SVR Lazartigue in multihulls and the IMOCA 60 Macif in monohulls
The IMOCA 60 Macif, skippered by Frenchman Charlie Dalin, was proclaimed the real-time winner of the 50 Rolex Fastnet Race in the monohull category after completing the 695 nautical mile course in two days, seven hours, 16 minutes and 26 seconds.
Among the multihulls, the fastest was François Gabart’s colossal trimaran SVR Lazartigue, who completed the race in just over 32.5 hours. Both winners surpassed the best times of the previous edition.
The battle for victory in real time in the 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race in the monohull category was resolved between the very fast IMOCA 60s. The 27-meter American Lucky, which had on board the Cantabrian bow Antonio ‘Ñeti’ Cuervas-Mons, he was first around Fastnet Rock, but fell within 15 minutes of countering the performance of the foiling boats after a thrilling final leg, and could only finish third. The first to cross the finish line in the French town of Cherbourg was Charlie Dalin’s Macif, who prevailed in an intense duel with Yoann Richomme’s fellow IMOCA Paprec Arkea, whom he led by just four minutes.
Macif stopped the clock at the end of the 695 nautical miles of travel in two days, seven hours, 16 minutes and 26 seconds, improving by one hour and 17 minutes the mark established in the previous edition by the ClubSwan 125 Skorpios of the Spanish skipper Fernando Echávarri. . This is the second time that this legendary ocean regatta, created in 1925 and sponsored by Rolex since 2001, has finished in France as part of a relationship with the world of sailing that goes back more than six decades.
SVR Lazartigue, the fastest multihull
Almost a day before the arrival of the first monohull, the duel between the two colossal Ultime 32 flying trimarans that led the fleet of 22 multihulls in this historic edition was resolved. François Gabart’s SVR Lazartigue finished in 32 hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds, beating the previous record by just over 36 minutes and his rival Banque Populaire by nearly an hour. Once again, the huge 32-metre trimarans displayed their impressive power and reasserted their hegemony in ocean sailing, crossing the finish line when the best monohulls were still managing their way over the iconic Fastnet Rock, halfway through the course.
The absolute title, at stake
With the question of the fastest in real time cleared up, attention now turns to the identity of the winner of the Fastnet Challenge Cup who receives the overall IRC timed champion. At the time of writing this information, the best positioned is the WindWhisper of the Cantabrian skipper Pablo Arrarte, who arrived in Cherbourg around 11:00 p.m. with the best compensated time in the fleet. We will have to wait to see the evolution of the boats that continue in the race to see if the Arrarte team is proclaimed the final winner of the 50 Rolex Fastnet Race.
Of the 430 boats that took to the start on the Isle of Wight to set a new world record for entries in an offshore race, 142 withdrew as a result of the severe conditions suffered in the first hours of competition.
