The 2023 edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s premier event, today the world’s largest offshore yacht race with more than 400 yachts expected on the start line, will set sail from Cowes on 22 July, and for a second time will finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France.

For further information, please go to the Rolex Fastnet Race website:  www.rolexfastnetrace.com .

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Rolex Fastnet Race – the largest, most diverse offshore yacht race by far

With 450+ yachts entered in this year’s 49 th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s biennial flagship event has consolidated its position as the biggest offshore yacht race in the world.

The 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race sets sail from the Solent on 8 th August, back to its original position of the Sunday following Cowes Week, but with a new finish port. As usual, the course takes the boats down the south coast of England, between the Scilly Isles and Land’s End and across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland. The fleet then returns rounding Bishop Rock, to the west of the Scilly Isles. From here the course is new for 2021 with the finish port having moved from Plymouth, its traditional destination since the race’s first edition in 1925, to Cherbourg in northern France. This change increases the length of the race from 608 to 695 miles. Tactically it will place fresh demands on crews with a final hurdle of tackling the fast-moving currents of the Alderney Race before reaching the finish.

The change of destination for the Rolex Fastnet Race has been made by the RORC as Cherbourg’s Port Chantereyne is better able to accommodate the race’s enormous fleet. Bringing the world’s largest offshore race to France is also highly appropriate given France being the world’s leading nation for this genre of racing. It is home to events like the Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, Solitaire du Figaro and Mini Transat, and French skippers having won the last two Volvo Ocean Races. French success has also extended to the Rolex Fastnet Race where in 2019 French yachts won nine of the 10 classes. Although the race was won overall by the American VO70 Wizard, overall IRC honours went to French yachts in the three editions before.

“Cherbourg is the perfect venue for the finish of the race,” comments Race Director, Chris Stone. “It has amazing facilities for competitors, berthing that allows us to grow and expand the event, plus the city is right on the doorstep of the race village. Of course, coupled with that is the enormous love for offshore sailing in France. That popularity brings interest and visitors to the city and the race village - it’s going to be amazing.”

Most extraordinary about this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race is its huge fleet. Over the last two decades this has almost doubled in size, but the leap between the 2019 and 2021 has been the biggest ever, up to the present tally of 453 from 388 two years ago. And this is despite uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of the world’s ‘classic 600 mile’ offshore races come close to this level of participation. The bulk is the IRC fleet competing for individual class prizes as well as the overall winner’s trophy, the Fastnet Challenge Cup. Over the last 20 years this has been won by yachts from all corner of the fleets, from the largest such as Charles Dunstone’s maxi NOKIA-Connecting People in 2003, to the very smallest and slowest, Jean-Yves Chateau’s 30-year-old Nicholson 33 Iromiguy in 2005, although over this period it has oddly never been won by a competitor in IRC Two. In 2013 the race had its first, and to date only, overall winner sailing doublehanded in Pascal Loison and his Figaro sailor son Alexis aboard the JPK 10.10 Night and Day.

Perhaps due to the Loisons success, along with the prospect of the sport going Olympic, doublehanded participation in the event has soared with 92 entered, up from 64 in 2019. The majority of these are competing alongside fully crewed teams within IRC Three and Four, classes in which today doublehanders dominate. Doublehanders are also classified in their own IRC Two-Handed class which this year includes several aspirant Olympians and notables such as Britons, Shirley Robertson, already a two-time Olympic champion and Dee Caffari, the world’s most capped female round the world sailor. Two-time Etchells world champion and Olympian, Stuart Childerley, with Kelvin Rawlings won the Two-Handed division in 2017, and Alexis Loison is back to defend his title in the class, sailing once again with Jean-Pierre Kelbert on the JPK 10.30 Léon, the latest model from Kelbert’s company.

Most spectacular is the sheer array of yachts competing. Within the IRC fleet this includes some of the largest and fastest maxi yachts, such as George David’s Rambler 88, the defending monohull line honours champion, which this year is due to enjoy stiff competition from the brand new, foil-assisted Swan 125 Skorpios. They will be trailed around the course by several VO70, 65 and 60 former Volvo Ocean Race entrants.

The hottest competition is typically within the five principal IRC classes, the winner of each receiving a trophy such as the Hong Kong Cup for IRC Zero, the West Mersea YC Trophy for IRC One and other longstanding historical silver cups. The larger classes, IRC One to Four are further subdivided.

Beyond this there are numerous ‘races within races’ between classes of boats such as the FAST40+ between RORC Commodore James Neville’s HH42 Ino XXX, Ed Fishwick's Redshift and Bastiaan Voogd's Hitchhiker, all racing at the top end of IRC One. Then there are the Performance 40s which straddle IRC One and Two between former RORC Admiral Andrew McIrvine’s Ker 39 La Réponse and Eric van Campenhout's Corby 41.5 Independent Bear at the top, to the likes of Susan Glenny's First 40 Olympia's Tigress at the lower end.

