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SVR Lazartigue secures outright record

Having been so dramatically pipped at the post by Maxi Groupe Edmond de Rothschild in the last breath of the 2019 race, François Gabart and his team, this time racing the giant 32m long flying trimaran SVR Lazartigue, rectified this wrong by being first home in the 50th anniversary Rolex Fastnet Race, winning the Ultim class.

Crossing the line at 21:38:27 BST, SVR Lazartigue also set a new record of 1 day 8 hours 38 minutes 27 seconds, breaking the time set by Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Groupe Edmond de Rothschild two years ago by 36 minutes 27 seconds.

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IRC Three Update I 24 July

Cora, the doublehanded Sun Fast 3200 sailed by Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews, is currently leading IRC Three © Paul Wyeth/www.pwpictures.com Cora, the doublehanded Sun Fast 3200 sailed by Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews, is currently leading IRC Three © Paul Wyeth/www.pwpictures.com

Fifty-three teams are still racing in IRC Three, with 30 retirements. The leading boats are now past the Lizard and heading into the remote Celtic Sea; 170 miles away is the Fastnet Lighthouse. Using the new time sector analysis provided by www.SailRaceHQ.com, accurate analysis of the IRC standings is now available at the touch of a button.

Sun Fast 3200 Cora (GBR) raced doublehanded by Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews lead IRC Three at the Lizard, both on the water and after time correction. Gautier Normand’s A35 Locmalo (FRA) was the second in class to round the Lizard, followed by a pack of boats rounding almost in unison: Disko Trooper – Contender Sailcloth (AUS), Benoit Rousselin’s JPK 1010 Delnic, and Romain Gibon’s  JPK 1010 Les P'tits Doudous en Duo (FRA).

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Rolex Fastnet Race outright record falls to SVR Lazartigue

François Gabart celebrates his Ultim class victory © Paul Wyeth/www.pwpictures.com François Gabart celebrates his Ultim class victory © Paul Wyeth/www.pwpictures.com

Having been so dramatically pipped at the post by Maxi Groupe Edmond de Rothschild in the last breath of the 2019 race, François Gabart and his team, this time racing the giant 32m long flying trimaran SVR Lazartigue, rectified this wrong by being first home in the 50th anniversary Rolex Fastnet Race, winning the Ultim class. 

Crossing the line at 21:38:27 BST, SVR Lazartigue also set a new record of 1 day 8 hours 38 minutes 27 seconds, breaking the time set by Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Groupe Edmond de Rothschild two years ago by 36 minutes 27 seconds. 

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Breaking | Gabart sets new Multihull record

SVR Lazartigue sets a new Multihull Race Record © ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo SVR Lazartigue sets a new Multihull Race Record © ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo

The 32m Ultim Trimaran SVR Lazartigue, skippered by François Gabart has taken Multihull Line Honours in the 50th Edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race.

SVR Lazartigue’s 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.

Conditions drop in the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet

Erik Maris helms with offshore legend Loick Peyron on Zoulou at the Fastnet Rock © Team Zoulou Erik Maris helms with offshore legend Loick Peyron on Zoulou at the Fastnet Rock © Team Zoulou

After a tough first 24 hours in this 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, conditions have abated in the English Channel and Celtic Sea. This afternoon the Seven Stones lightvessel between Land's End and the Scilly Isles was reporting 17 knots from 250°. This had dropped to 15 this evening, with the wind in the western English Channel typically 10-15 knots.

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Severe opening night impacts on Rolex Fastnet Race fleet

The Rolex Fastnet Race fleet endured gale force winds on their first night at sea © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com The Rolex Fastnet Race fleet endured gale force winds on their first night at sea © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com

A brutal first night at sea in this 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race has seen numerous retirements and many others seeking temporary shelter from the gale force conditions in the English Channel. For example, wind data from Hurst Castle at 20:10 BST last night recorded 38 knots, gusting 43. Yesterday evening off St Alban’s Point, the crew on Stuart Lawrence's J/120 Scream II reported 46 knots. 

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IRC Four Update I 08:00 BST Sunday 23 July

François Charles' Dehler 33, Sun Hill III, is currently leading IRC Four after time correction © Rick Tomlinson François Charles' Dehler 33, Sun Hill III, is currently leading IRC Four after time correction © Rick Tomlinson

At 0800 BST on day two, the vast majority of the IRC Four fleet was still inshore, battling upwind in Lyme Bay. However, a number of boats had began to head offshore into bigger seas to round Start Point. Leading IRC Four after time correction was François Charles' Dehler 33 Sun Hill III (FRA). Second was one of the smallest boats in the race, Sean Langman’s Ranger 32 Maluka (AUS), all the way from Australia. Third after time correction was Henry Clay’s Contessa 38 Flycatcher of Yar.

