All-star line-up: boats to follow in the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race
This year’s Rolex Fastnet Race has an all-star line up with some of the most exciting racing yachts in the world taking part. We pick out 10 Fastnet boats to follow
It’s hard to imagine a more diverse and intriguing fleet line up than this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race entries, making it hard to pick out which Fastnet boats to follow.
The fleet is, once again, vast in both size and scope. At last count 355 yachts were preparing to take on the 49th edition of the offshore classic, ranging from the enormous, brand new 140ft ClubSwan 125 Skorpios, to the altogether more petite 11m classic, Le Loup Rouge Of Cmn, and the diminutive 9.33m long T3 Trifoiler L’Albatros, racing in the MOCRA fleet.
Within the huge range of entries are some of the world’s best professionals, family boats, first timers, and everything in between. We pick out 10 Fastnet boats to follow:
Skorpios
The breath-taking new ClubSwan 125 is the biggest yacht ever to take part in the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Recently launched out of Nautor Swan in Finland, Skorpios has been working up to speed in the UK – but only recently arrived in Cowes yesterday, as with 24ft draught her manoeuvrability in the crowded waters around the Solent is limited.
Designed for offshore record setting, skipper Fernando Echavarri and owner Dmitry Rybolovlev are here for line honours.
On the eve of the Rolex Fastnet Race, we got an exclusive sail and tech tour aboard this monster of a racing yacht:
Rambler 88
Owner George David has a history with the Rolex Fastnet Race like few others.
His Rambler 88 won back-to-back monohull line honours in the last two editions, but in 2011 his Rambler 100 supermaxi capsized just past the Fastnet Rock – all crew were safely rescued, but it’s an emotive race for David and his team.
This time Rambler 88 goes into the Fastnet after a light year of sailing due to pandemic-related travel restrictions having a big impact on the grand prix racing circuit. Nevertheless, Rambler’s 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 for a training sail. “We just want to make sure we can still sail it in anger after a year of not sailing,” tactician Brad Butterworth. Rambler’s last race may have been the Rolex Middle Sea Race in 2019, but her crew is one the most experienced around.
Pen Duick VI
The late Eric Taberly’s name is ingrained in the history of offshore racing and one of the iconic entries in this year’s Fastnet is his Whitbread Round the World Race maxi and 1976 OSTAR winner Pen Duick VI, now skippered by his daughter Marie.
Pen Duick VI is switching back into offshore racing mode in preparation for the 2023 Ocean Globe Race, a nostalgic tribute to the original Whitbread. Check out the October issue of Yachting World magazine for a closer look at this world famous yacht.
Hugo Boss
Alex Thomson’s black and hot pink Hugo Boss needs little introduction and is always one of the most popular boats to follow.
This is the British Vendée skipper’s first outing in his foiling IMOCA with its radical ‘inside’ cockpit since it suffered structural and rudder damage during the last around the world race.
Now fully fixed, Hugo Boss will be co-skippered by Swedish racer Ollie Heer, who is the boat captain for the complex design.
Anyone wanting to get a feel for just how punishing the Fastnet Race is in a foiling IMOCA should check out Thomson’s ‘Hub’ page, which shows real time data from the boat and biometrics from the sailors – heel angle, hours of sleep and much more See alexthomsonracing.com/the-hub/
Hugo Boss is one of 13 IMOCAs competing in this year’s Fastnet.
Other star skippers lining up include fellow Brits Sam Davies on Initiatives Couer and Simon Fisher on 11th Hour Racing, plus Jérémie Beyou on Charal, Vendée Globe line honours winner Charlie Dalin on Apivia and overall Vendée champion Yannick Bestaven on Maitre Coq IV.
Morpheus
It’ll be a wet and wild ride for Andrew Fennell and team on his Shuttleworth-designed one-of 39ft carbon trimaran Morpheus.
We took a tour of the boat after they finished the 2019 Fastnet Race, where they described life onboard as “Like trying to sleep in the back of a 1950s pick up truck with leaf suspension being driven down a dark dirt road by a drunk driver…”
Morpheus is racing in the MOCRA class, which has a diverse entry ranging from the modified, foil-assisted MOD70s Argo and Maserati, to the luxurious 84ft performance cruising catamaran Allegra, which will have world speed sailing record holder Paul Larsen onboard.
