WEATHER HIT ROLEX FASTNET RACE SEES RECORD BROKEN

With a record-breaking fleet of 430 yachts, the 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race presented a striking sight as it got underway o Cowes.

In the end 15 registered entries did not start, including one of the race favourites – Peter Morton’s Maxi 72 Notorious in IRC Super Zero - something they probably did not regret after witnessing the early race conditions. A strong south-westerly wind combined with an outgoing tide to deliver a tough, early test in this demanding 695nm o shore race, which finishes in Cherbourg.

With winds gusting up to 46mph, heavy rain and challenging seas of 4m, RNLI crews from Yarmouth, Poole, Swanage and Weymouth responded to multiple taskings by HM Coastguard throughout the opening few hours of the race, which saw more than a quarter of entrants retiring early on.

A yacht with two French sailors onboard issued a distress call after taking on water. The Yarmouth all-weather lifeboat arrived on scene locating a liferaft with the two aboard after their yacht had sunk; they were taken onboard the lifeboat.

Of the boat which sank, the Rolex Fastnet Race committee said: “The Sun Fast 3600 Vari began to take on water south-west of The Needles. Thanks to the swift response of the emergency services both crew members were evacuated to Yarmouth and are safe and well. The boat is believed to have sunk, although the exact reasons are not yet confirmed.”

In another serious incident, Swanage all-weather lifeboat was tasked to a yacht with a sailor onboard su ering a head injury and requiring immediate evacuation. RNLI lifeboats were also called to other incidents throughout the blustery afternoon ranging from dismasted yachts, a number of accidental emergency positioning radio beacon alerts, a yacht with steering failure and a hand injury.

Yarmouth RNLI Coxswain, Howard Lester said: “This weekend’s Fastnet Race was the busiest one for Yarmouth lifeboat. We were very fortunate that all our call outs were to crews with means of calling for help and were equipped with either lifejackets or had liferafts accessible onboard.”

After a tough first 24 hours in the race, conditions abated in the English Channel and Celtic Sea. However, the first 12 hours or so had taken a heavy toll on the record fleet with 142 of the 430 starters having retired. SVR Lazartigue went on to round the Fastnet Rock first, in an elapsed time of 19 hours 4 minutes 31 seconds. The 32m Ultim Trimaran, skippered by François Gabart, went on to take Multihull Line Honours. The elapsed time of 1 day 8 hours 38 minutes and 27 seconds bettered the outright Multihull Race Record, set by skippers Charles Caudrelier and Franck

Cammas of Maxi Edmond de Rothschild in 2021, by 36 minutes and 27 seconds.

With the Vendée Globe taking place next year, the IMOCA turn-out for this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race featured an impressive 29 boats. In the end the new IMOCA 60 Macif, skippered by Charlie Dalin, was the first monohull home, taking line honours in a new monohull course record of 2 days, 7 hours and 16 minutes. It is the first time an IMOCA has won monohull line honours.

After being confirmed as winner of IRC Zero the Fastnet Challenge Cup, awarded to the overall winner of the race under IRC time correction, went to Swiss entry Caro, a Botin 52 owned and skippered by Max Klink.

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.

Max Klink said: "This is a legendary group of sailors who I have been fortunate to sail with for a few years now, but when we set out on this race I never expected that we could win. It is 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 was not thinking about any title or trophy, it was just about getting through the conditions.”

For the complete results, across all classes, see www.rolexfastnetrace.com

Read about the Fastnet's Tapio Lehtinen’s new race to start the Ocean Globe Race following his dismasting - page 17.