Rolex Fastnet Race starts on Sunday

While Cowes Week is taking centre stage on the Solent at present, final preparations are being made for the world’s largest offshore yacht race, the Rolex Fastnet Race, which will begin on Sunday 8^th August.

This year, for the first time since the race was first held in 1925, the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s premier event will finish in Cherbourg, France rather than Plymouth. However, the 49^th edition of the race will start as usual from Cowes, Isle of Wight where the first warning signal for the multihull classes will be given at 11:00am, followed at 15-minute intervals by the IMOCAs/Class40s, and then the five IRC classes starting with IRC Four and finishing with IRC Zero at 12:30pm.

At the latest tally, 355 boats are entered ranging in size from the brand new ClubSwan 125 Skorpios belonging to Russian Dmitry Rybolovlev, to the lowest rated in the IRC fleet, Pierre Legoupil’s 11-metre (36-foot) Illingworth/Primose-designed Maica classic, Le Loup Rouge Of Cmn, to the shortest, Tim Whittle’s 9.33-metre (30-foot) T3 Trifoiler L'Albatros, racing in the MOCRA fleet.

Among the most decorated is George David’s Rambler 88, which won back-to-back monohull line honours in the last two editions. International grand prix racers are low in numbers compared to previous years due to pandemic-related travel restrictions. “It hasn’t been easy getting it together - it is a big commitment by these owners,” said Rambler 88’s tactician Brad Butterworth. Her 19 crew have all made it into the UK, while the boat arrived on a ship from the USA in June.

“We just want to make sure we can still sail it in anger after a year of not sailing,” Butterworth said. Rambler 88’s last race was the Rolex Middle Sea Race in 2019. According to Butterworth the only change they have made since then is adding a light air downwind sail.

Among the historically significant in the fleet is Eric Tabarly’s Whitbread Round the World Race maxi and 1976 OSTAR winner Pen Duick VI, skippered by his daughter Marie. Then there are two of the most successful 1960s maxis, the Swedish Wallenberg family's S&S 63 Rafanut and Cornelius Brunzeel's 22-metre (73-foot) van de Stadt ketch Stormvogel, the 1961 Fastnet Race line honours winner.

Several overall winners of the top IRC prize, the Fastnet Challenge Cup, are returning. Cherbourg hero Alexis Loison, together with his father Pascal, in 2013 famously became the race's only ever doublehanded crew to win the Rolex Fastnet Race overall. He is back to defend his 2019 IRC Three and IRC Two-Handed titles, once again on board the JPK 10.30 Léon, but this time with Guillaume Pirouelle. Other hot British contenders for the IRC Two-Handed class include 2015 winners Kelvin Rawlings and Stuart Childerley racing the Sun Fast 3300 Aries.

2015 overall winner Géry Trentesaux is racing but this time on Antoine Carpentier’s Class 40 Courrier Redman.

Didier Gaudoux returns with his 2017 overall winner, the JND39 Lann Ael 2, with Figaro sailor Fred Duthil back on board. In 2019 Duthil sailed on board Jacques Pelletier’s L’Ange De Milon, an evolution of the JPK 10.10, when she won IRC One.

Pelletier is also returning to defend his title. “It hasn’t been easy to prepare due to COVID, but during May we sailed at weekends and then we did La Trinite-Cherbourg, Cowes-Dinard and the Channel Race. We hope we are prepared and the crew too, but we are used to sailing together, so we have to cross our fingers.” Pelletier sees Lann Ael 2 as his main IRC One competition this time, but also Michael O'Donnell’s well sailed J/121 Darkwood, which beat him to second in the Channel Race.

Pelletier has done around 11-12 Fastnet Races, his first being in 1973 when they finished sixth. Right now he is ready to go and L’Ange De Milon is already in Cherbourg where they will leave on Saturday in order to reach the Solent on the morning of the start. “It is a pity there’s no possibility of drinking a beer in Cowes,” he said.

Some of the most famous boats are to be found racing outside of the IRC fleet, in the largely French grand prix classes. These include the fastest offshore boats in the world, the 32- x 23-metre (104- x 75-foot) Ultime trimarans such as Yves le Blevec’s Actual (ex MACIF), Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (co-skippered by Volvo Ocean Race winning skippers Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier), and Thomas Coville’s Sodebo Ultim 3.

Fresh from last winter’s Vendée Globe are 13 IMOCAs. These 18-metre (60-foot) yachts, many of which are fitted with foils that make them ‘fly’, include the 2020-21 Vendée Globe winner Yannick Bestaven on Maître CoQ, as well as the boat that was first home, Charlie Dalin’s Apivia. The IMOCA fleet also includes two of Britain’s top offshore sailors, Alex Thomson on board HUGO BOSS and Sam Davies on Initiatives Coeur.

The line-up in the Class40s is giant with 37 boats. This includes several of the very latest 'scow' designs such as Courrier Redman, winner of the recent Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables race. Across the whole fleet, 24 nations are represented, although more this year come from the UK (149) and France (111). Nonetheless boats have still come from afar afield as Japan, USA, Hong Kong and Mexico among others.

Racing in IRC Four is the Poole-based JPK 10.10 Joy, which has been entered for a second time by the Butters family, skippered by Peter, and including father Dave and younger brother Jack. Their crew also includes other Parkstone Yacht Club members, Ian Milliard and Rob McGregor, younger brother of well-known RORC racer Jim (and uncle of Olympic sailors/match racers Lucy and Kate).

Already this year, the Butters have competed in another major event, the 3 Peaks Yacht Race, from Barmouth to Fort Williams - this will be their second. “With the Rolex Fastnet Race finishing in Cherbourg for the first time it seemed interesting, although sadly we don’t get to enjoy going ashore in France with the on-going restrictions,” said Peter Butters. “The Fastnet is always difficult to do well in just because there is such a range of boats and there are so many good boats as well. There is a reason that it is the premier competition it is…”

Preliminary weather forecasts show that competitors will be in for a brisk ride from the start time and through the first night with 23- to 28-knot south-westerly headwinds, said Rolex Fastnet Race’s weather forecaster Chris Tibbs. He warns crews to think twice about making the most of the tidal races off Hurst and Portland Bills as the wind against tide there will produce some dangerous overfalls.

Tibbs will provide a weather update during the Skippers Briefing to be held on Cowes Parade on Saturday afternoon at 4:00pm and streamed via the RORC’s social media channels.

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