Max Klink’s Botin 52 Caro has won IRC Zero and is looking like a solid contender for overall victory in the Rolex Fastnet Race. The Swiss boat crossed the finish line at 07:25 hours local time this morning, covering the course in 2 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes, 2 seconds.

Caro finished just over two and a half hours ahead of arch-rival Warrior Won on corrected time, and no other boat still racing in IRC Zero has a realistic chance of bettering Caro’s performance.

By 11:00 BST on day four of the Rolex Fastnet Race, the leaders in IRC Three were drawing in to the Fastnet Lighthouse, which was tantalizingly close on the horizon. Virtually the entire fleet was with 100 miles of the famous landmark. Zephyr-like conditions have compressed the fleet with the potential of a re-start at the Fastnet Lighthouse. On the positive side, the boats that have reached the Fastnet have done so in daylight. With boat speed down to just a knot or so, the sailors have plenty of time to admire the 177ft (54m) lighthouse built in 1853. 

Gautier Normand’s A35 Locmalo (FRA) has taken the lead on the water from Sun Fast 3200 Cora (GBR) raced doublehanded by Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews. Normand’s team from La Société Nautique de la Trinité and Goodhew’s RORC team are in a slow-mo dog fight around the Fastnet Rock. Locmalo just has the edge on the water, Cora has the class lead after IRC time correction. Romain Gibon's JPK 1010 Les P'tits Doudous en Duo (FRA) is second after IRC time correction. Benoit Rousselin’s JPK 1010 Delnic, also racing doublehanded is third.

IRC Three | SailRaceHQ Sector Analysis: 100 miles from the Fastnet Rock

Using the new time sector data provided by www.SailRaceHQ.com  accurate analysis of the IRC standings in different sectors of the race is now available.

The yb tracker shows the IRC Three fleet drifting towards to the Fastnet Rock

After IRC time correction, Cora has been the fastest boat in every sector so far but the honour for the 100-mile sector from Fastnet goes to another Sun Fast 3200, Pascal PY Lemancello (FRA), which took a more northerly route in the sector. Locmalo had the second best corrected time for the sector but only just; Mike Yate’s J/109 Jago racing doublehanded with Will Holland also put in a great sector for the race.

The light conditions for the IRC Three fleet as they try to round the Fastnet Rock are causing the leaderboard to change at every update. However, fresh wind is expected to arrive from the west later today and strengthen to give fast reaching conditions to Cherbourg.

51 teams are still racing in IRC Three with two additional retirements in the last 24 hours.

By Louay Habib

Following the long pause in arrivals in the Rolex Fastnet Race into Cherbourg after the two Ultims on Sunday night, the next home on Monday was Eric Maris’ MOD70 trimaran Zoulou, which crossed the line at 18:03:15. Among her formidable crew were multihull legend Loick Peyron and America’s Cup winner Thierry Fouchier. 

With a record fleet of 430 yachts starting from Cowes, England, on 22 July, the 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race confirmed the offshore classic’s position as the largest race of its kind.

#RolexFastnetRace @RORCracing

26 teams are still racing in IRC Four with nine retirements. By 09:00 BST on day four of the Rolex Fastnet Race the vast majority of the boats racing in IRC Four had passed the Isles of Scilly and were into the Celtic Sea. The next land they will see is the loom of the Fastnet Lighthouse, marking the most northerly point of the Rolex Fastnet Race. As juxtaposed to the hairy conditions at the start, light winds have been a feature of the latter part of the race to the Fastnet Rock, with boats only registering two or three knots of boat speed.

Race fans will have noticed a very strange route by yesterday’s class leader François Charles’ Dehler 33 Sun Hill III (FRA). The RORC Race Team have reported that Sun Hill III’s tracker has malfunctioned. The RORC Race Team are in constant contact with the boat via email and there is no need for alarm. Sun Hill III data aside, IRC Four has a new provisional leader with Marc Willame’s JPK 960 Elma (FRA), racing doublehanded with Antoine Jeu. Chris and Vanessa Choules’ Sigma 38 With Alacrity is ranked in second place, but the light airs are more suited to the lightweight French boats with just two crew on board. Another JPK 960 racing doublehanded is ranked in third place: Samuel Dumenil & Antoine Runet racing Casamyas (FRA).

Casamyas, Samuel Dumenil and Antoine Runet's JPK 960 is in third place © Rick Tomlinson/www.rick-tomlinson.com

IRC Four | SailRaceHQ Sector Analysis: 100nm from Fastnet

Using the new time sector analysis provided by www.SailRaceHQ.com accurate analysis of the IRC standings in different sectors of the race is now available.

