Rolex Fastnet Race
World’s biggest offshore yacht race starts on Sunday
While Cowes Week is taking centre stage on the Solent at present, final preparations are being made for Sunday’s start (8th August) of the world’s biggest offshore yacht race, the Rolex Fastnet Race.
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, this 49th edition of the race will start as usual from Cowes, where the first warning signal for the multihull classes will be given at 1100, 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 1230.
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 11m Illingworth/Primose-designed Maica classic, Le Loup Rouge Of Cmn, to the shortest, Tim Whittle 9.33m long T3 Trifoiler L’Albatros, racing in the MOCRA fleet.
The vast majority are competing in the IRC fleet. This spans some of the top international grand prix racers down to mum and dads in family crews and sailing schools.
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,” admits 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.
This week the silver maxi has been out. “We just want to make sure we can still sail it in anger after a year of not sailing,” Butterworth says. 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.