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IRC Three Update I 04:30 BST Sunday 23 July

Cora, Sun Fast 3300 sailed by Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews © Rick Tomlinson Cora, Sun Fast 3300 sailed by Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews © Rick Tomlinson

At 0400 BST, the vast majority of the IRC Three fleet still racing is inside Lyme Bay, trying to avoid the worst of the gale and in relatively flatter seas. The leading boats have now tacked towards open water and are reporting that the wind speed has started to decrease.

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The Start of the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race

This afternoon the Solent shoreline was packed deep with spectators braving the conditions to witness the greatest assortment of offshore yacht racing hardware ever assembled.

The special 50th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race set sail with 430 yachts - up from the previous record of 388 that took the last pre-COVID race in 2019.

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Record-sized fleet sets sail on blustery 50th Rolex Fastnet Race

The Ultim trimarans lead the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race away © ROLEX/ Carlo Borlenghi The Ultim trimarans lead the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race away © ROLEX/ Carlo Borlenghi

This afternoon the Solent shoreline was packed deep with spectators braving the conditions to witness the greatest assortment of offshore yacht racing hardware ever assembled. The special 50th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race set sail with 430 yachts - up from the previous record of 388 that took the last pre-COVID race in 2019.

While pundits were comparing the wind this afternoon to that of the last Rolex Fastnet Race in 2021, in fact it was gustier and conditions were otherwise quite different with a densely overcast sky, drizzle that built to rain, and enough mist to obscure the mainland. What was consistent was the heinous washing machine seastate that competitors encountered at the western exit of the Solent at Hurst Narrows, as they passed the Isle of Wight’s most famous landmark, the Needles and beyond. As usual this built increasingly with the ebb tide, especially affecting the smaller yachts.

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50th Rolex Fastnet Edition - Brisk conditions for tomorrows start may favour the big boats

Christian Dumard, race meteorologist, briefs the competitors © Rick Tomlinson Christian Dumard, race meteorologist, briefs the competitors © Rick Tomlinson

COWES, UK, 21 JULY 2023: Momentum is building towards tomorrow afternoon’s start of the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race. More and more boats are arriving in Cowes and to moorings and berths across the Solent. Meanwhile an armada has left from Cherbourg and numerous ports around the Breton coast. All are aiming to get to the vicinity of the Cowes start line in good order prior to the first starts of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s special anniversary race at 1300 BST.

Of great concern to all is the start and opening part of the race being a brutal re-run of the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race. At today’s skippers briefing French meteorologist and offshore yacht race routing expert Christian Dumard said the forecasts for start time were showing 20-25 knots upwind from the southwest out in the central Solent. The wind would build as the ebb tide gained momentum in the western Solent. By the time boats reached the Needles Channel (frankly not long in the case of the large trimarans and the IMOCAs setting sail first) the wind would have accelerated to 35 knots, possibly gusting to 40.

Given the conditions, the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s race management team, led by Race Director Steve Cole, last night issued an Amendment to the Sailing Instructions, which included a revision of the start order. In particular the sequence of the IRC fleet setting off is being reversed (as it was also in 2021) and the gap between individual class start sequences reduced from 20 minutes (doubled this time from the usual 10) to 15 minutes.

New start order: Multihull – 1300 BST; IMOCA – 1315; Class 40 – 1330; IRC SZ/Z – 1345; IRC 1 – 1400; IRC 2 – 1415; IRC 3 – 1430; IRC 4 – 1445

The crew of Tulikettu are looking forward to showing their new boat's full potential © Tim WrightThe crew of Tulikettu are looking forward to showing their new boat's full potential © Tim Wright

The all-important tide in the Solent will be flooding for the first start, then going slack before the ebb begins, increasing the chance of boats being pushed over the line early for the later starts. This year new test rules are being tried whereby any boat that is over the line (OCS) less than 30 seconds before the start gun will receive an automatic two hour penalty. “This addresses a safety issue - we don’t want boats struggling to get back uptide into a big fleet to restart if they are OCS,” explains Cole.

In addition to the gale force winds at the Needles and Hurst, Dumard also warned of the sea state there: “It will be quite bad because we expect for the first boats a 1.5-2.5m wave height and the last boats at around 1700 [at the height of the ebb] it will be 2.5m. So be careful in these rough conditions. There is always the escape route up the North Channel into Christchurch Bay if you wish to avoid the very strong wind.”