Assuming Sun Hill III’s data is invalid, JPK 960 Elma posted the fasted corrected time through the 100-mile Fastnet Sector. Ed Clay’s Contessa 38 Flycatcher of Yar (GBR) was second and looked to have sailed a great line to the north of the fleet. Jan Toussein’s Swan 38 Leda (BEL) was third fastest through this sector after IRC time correction.

The light conditions for the IRC Four fleet on this the fourth day of the Rolex Fastnet Race will give the teams the opportunity to dry themselves and their equipment out, and perhaps catch more than just a few minutes sleep. However, with the adrenalin kicking out, tiredness kicks in. Keeping their boats going in the light can result in huge gains, for the three hundred or so miles left to race in the Rolex Fastnet Race.

Elma, Marc Willame's JPK 960 has posted the fasted corrected time through the 100nm Fastnet Sector © Rick Tomlinson/www.rick-tomlinson.com

By Louay Habib

With the next Vendée Globe taking place next year, so the IMOCA turn-out for this year’s special 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race featured an impressive 29 boats, including much new hardware. These included reigning IMOCA class champion Charlie Dalin and Pascal Bidegorry on MACIF Santé Prévoyance. They had just five days of practice on board their new CDK-built Verdier design prior to their delivery to Cowes. But this was a lot compared to Yoann Richomme and Yann Elies on their equally new Groupe Finot design, Paprec Arkéa, which competed in a short inshore event only to uncover structural issues that forced them back into the shed. They came from relaunching straight to the Rolex Fastnet Race start line. 

Charlie Dalin and Pascal Bidegorry on board their brand new IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance crossed the finish line of the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race at 20:31:26 BST this evening. In doing so she: 

• Won the highly competitive IMOCA class by 4 minutes and 6 seconds ahead of Paprec Arkéa sailed by Yoann Richomme and Yann Elies. She was first in a field of 29 starters

• Won monohull line honours, ahead of race favourite Bryon Ehrhart’s 88ft Lucky

• Set a new monohull race record of 2 days 7 hours 16 minutes and 26 seconds for the new course to Cherbourg beating Skorpios’ 2021 time of 2 days 8 hours 33 minutes and 55 seconds, an improvement 1 hour 17 minutes 29 seconds 

Impossibly close Ocean Fifty victory for Berry and Joubert

Earlier this evening Anglo-Frenchman Luke Berry and Antoine Joubert on Le Rire Medecin Lamotte crossed the Cherbourg finish at 19:59:04 to claim the title in the Ocean Fifty trimaran class. They had been locked in a match race with Viabilis, sailed by Pierre Quiroga and Justin Baradat since Saturday afternoon when the boats departed Cowes, winning the class by just 1 minute 26 seconds. 

They arrived on the heels on Erik Maris’ MOD70 Zoulou, which crossed the line at 18:03:15 with a crew including multihull legend Loick Peyron and America’s Cup winner Thierry Fouchier. 

Hey Jude beetles her way towards the Rock

With approximately 300 miles completed, and 400 yet to be sailed, the J/120 Hey Jude finds herself at the head of IRC Two on corrected time. On Sunday as the breeze subsided, Hey Jude’s skipper Philippe Girardin was reeling in early IRC Two leader Fujitsu British Soldier, the Sun Fast 3600 skippered by Major Henry Foster.

Pintia noses ahead of the JPK duellists

As the frontrunners of IRC One approach the halfway point in the race it’s incredibly close between the top three. In fact it’s pretty darn close between the top eight, but the battle for the lead is the most fascinating of all. Pintia, Sunrise III and Dawn Treader - who’s going to get round the Fastnet Rock in first? We should find out later this afternoon or early evening.

Yesterday’s trickle of yachts competing in this special 50th Rolex Fastnet Race last night turned into a torrent. Bryon Ehrhart’s monohull line honours favourite led the single-hulled fleet around the Fastnet Rock shortly before 21:00 BST but the 88ft long canting keel weapon was only seven miles ahead of the first IMOCA, Yoann Richomme’s Paprec Arkea, with 2021 winner, Charlie Dalin's MACIF a further nine miles astern.

VO65s move ahead in IRC Super Zero

Two VO65s have moved to the top of the corrected time rankings in IRC Super Zero, relegating the USA-flagged 88-footer Lucky to third place. Pablo Arrarte’s VO65 Wind Whisper had a good run up to the Fastnet Rock to take the lead on corrected time earlier this morning while Team Jajo skippered by Clarke Murphy overtook their fellow Americans around lunchtime today.

28 teams are still racing in IRC Four with seven retirements. By 09:00 BST on day three of the Rolex Fastnet Race the vast majority of the boats racing in IRC Four had rounded the Lizard and are heading into the Celtic Sea. However, a split in the fleet each side of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) off Land's End was proof that strategy is afoot in IRC Four.

Using the new time sector analysis provided by www.SailRaceHQ.com  accurate analysis of the IRC standings in different sectors of the race is now available.