There is especially stiff competition between the one design classes. The largest of these are the 17 x J/109s and the 13 x First 40s. Then there are several more modern French models, notably the JPKs and Jeanneau Sun Fasts, which are popular due to their contemporary designs which have proved competitive under IRC. At present there are 11 x JPK 10.10 and nine 10.80s, 12 x Sun Fast 3200s, 14 x 3300s and 10 x Sun Fast 3600, the latter covering a wide rating range from Nick Martin's Diablo with an IRC TCC of 1.030, to Stephen Berrz?s quicker Marco Polo at 1.052. Today these surpass in number old equivalents such as the Sigma 38 (five competing) or the three Contessa 32s racing for the Spangle Trophy.

Within the IRC fleet many past champions are returning – all of them French. These include Didier Gaudoux's JND 39 Lann Ael 2 (2017 overall winner), Nicolas Loday and Jean Claude Nicoleau’s Grand Soleil 43 Codiam (IRC One 2009 and 2011), Nicolas Groleau’s Mach 45 Bretagne Telecom (IRC Canting Keel 2013 and 2015, second overall in 2019), Jacques Pelletier's Milon 41 L'Ange de Milon (IRC One in 2019), Gilles Fournier and Corinne Migraine’s J/133 Pintia (IRC Two in 2017). As mentioned, Alex Loison is returning, while the 2015 winner Gery Trentesaux is racing in the Class40 aboard Antoine Carpentier’s Courrier Redman.

Compared to the world’s other ‘classic 600 mile’ offshore races, the Rolex Fastnet Race stands out in accommodating the impressive French grand prix classes, thanks to the races close proximity to Brittany where many are based. These include the fastest offshore racing yachts in the world, the 30m long flying Ultime trimarans. Among them famous names such as Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, skippered by Volvo Ocean Race winners Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier and Yves le Blevec's Actual Ultim 3 (formerly Francois Gabart's MACIF, currently holder of the singlehanded non-stop around the world record).

Well represented are the 60ft IMOCAs, which are famous for competing in the Vendée Globe. Among those entered are this year’s ‘two’ Vendee Globe winners: Charlie Dalin’s Apivia, which was first home to Les Sables d’Olonne, ultimately beaten when Yannick Bestaven on Maître CoQ was awarded time compensation from earlier in the race. It will be interesting to see the two boats of 11 th Hour Racing, including a newly launched example for Charlie Enright who skippered Wizard, the overall winner of the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race. Britain’s Alex Thomson is back with a newly refitted Hugo Boss.

Of the classes not rated under IRC, the most impressive is the Class40 which has 41 entered, up from 19 in 2019. Among those entered are Olivier Magre's Palanad 3, winner of this year's RORC Transatlantic Race and Valentin Gautier's Voodoo, winner of the 2020 Normandy Channel Race, as well as Luke Berry's Lamotte -Module Creation, Class40 winner from the last Rolex Fastnet Race. Of the grand prix classes this is also the most international with entries from afar afield as Japan (Hiroshi Kitada's Kiho). The competition will be hot.

When it comes to offshore races there is no greater show on earth than the Rolex Fastnet Race.

For more information, go to:  https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com

Latest Provisional Entry List: https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/en/follow/follow-the-race/entrylists

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Published on July 24th, 2023 | by Editor

Brutal conditions for record-setting Fastnet Race

Published on July 24th, 2023 by Editor -->

The 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race set sail with 430 yachts on July 22 – up from the previous record of 388 that took the last pre-COVID race in 2019.

While pundits were comparing the wind for the 50th edition to that of the last Rolex Fastnet Race in 2021, in fact it was gustier with a densely overcast sky, drizzle that built to rain, and enough mist to obscure the mainland.

However, what was consistent was the heinous washing machine sea-state that competitors encountered at the western exit of the Solent at Hurst Narrows, as they passed the Isle of Wight’s most famous landmark, the Needles and beyond. As usual this built increasingly with the ebb tide, especially affecting the smaller yachts.

It was a brutal first night at sea with numerous retirements and many others seeking temporary shelter from the gale force conditions in the English Channel.

By the first morning, 86 had officially retired, comprising 78 across the IRC fleet (the biggest number being 27 in IRC Two) plus two Class40s, two IMOCAs, three MOCRA multihulls and one Ocean 50 trimaran.

In the severe conditions, HM Coastguard reported involvement in 28 incidents, including one sinking. Said the event statement, “At approximately 16:30 yesterday afternoon the Sun Fast 3600 Vari began to take on water southwest of the Needles. Thanks to the swift response of the emergency services both crew members were evacuated to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight and are safe and well. The boat is believed to have sunk although the exact reasons are not yet confirmed.”

Several calls to HM Coastguard were to do with injured crew. Otherwise, four yachts dismasted – Heather Tarr’s Yoyo from Ireland; Nick Martin’s Diablo; Bertrand Daniels’ Mirabelle and Tapio Lehtinen’s Swan 55 yawl Galiana (due to compete in the Ocean Globe Race shortly).

In addition, Azora sustained broken steering, Dulcissima a loss of rigging, while Richard Matthews’ CF520 Oystercatcher XXXV sustained deck failure and Oida ran aground after her anchor dragged.