Generally, there is a depression centre moving east across Northern Ireland and northern England over Sunday night and into Monday. Ahead of this is a dying occluded front which will cross the fleet on Saturday afternoon, followed in swift succession by a warm front and cold front, which Dumard reckons the fleet will encounter in the early hours of Sunday morning. This will also bring rain (which he hopes will not be present for tomorrow’s start). “The sea state will deteriorate as the front approaches. The [cold] front should be over the fleet at 2300-0200 and after that conditions will improve very quickly the further west you are.” Post front the wind should decrease to 20 knots.

Following on the eastbound meteorological conveyer belt is a trough with westerlies to its south and northerly or northeasterlies behind it, but Dumard warns: “The models still diverge at this point. In the ridge there will be very light wind conditions, 5-10 knots, but the first boats will be in Cherbourg already so won’t be concerned by it.

“As the ridge moves away, we have another low pressure arriving with a warm front ahead of it and a cold front behind it. The wind tends to increase quite a lot, up to 25 knots from the west, ahead of the warm front.”

As ever the significant final hurdle approaching the finish of this course is the Alderney Race where the current can run at up to 5-6 knots - a monumental problem for those arriving when it is foul and the wind light, although this is unlikely to be the case this year. Dumard warns: “If you see 25 knots on the GRIB file, it could be 32 knots and 35 knots in the gusts and the sea state will be very rough. Be careful with this.”

The maxi catamaran Allegra is most used to racing in strong conditions © Arthur Daniel/RORCThe maxi catamaran Allegra is most used to racing in strong conditions © Arthur Daniel/RORC

So does this forecast mean it will be a Rolex Fastnet Race likely to favour boats of a certain size range as it so often does? “It is very difficult to know if it will be a big, medium or small boat race as the models are still unstable for the end of the race. It could be both – a big boat race and then a small boat one. The problem for the small boats will be that the beginning of the race will be slow for them.” Other unknowns remain the exact timings of the arrivals of the fronts and the exact shape of the trough (which for example will dictate if boats are upwind, fetching to reaching towards the Fastnet Rock) and how much wind might still remain in it.

At today’s press conference held at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse just prior to the skippers’ briefing, Andrew Cape, navigator on Bryon Ehrhart’s Lucky, the 88ft canting keeler (ex-Rambler 88) that is the scratch monohull in the IRC fleet reckons it was likely that they will break the ClubSwan 125 Skorpios’ race record on the new Rolex Fastnet Race route to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. “It is 75% chance - around 2 days 2 hours, so it is looking pretty good. But like anything with weather we will just have to wait and see. 5/6 of the models have us breaking the record. You just have to avoid the light patches – they will be the decider. At the moment there are not many for us.”

Adrian Keller and his 84ft Irens catamaran Allegra are back to defend their title in the MOCRA multihull class. Allegra’s crew led by fastest yachtsman on the planet, Paul Larsen are comfortable racing her in strong conditions and they have just returned from the Round Gotland Race where Allegra achieved a new personal best top speed of 35.5 knots. “We are looking forward to it although the weather forecast is a little iffy!” said Keller. “This time [compared to 2021] it will be a little less choppy but less wind too. We just did Round Gotland and we had similar conditions.

“The Fastnet Race is the ultimate. I have followed it since I started sailing and it is its grand tradition. The other one we would like to do is Newport to Bermuda.”

Richard and Sophie Palmer's Jangada is a favourite among the smaller boats © James TomlinsonRichard and Sophie Palmer's Jangada is a favourite among the smaller boats © James Tomlinson

From Finland and competing in IRC Zero is the DSS-equipped Infiniti 52 Tulikettu of Roschier Baltic Sea Race backer Arto Linnervuo, for whom this will be his second Rolex Fastnet Race: “It is an interesting race course because the weather fronts move quickly so it is quite difficult to plan tactics beforehand. But I like the race course because here, like the RORC Caribbean 600, there are more chances to use all of the set-up, including our ‘secret weapon’, our DSS foil.”

Currently in Gosport is one of IMOCA’s latest recruits in Britain’s Sam Goodchild and his For the Planet, part of the class’ first two boat campaign with Thomas Ruyant’s For People. This will only be Goodchild’s second race in his new steed and his first major one. “What we are all most concerned about is the start and doing that carefully. With almost 450 boats jostling for position, there is the potential for some errors. Then obviously our boats are made for sailing fast in a straight line for long distances, and there isn’t much of that in a southwesterly in the Solent! So we have to be careful tacking up the Solent doublehanded as even off the start line there are 28 other boats in our class. The first 12-18 hours will be full-on with wind against tide. So we need to make sure we do that safely without taking any unnecessary risks.” Among this huge line-up IMOCA favourites seem likely to be For People and Jérémie Beyou’s Charal.

