Fastnet Race

The Fastnet Race is a famous offshore yachting race. It is considered one of the classic offshore races. It takes place every two years over a course of 608 nautical miles (1,126 km). The race starts off Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England, rounds the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and then finishes at Plymouth in the South of England after passing south of the Isles of Scilly. The Fastnet Race has been sponsored by Rolex since 2001.

The prize is known as the Fastnet Challenge Cup.

Contents

History

Weston Martyr, a British yachtsman, came up with the idea after having competed in Bermudan yacht races. The first Fastnet race, with seven entries, was won by Jolie Brise in 1925.

The International Offshore Rule (IOR) was introduced in 1973, and the yachts and crews began taking sponsorships.

1979 Fastnet Race

Main article: 1979 Fastnet race

A severe storm during the 1979 race resulted in the deaths of 15 competitors. This led to a major overhaul of the rules and the equipment required for the competition. Several books have been written about the 1979 race, which is notorious in the yachting world.

Capsize of Drum (1985)

The race drew further attention from outside the sport in 1985 when the maxi yacht Drum capsized after her experimental keel sheared off. Pop star Simon Le Bon, co-owner and crew member of Drum, was trapped under the hull with five other crew members for twenty minutes, until being rescued by the Royal Navy. The Search and Rescue Diver was Petty Officer Air Crewman (POACMN) Larry "Scouse" Slater of 771 Naval Air Squadron who appeared on This Is Your Life on 9 April 1986.

Capsize of Rambler (2011)

In 2011, the 100-foot maxi yacht Rambler 100[1] capsized after her keel broke off between Fastnet Rock and the Pantaenius Buoy (a temporary race mark placed southwest of the Fastnet Rock[2]). All 21 crew were rescued safely. 16 were rescued from the upturned hull, by the RNLI Baltimore Lifeboat Hilda Jarrett. A further 5 crewmembers, including the owner/skipper George David, had floated away from the vessel, but managed to link themselves together. They were in the water for approximately 2.5 hours, before being rescued by a Baltimore based diving vessel, Wave Chieftain. One of these crewmembers, Wendy Touton, suffered hypothermia and was taken by helicopter to Tralee General Hospital.[3] Four crew-members had been below decks at the time of capsize and were not adequately dressed for egress into the sea. All uninjured crew were taken to Baltimore.[4] The Naval Service patrol ship LÉ Aoife remained with the hull, worth $10,000,000 before the capsize, before it was towed to Barleycove by the Castletownbere-based tug Ocean Bank.[5]

Race records

Monohull vessels

The monohull race record is 42hrs 39min, set by Ian Walker's Volvo Open 70 Abu Dhabi (UAE) in 2011. The other two Volvo Open 70 participating in the 2011 race (Groupama 4 and Team Sanya) also broke the previous record, which had been set by ICAP Leopard in 2007.

Multihull vessels

The multihull race record is currently held by the 130-foot trimaran Banque Populaire V, skippered by Loïck Peyron, with a total elapsed time of 32hrs, 48min (an average speed of 18.5 knots)[6], set in 2011. Peyron held the previous multihull record, set in 1999 in the 60-foot ORMA trimaran Fujcolor II of 40hrs, 27min.[6]

Fastnet since 2005

The 2005 race was sponsored by Rolex and organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club with the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth.

The start of the 2007 race was postponed by 25 hours, due to a severe weather warning. This was the first time this had been done in the race's 83 year history. Overnight gale force winds and, in particular, extreme seas forced many boats to retire, sheltering in ports along the south coast of England, including Torbay, Plymouth and Weymouth.

By 10:00hrs on 16 August, 207 boats of the 271-strong field had retired with at least three suffering rig problems.[7] [8]

Despite the conditions, Mike Slade's Icap Leopard 3, launched in June 2007, set a new record of 44 hours 18 min, taking almost 9 hours off the previous record set in 1999. Ger O'Rourke's Chieftain was the overall winner on corrected time.