There were several other incidents in which HM Coastguard was not involved, including the mast foot exploding on Long Courrier who retired to Cowes – the only occasion race veteran and 2015 winner Géry Trentesaux has retired from this race.

Fifteen registered entries didn’t start, including one of the race favorites – Peter Morton’s Maxi 72 Notorious in IRC Super Zero.

Good news did arrive on day two as after a tough first 24 hours, conditions had abated in the English Channel and Celtic Sea. Between Land’s End and the Scilly Isles, there were reports of 17 knots from 250°, dropping to 15 for the second night, with the wind in the western English Channel typically 10-15 knots.

But well ahead of that was François Gabart and his team on the 100-foot SVR Lazartigue as they crossed the finish line at 21:38:27 BST on July 23, setting a new record of 1 day 8 hours 38 minutes 27 seconds, breaking the time set by Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Groupe Edmond de Rothschild two years ago by 36 minutes 27 seconds.

The 32m long by 23m wide, foil-borne, flying Ultim trimarans are by far the biggest, fastest offshore race boats on the planet, with the gale force winds making little impression

“It is never easy to leave the Solent and doing it in an Ultim is even more difficult,” admitted Gabart. “Doing it with 400 boats around you is harder still. And if you do it upwind…in 25 knots…! It is not easy! We were happy to make it out of the Solent. I think if there had been more than 30 knots at Hurst, we wouldn’t have done it. After that the waves were strong, but we could still race and in the end, we broke nothing.”

Event information – Entry list – Facebook

A record-sized fleet got underway for the 50th edition of Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race from Cowes on July 22, 2023. For a second consecutive occasion, the course departed from the UK but has a French finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin via a 695 nautical mile course via the Fastnet Rock.

Tags: Fastnet Race , François Gabart , records

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Sailors survey damage after 'brutal conditions' hamper 50th Fastnet Race

• Sunday 23 July 2023 at 4:09pm

WATCH: ITV Meridian reports on the damage caused by gale force winds, as 28 boats were rescued by Coastguard and lifeboat crews off the south coast. Promotional video from Rolex Fastnet Race.

A brutal first night at sea in the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race saw at least 86 retirements and many others seeking temporary shelter from the gale force conditions in the English Channel.

Wind data from Hurst Castle at 20:10 BST last night recorded 38 knots, gusting 43, with one boat reporting 46 knots off St Alban's Point.

HM Coastguard reported involvement in 28 incidents, including one sinking.

Of the latter, in a statement the Rolex Fastnet Race race committee stated: “At approximately 16:30 yesterday afternoon the Sun Fast 3600 Vari began to take on water southwest of the Needles.

"Thanks to the swift response of the emergency services both crew members were evacuated to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight and are safe and well.

"The boat is believed to have sunk although the exact reasons are not yet confirmed.”

Several calls to HM Coastguard were to do with injured crew.

Otherwise, four yachts dismasted – Heather Tarr’s Yoyo from Ireland; Nick Martin’s Diablo; Bertrand Daniels’ Mirabelle and Tapio Lehtinen's Swan 55 yawl Galiana.

In addition Azora sustained broken steering, Dulcissima a loss of rigging, while Richard Matthews’ CF520 Oystercatcher XXXV sustained deck failure and Oida ran aground after her anchor dragged.

There were several other incidents in which HM Coastguard was not involved, including the mast foot exploding on Long Courrier who retired to Cowes.

“The strong winds last night were forecast well in advance,” commented Race Director Steve Cole. “The club would like to thank HM Coastguard and the RNLI for their assistance.

"It is thanks to their effort and skill that the incidents were dealt with professionally and those who required assistance were recovered safely.

"Now the front has passed the wind and sea state have dropped, and conditions are even set to be light over the next 24 hours.”

This morning the wind has dropped to 10-15 knots in the western English Channel and is expected to drop further to 5-10 knots in the Celtic Sea for the crossing to the Fastnet Rock.

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ROLEX FASTNET RACE 2021

• General Info

About The Rolex Fastnet Race

Founded in 1925, the Rolex Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in France.

The race is named after the Fastnet Rock, which the race course rounds. The race is considered one of the classic big offshore races, the 'Fastnet' is testing both inshore and offshore skills, boat and crew preparation and speed potential. From its inception, the Fastnet Race has proven highly influential in the growth of offshore racing, and remains closely linked to advances in yacht design, sailing technique and safety equipment.

The Fastnet Race has been sponsored by the Swiss watch manufacturing company Rolex since 2001. 

The race's main focus is on monohull handicap racing which presently is conducted under the Royal Ocean Racing Club's own IRC Rating Rule and it is this that is awarded the overall trophy, the Fastnet Challenge Cup.  However the race has more recently opened itself up allowing multihulls and providing one design class starts for classes such as IMOCA and Class40 .

2023 Course

The race starts off the Royal Yacht Squadron start line of Cowes on the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England at the Royal Yacht Squadron. Leaving The Solent through The Needles Channel, the race follows the southern coastline of England westward down the English Channel, before rounding Land's End. After crossing the Celtic Sea, the race rounds the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland. Returning on a largely reciprocal course, the race rounds the Isles of Scilly before finishing at Cherbourg.

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