“I liken [it] to rally driving Bentley Continentals – they are hugely capable cars with incredible brakes and engines and handling packages, but at the end of the day it is a Bentley Continental and, when things go wrong, it weighs a lot,” said Larsen.
Other big names in the MOCRA fleet include French offshore legend Loick Peyron aboard the Outremer 5X No Limit, while Christian Guyader aboard the TS5 Guyader Mext will be among the favourites for a class win.
Amokura
Paul Moxon and Steve Jones’ 50ft Bermudan yawl Amokura is the oldest boat in the race.
Designed by Fredrick Shepherd and built by Moodys in Swanwick in 1939, originally for Lord Mountbatten’s Aide de Camp, Ernest Harston, Amokura competed in the 1959 Fastnet Race and tried again 60 years on in 2019, but finished neither.
In sharp contrast to most of the entries, she is built with a pitch pine hull on oak beams, teak deck and seven ton bilge keel and displaces 20 tonnes.
Maxi Edmond De Rothschild
There are four incredible Ultim 100ft trimarans taking part this year, including the Gitana teams’s Maxi Edmond De Rothschild, which smashed the (old) course record last time and will be hoping to set the benchmark for the new one this time around.
Charles Caudrelier skippers with Franck Cammas. Rivals include Thomas Coville, who returns with his giant trimaran Sodebo.
Jangada
IRC Class 4 is shaping up to be hotly contested, especially among the double-handed entries.
Since its introduction in 2011, IRC 4 has always been won by a French boat and for the last four editions by a JPK 10.10.
Among the 40 or so British teams competing in IRC Four, Richard Palmer’s JPK 10.10 Jangada may have the best shot of breaking France’s winning streak. Racing double-handed with Jeremy Waitt, Jangada was 2020 RORC Boat of the Year and winner of the 2019 RORC Transatlantic Race.
Richard Palmer is competing in his 10th Rolex Fastnet Race. “It’s the world’s most competitive offshore IRC event,” he commented.
“We are looking forward to the increasing level of competition in the Two-Handed fleet and the new route into Cherbourg. The most difficult part this time will be strategies for the main tidal gates.”
They’re likely to face stiff competition from Emmanuel Pinteaux’s JPK 10.10 Gioia, 2nd in class in the last race (and overall race winner back in 2013, racing as Night and Day with the Loisons).
Stormvogel
The 73ft classic ketch won line honours in the 1961 Fastnet Race, when Francis Chichester was navigator for her original owner Kees Bruynzeel.
Now, 60 years later Stormvogel is back for another go after a full refit. Skipper Graeme Henry, says: “Stormvogel is back to a new level of performance while maintaining the original 1961 concept and 1960s’ style.”
Swell and Gentoo
IRC Class 4 features some well known British names racing double-handed on SunFast 3300s.
Dee Caffari – who’s completed six around the world races including skippering a Volvo Ocean Race, a Vendée Globe, and was the first woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world in both directions – is racing with James Harayda on Gentoo.
Meanwhile Figaro and Volvo Ocean Race sailor Henry Bomby joins double Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson on Swell.
Other names bidding for IRC 4 and Two-Handed victory include Alexis Loison, who won the 2013 edition overnight with his father Pascal, and IRC 3 and IRC Two-Handed in 2019 on the JPK 1030 Léon with designer Jean Pierre Kelbert.
For 2021, Alexis will return in Léon with 470 and Figaro sailor Guillaume Pirouelle. Alexis will also have strong local knowledge for the new finish, as his home port is Cherbourg.
Live Commentary and How to Watch • Live Sail Die
The Rolex Fastnet Race is about to start! The 49th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race starts on Sunday 8th August, 2021 from the Royal Yacht Squadron line, Cowes, UK.
The first warning signal is at 1100 (first start 1110) and the fleet is divided into seven groups, each starting at a different time and heading west down the Solent toward the Needles.
Tune in – the Start Show begins with commentary from on and off the water: Pip Hare, Louay Habib, Simon Vigar on the RYS platform in Cowes, Abby Ehler and Matt Sheahan out on the commentary rib capturing all the action.