Corrected Time Winners

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Year Yacht Owner Designer
1925 Jolie Brise Lt Cdr E. G. Martin Alexandre Pâris
1926 Ilex Royal Engineers Charles E. Nicholson
1927 Tally Ho Lord Stalbridge Albert Strange
1928 Nina Paul Hammond Starling Burgess
1929 Jolie Brise Lt Cdr E. G. Martin Alexandre Pâris
1930 Jolie Brise Lt Cdr E. G. Martin Alexandre Pâris
1931 Dorade [1] Olin Stephens Sparkman & Stephens
1933 Dorade Olin Stephens Sparkman & Stephens
1935 Stormy Weather Olin Stephens Sparkman & Stephens
1937 Zeearend Kees Bruynzeel Sparkman & Stephens
1939 Bloodhound Ike Bell Camper and Nicholsons
1947 Myth of Malham Capt. J.H.Illingworth John Laurent Giles
1949 Myth of Malham Capt. J.H.Illingworth John Laurent Giles
1951 Yeoman Owen Aisher Camper and Nicholsons
1953 Favona Sir Michael Newton Robert Clark
1955 Carina Dick Nye Philip Rhodes
1957 Carina Dick Nye Philip Rhodes
1959 Anitra Sven Hansen Sparkman & Stephens
1961 Zwerver II Otto van der Vorm Sparkman & Stephens
1963 Clarion of Wight [2] Derek Boyer DFC Sparkman & Stephens
1965 Rabbit Dick Carter Dick Carter
1967 Pen Duick III Éric Tabarly Éric Tabarly
1969 Red Rooster Dick Carter Dick Carter
1971 Ragamuffin Syd Fisher Sparkman & Stephens
1973 Saga Erling Lorentzen Sparkman & Stephens
1975 Golden Delicious Richard & Harvey Bagnall Ron Holland
1977 Imp David Allen Ron Holland
1979 Tenacious [3] Ted Turner Sparkman & Stephens
1981 Mordicus Taylor and Volterys Mauric/Gaubert
1983 Shamrock Maller & Snoeren Hellevoetsluis
1985 Atlantic Privateer Philip Akrill Farr Yacht Design
1987 Juno III M Peacock Rob Humphries
1989 Great News John Calvert-Jones / Tom Blackaller Farr Yacht Design
1991 Min-O-Din John Humphries/Matt Humphries David Thomas
1995 Nicorette (ex-Charles Jourdain) Ludde Ingvall Ribadeau-Dumas/Simonis Voogd
1997 Royal Blue (ex-Nicorette) Gunnar Ekdahl Ribadeau-Dumas/Simonis Voogd
1999 Whirlpool-Europe 2 Catherine Chabaud Philippe Harlé - Alain Mortain
2001 Tonnerre de Breskens Piet Vroon Lutra Design Group
2003 Nokia Charles Dunstone Reichel/Pugh
2005 Iromiguy Jean-Yves Chateau Ron Holland
2007 Chieftain Ger O'Rourke Farr Yacht Design
2009 Rán 2 Niklas Zennström Judel Vrolijk
2011 Rán 2 Niklas Zennström Judel Vrolijk

Line Honours Winners

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Year Yacht Owner Designer Elapsed Time
1925 Jolie Brise Lt Cdr E. G. Martin Alexandre Pâris 6day 3h
1926 Hallowe'en Col J. F. N. Baxendale William Fife 3day 19h 5m
1927 La Goleta R. St.L. Beverley Alden
1928 Nina Paul Hammond & others Starling Burgess
1929 Jolie Brise Bobby Somerset Alexandre Pâris
1930 Jolie Brise Bobby Somerset Alexandre Pâris
1931 Patience H. E. West Charles Nicholson
1935 Kismet III - -
1937 Bloodhound Isaac Bell Charles Nicholson
1947 Latifa Michael Mason William Fife
1949 Latifa Michael Mason William Fife
1953 Bloodhound Isaac Bell Charles Nicholson
1955 Mare Nostrum - Sparkman & Stephens
1979 Condor of Bermuda Bob Bell John Sharp
1985 Nirvana Marvin Green Dave Pedrick 2day 12h 34m
1989 Steinlager II Peter Blake Bruce Farr
1995 Nicorette (ex-Charles Jourdain) Ludde Ingvall Ribadeau-Dumas/Simonis Voogd
1999 RF Yachting Ross Field Bruce Farr 2day 5h 8m
2001 Stealth Gianni Agnelli Frers 2day 10h 58m
2003 Alfa Romeo - Shockwave Neville Chrichton Reichel/Pugh 2day 9h 2m 0s
2005 Maximus EBS Yachting Greg Elliott 2day 20h 2m 7s
2007 ICAP Leopard Mike Slade Bruce Farr 1day 20h 18m 53s
2009 ICAP Leopard Mike Slade Bruce Farr 2day 11h 9min 36s
2011 Banque Populaire V Banque Populaire VPLP 1day 8h 48m 46s

External links

References

  1. ^ "Crew rescued from Fastnet Race yacht Rambler 100". BBC. 15 August 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14538321. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 
  2. ^ "2011-11-Rolex Fastnet Race-Pantaenius Buoy". 27 May 2011. http://www.commissionersofirishlights.com/cil/notices/2011-11-rolex-fastnet-race-pantaenius-buoy.aspx. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
  3. ^ Niamh Stephenson (15 August 2011). "Baltimore RNLI in major rescue operation off the Cork coast after Fastnet yacht capsizes". RNLI. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rnli.org.uk%2Fwho_we_are%2Fpress_centre%2Fnews_releases%2Fnews_release_detail%3Farticleid%3D714916&date=2011-10-06. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 
  4. ^ "Rambler capsized". Sailing Anarchy. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sailinganarchy.com%2Findex_page1.php&date=2011-08-16. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 
  5. ^ Lorna Siggins (17 August 2011). "Inquiry into sinking under way". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnewspaper%2Fbreaking%2F2011%2F0817%2Fbreaking11.html&date=2011-10-06. Retrieved 6 October 2011. 
  6. ^ a b "Fastnet Minisite". RORC. 15 August 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffastnet.rorc.org%2F&date=2011-08-16. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 
  7. ^ "Severe weather hits Fastnet crews". BBC. 14 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F1%2Fhi%2Fengland%2F6942302.stm&date=2011-10-06. 
  8. ^ "Rolex Fastnet Race fleet facing gale-force winds". Royal Ocean Racing Club. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928200933/http://fastnet.rorc.org/container.asp?id=8197. 
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