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One of sailing’s most classic and prestigious events, Fastnet is known as one of the most demanding off shore races to be held in British waters. Taking place every two years, it pits the best racing sailors against each other in some of the trickiest sailing conditions imaginable.
First conceived way back in 1925 as a 608 nm challenge ending in Plymouth, 2021 will see the end point of the race move to Cherbourg, France, bringing this testing course up to nearly 700 nautical miles and the first major change to the course for nearly 100 years.
Seen by many veterans as a number of smaller races encompassed by one big race it has played a large role in the growth of offshore racing and it certainly will put all of your skills to the test.
Starting from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, around 300 boats pass the Needles, heading along the southern coast of England towards the Lizard then around the tip of Land’s End. From there it’s north through Celtic Sea waters towards the Fastnet Rock on the southern tip of Ireland. Once around the Rock, it’s back south wards, round the Scilly Isles then south east across the English Channel towards Cherbourg. During this time, sailors can face strong tidal flows, Traffic Separation Schemes and changeable weather, from gales to light winds, in their bid to win the race. Be prepared for anything, as this race will generally throw it all at you!
Joining the Fastnet race normally requires entering several other qualifying races over several weekends. However, we are now able to offer a condensed campaign starting on the 1st of August for approximately 2 weeks.
Crew will join the boat in Hamble, UK for last minute training and prepping the boat before the race.
There are two options for disembarking: either crew can leave in Cherbourg after the race and celebrations, or they can sail the boat back to Hamble and alight there.
Training
We will compete in a minimum of 3 offshore races before the actual Fastnet race itself to polish our teamwork and skills.
Rolex Fastnet Race
TBC August 2023 is the official start.
This year’s Morgan Cup race will again finish in the beautiful harbour of Dartmouth and, so as not to reproduce another ‘Myth of Malham’ race course, some virtual waypoints will likely be used to provide some variety and different tactical challenges.
The Cowes- Dinard – St Malo race is one of the oldest events in the RORC racing calendar. The race will provide the team with a varied and interesting course, as once we’ve have headed west out of the Solent, our first natural race markers are the amazing Channel Islands, which often prove challenging to negotiate as we fly towards the Breton Coast.
The Chanel race takes places two weeks prior to Fastnet. This is a great opportunity to polish you skills ready for fastnet, or to learn and develop your skills in a highly competitive race of 110- 160 n.miles around the Isle of Wight and marks in the Solent.
One of sailing’s most classic and prestigious events, Fastnet is known as one of the most demanding off shore races to be held in British waters. Taking place every two years, it pits the best racing sailors against each other in some of the trickiest sailing conditions imaginable.
Fastnet 21 was a special event for me, for many reasons. Germaine and the team at SRA, completely understood the importance to me, and made the experience one I will always remember.
A well equipped boat, great safety kit, training and support, first class.
If you want to do some serious offshore sailing, I can recommend the Sail Racing Academy wholeheartedly.