Start times for each class:
Multihulls (MOCRA, Open) 1110 (BST)
IMOCA, Class40 1125
IRC Zero 1140
IRC 1 and Figaro 3 1155
IRC 4 1210
IRC 3 1225
IRC 2 1240
Where to watch:
The best vantage points of the start will be along Cowes Green and Egypt Esplanade. As the fleet funnels west out of the Solent there will be lots of chances to see the yachts from Yarmouth as well. From the mainland you can view the yachts on their outbound leg; the best places to watch are from Hurst Castle, Anvil Point, St Alban’s Head and Portland Bill.
Where to listen:
Listen to the commentary of the race on 87.9FM or online at: https://www.coweslive.co.uk/ or through the speakers if you are sitting watching the spectacle from Princes Green or on The Parade in Cowes.
The Course:
Track the race:
Track your teams here –> https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/en/2021-tracking-player
Live Streamed and available to watch on the race website, RORC YouTube and Facebook:-
https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/royaloceanracingclub
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RORCRacing
Instagram: instagram.com/rorcracing
Twitter: www.twitter.com/RORCracing
@rorcracing
Race virtually:
Not there to compete in the actual race? Join in the virtual regatta! –> https://www.virtualregatta.com/en/
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Rolex Fastnet Race
Rolex Fastnet Race - One day to go
The international flotilla has been slowly leaving Cherbourg and other ports on the continent ready to arrive off Cowes prior to the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race © RORC The international flotilla has been slowly leaving Cherbourg and other ports on the continent ready to arrive off Cowes prior to the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race © RORC
by James Boyd, RORC 8 Aug 04:13 HKT
Like a trial run for tomorrow’s start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, today the Solent has been in blustery mood with an overcast sky, rain and perpetual gusty winds. The forecast for the start of the 49th edition of the world’s largest offshore race remains for winds of 20-25 knots with gusts into the 30s, although the rain is set to subside.
Given the conditions, the Rolex Fastnet Race’s organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, have decided to rearrange the order of tomorrow’s start times. They will now be:
Multihulls (MOCRA, Open) 1110 (BST)
IMOCA, Class40 1125
IRC Zero 1140
IRC 1 and Figaro 3 1155
IRC 4 1210
IRC 3 1225
IRC 2 1240
Previously IRC Zero, home of the largest monohulls entered in the Rolex Fastnet Race, was to have started last. Usually this allows the small boats to enjoy seeing them stride past. However, in the big conditions forecast, the RORC are steering a more prudent course. “The wind angle now makes it fully upwind at the start so we’ve made this change principally to make it safer for the big boats to get through Hurst Narrows,” explained Chris Stone, Race Director of the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Meanwhile today in Cherbourg, the exceptional race village has opened and the final check-ins have taken place, including French sailing hero Loick Peyron racing on board Yann Marilley’s Outremer 5X Racing catamaran No Limit. Meanwhile the international flotilla has been slowly leaving Cherbourg and other ports on the continent ready to arrive off Cowes prior to start time. Some of the faster boats are going to the wire with this - the Bouwe Bekking-skippered VO65 Sailing Poland was due to leave Cherbourg at 0300 while Italian Giovanni Soldini’s modified MOD70 Maserati was departing at 0500.
Back in Cowes, Soldini’s competition at the front end of the MOCRA fleet has been out practicing. American Jason Carroll’s Argo has been based in Cowes since setting a new record from Bermuda to Plymouth this summer. Her crew is an international all-star cast including French America’s Cup winner Thierry Fouchier, American Tornado Olympic silver medallist Charlie Ogletree among others, including Britain’s most high capped maxi-multihull veteran Brian Thompson.
Thompson says this is his eighth or ninth Rolex Fastnet Race, but he has rounded the Fastnet Rock countless additional times in other races and during record attempts.
Argo, their nimble, but sturdy trimaran, is more than capable of dealing with tomorrow’s big conditions. Although, even the highly experienced Thompson admits that they may do their utmost to avoid the severe wind against tide conditions.
“It is going to be a boisterous start for sure; more windy than the last few years,” says Thompson. “We will have 20+ knots most of the way to the Fastnet and over 30 for the first few hours when the tide is increasing the wind. The first six hours could be the toughest sea state-wise. We’ll have to settle in and see how we do. Maybe we are going for the best shifts or the flatter water, we are not sure. We’ll certainly be well reefed down.”