Among the smaller boats one of the favourites will certainly be Richard Palmer’s well-travelled JPK 1010 Jangada, the 2022 RORC Season’s Points Championship winner and overall winner of the Sevenstar Round Britain Race. In IRC Three, Palmer on this occasion will be sailing with his daughter Sophie. “There is a feeling of déjà vu here – it is a bit like two years ago,” said Richard Palmer. “Hopefully it will be not quite as mental on the actual start line itself, but getting out through the Needles Channel in 25-30 knots with wind against tide, getting over that bar will be quite a challenge. We will look at the escape route option of going out through the North Channel.”

As to whether it will be a big boat or small boat race, Palmer reckons it will all depend on the passage of the weather systems, with for example the faster boats having to sail more miles to reach the Rock compared to the smaller, slower boats that might be able to lay it from further out.

 

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, capital of ocean racing

It's never been seen before. In the port of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, the walls have been pushed back to accommodate the yachts in what promises to be a historic Rolex Fastnet Race. Between the Port Chantereyne and the Port de Commerce - right in the centre of town - 150 yachts have chosen to stop over in Normandy before heading to Cowes, England, where the start will take place on Saturday at 2pm (French time). Before that, visitors can discover these fabulous machines and meet the sailors. The IMOCAs, the Vendée Globe boats, can be seen in the Bassin du Commerce, while the Class40s and the big trimarans are moored in Port Chantereyne. In the next 48 hours, the fleet will head due north to reach the Solent, between the Isle of Wight and England.

 

captureCopyright : Arrivée Fastnet Cherbourg / Armel Vrac / Nicolas Touzé

A tough start

The start of this 50th edition promises to be grandiose, as it was two years ago. The fleet of 450 boats - the largest ever assembled in a starting area - will set off in sustained conditions with strong headwinds and heavy seas close to the Needles, the majestic chalk spires which mark the exit from the Solent. This armada will then round the Fastnet Rock, to the south of Ireland, before setting course for Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. According to the latest routing, the big Ultims trimarans are expected to arrive around midnight on Sunday night. The arrivals will then be staggered throughout the week.

Franck Cammas:
"This is the most famous race in the world, along with the Sydney - Hobart. It's a piece of sailing history. Tabarly took part in it and some editions have been tough, notably in 1979 with a huge storm. It's ingrained in people's minds, it's full of emotion and the start line is never easy. It's a great spectacle but when you're in the middle of it all, you're pretty tense.

Louis Duc
"It's the first time I've done this race in an IMOCA class, with my own boat. It's an ongoing adventure. In the English Channel, we grew up with Christophe Auguin, who won the Vendée Globe. The start promises to be tough. The aim is to get out of the Solent in one piece.

 Sam Davies

 "This is my tenth participation in the Rolex Fastnet Race. The first time, I was only 19 years old and I knocked on every door to get on board. One family said yes and offered me a huge opportunity. This race is important for young people and it's great to be here, right in the centre of town with our boats."

How it all began

Five of the seven starters set sail from Ryde on the first Fastnet Race in 1925 © Beken of Cowes Five of the seven starters set sail from Ryde on the first Fastnet Race in 1925 © Beken of Cowes

2023 and 2025 will be landmark years for the Royal Ocean Racing Club, with this year seeing the celebrations for the 50th edition of its premier event, the Rolex Fastnet Race. This sets sail from Cowes on Saturday afternoon bound for Cherbourg-en-Cotentin via the Fastnet Rock. This will be followed in two years by the centenary of the club, first set up in Plymouth immediately following the inaugural edition of the Fastnet Race in 1925. 

With around 450 entries, ranging from the world’s fastest offshore yachts down to 30-footers and classics, the race has come a long way in its 50 editions, reflecting the monumental changes in society and technology. 

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Conquering The Seas | The Journey To Rolex Fastnet Race Victory

Join us as we delve into an inspiring conversation with Tom Kneen, the triumphant skipper of 'Sunrise,' the winning yacht of the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race.

In this exclusive video, Tom takes us through the thrilling journey of how he and his team tackled one of the world's most challenging offshore races. Hear first-hand about the decisive moments, the exhilarating challenges, and the ultimate triumph that led 'Sunrise' to victory.

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