As to their prospects overall in the race, Thompson is bullish. “The forecast is quite good for us. Coming back from the Fastnet Race I think we can get on a fast angle down to the Scillies and then downwind VMG with the genniker to the finish. It is looking like about 15 knots downwind and then dropping at the end, but we will have to see. We have a chance this time, because I don’t think the back of the fleet will be coming in with wind.” Argo’s main competition will be Soldini’s Maserati whom they have to beat into Cherbourg by around 30 minutes when they arrive early on Tuesday morning.
Several of the French grand prix classes are racing outside of the main IRC fleet in this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race, including the Ultimes, IMOCAs and Class40s. Five Figaro 3s are also racing in their own class, including Britain’s aspirant Figaro sailor Cat Hunt and Hugh Brayshaw, doublehanded on Ross Farrow’s Stormwave 2.0. A former student of the now defunct Artemis Offshore Academy, Brayshaw has competed in the Solitaire du Figaro three times before joining Musto full time. Both he and Hunt have individually raced the Rolex Fastnet Race twice before.
For a 32 footer, the foil-assisted Figaro 3 has huge performance (Stormwave 2.0 has an IRC rating similar to a grand prix 40 footer) and as they are one designs, their racing will be hot, even though the top boats aren’t competing due to the proximity of the unofficial world championship of solo offshore racing, the Solitaire du Figaro, to the Rolex Fastnet Race.
“There are four other Figaro 3s and we want to beat all of them,” says Brayshaw.
Like the MOD70, the Figaro 3 is designed for transoceanic racing and withstanding gale force conditions, even wind-against-tide. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see 35 or even 40 knots on the top of waves tomorrow,” continues Brayshaw of tomorrow’s conditions. “We’ll have a small jib up and at least one reef in the main. Fortunately these boats are hardcore and we can smash through the waves without too much damage. We would all like a bit more comfortable conditions to start with, but we are going to get hammered. We’ll just get cracking into that and see where we’re at at each headland. Hopefully it won’t be too upwind on the way back.”
Brayshaw reckons it will be the last stage where the race will be won or lost. Key will be staying as fresh as possible going into this and having a plan in case the wind is light and the powerful current is foul. “We need to make sure we are close to land when the tide turns. I have done a few races around that point with those who know it well and there are gaps between the rocks you can take. But if it is too light we will get the anchor out.”
A boat which should perform better in the big conditions of the first 24 hours will be the classic but heavily suped-up Nicholson 55 Eager belonging to leading yacht broker Chris Cecil-Wright. The boat knows the way to the Fastnet Rock for it competed many times in the race as the yacht of the Lloyds of London Yacht Club. This included the 1979 race (her crew in this race reconvened in 2019 to remember the race on its 40th anniversary). Since then Lutine has changed hands and in Rob Grey’s ownership was completely rebuilt. This included fitting a new carbon fibre rig that is 12ft taller, narrowing the shroud base, fitting a smaller cockpit and a new interior. Most recently since agreeing to do the Rolex Fastnet Race, Cecil-Wright has added new North sails and a bowsprit. “The Nic 55 was notoriously sluggish downwind. Now we are covered on every angle, which should be exciting.”
This will be Cecil-Wright’s first Rolex Fastnet Race and in addition to family members are several hotshots including Richard Powell and Ben Vines.
Despite the forecast Cecil-Wright is looking forward to the race: “If it wasn’t blowing, it wouldn’t be an adventure. I like adventures and everyone on board is the same. A drift there and back wouldn’t be the same, but I may live to regret saying that! I am apprehensive. When we did the Myth of Malham we had two go down with seasickness and it reminded us how debilitating that is. The big thing on everyone’s mind is to avoid that.”
Once into Cherbourg the Eager crew is keen to come ashore. “We have a table booked at the Café de Paris! But who knows what time, but we’ll be there!”
Log into: www.rolexfastnetrace.com to follow the start LIVE tomorrow (Sunday 8th August) at 0930 UTC (1030 BST) or the RORC You Tube and Facebook.
Entry list available here.