THE ROLEX FASTNET RACE
THE ROLEX FASTNET RACE
Next month, the sister race to our own Hobart will run again, so former competitor Adrienne Cahalan shares her thoughts on the other blue-water classic.
The Fastnet Race together with the Sydney-Hobart Race and the Newport Bermuda Race is historically one of the ‘big three’ traditional blue-water ocean races in the world. Like the Newport-Bermuda Race and unlike the Sydney-Hobart Race, the Fastnet is held every second year. It is run by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Western Yacht Club Plymouth and Rolex is the main corporate sponsor. RORC records show that the first Fastnet race was sailed in 1925 with seven entries and was first held to cater for the rising popularity of the amateur yachtsman that was not satisfied with cruising alone. It was through an Englishman named Weston Martyr that the Fastnet was born when, after sailing in the Newport-Bermuda Race one year, he set up a committee to promote an English ocean race.
Course and entries
The race is 608nm long, a similar length to the Hobart Race and the Newport- Bermuda Race. The race sets off from the Solent at the Royal Yacht Squadron start line, Cowes. The body of water that makes up the Solent lies between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight in the middle of the English Channel. Once the yachts leave the Solent through a narrow passage, the Needles, they sail west about 200nm through the English Channel and into the Irish Sea for the 170 nm to Fastnet Rock. Once the rock is rounded, the returning yachts have to leave the Scilly Isles to port and round Bishop Rock before heading back into the English Channel and to the finish line at Plymouth. It is about 150nm to Bishop Rock at the west end of the Scilly Isles and then a further 90nm or so to the finish at Plymouth Harbour.
The race attracts a large fleet. In 2005, 283 yachts entered so this year the race organisers have made the decision to cap entries at 300. The Hobart Race generally attracts a fleet of about 60-80 boats and the most yachts entered in the Hobart Race was about 150 in its 50-year anniversary race in 1994. The Fastnet race starts at a different time each year to ensure that yachts can leave on an ebb tide because tides can run up to 3-4kts in the Solent and it would be chaos if 300-plus boats were stuck anchored or going backwards in the tide once the race had started. It is a very tricky race and demands both inshore and offshore skills and the race can restart many times due to tidal gates and tricky wind conditions.
The main trophy is sailed under IRC but there are many different classes and divisions, including monohulls, multihulls and a two-handed division. This year, the race starts on 12 August and the first start signal is at 0950. There are several starts including a separate one for Open 60s and multihulls. They say it is a ‘big boat’ race because of a big boat’s ability to gain advantage on the tidal gates, but like the Hobart race, predicting a winner is difficult because of the range of conditions that can be found. In 2005, it was won by a 33ft yacht when the wind filled in from behind. This year, the largest yachts will include Australian-based Neville Crichton’s 98ft super-maxi Alfa Romeo and the new 98ft Leopard3 together with a range of open 60s and multihulls. Similar to the Hobart Race, there are upper limits: 60ft for multihulls and 100ft for monohulls. Both current monohull and multihull records were set in 1999 and are held by the 60ft multihull Fujicolor which averaged 15.03 knots and the monohull record is held by the 80ft maxi RF Yachting (averaging 11.48 knots). In 2002, on Steve Fossett’s 132ft multihull Playstation we broke the Fastnet Record in a time of about 36 hours but this was only recognised as a passage record and not a race record.
The Fastnet race interestingly is only a Category two race but entry requirements include the normal qualification passages, equipment specifications with additional specified requirements. It is a little different from other races of similar size in that the skipper’s and navigator’s briefing is not mandatory unlike most other ocean races and there is no SSB roll call schedule. The 1979 race had a similar effect on the Fastnet Race that the 1998 race had on the Hobart Race so there are strict regulations in place and this year each yacht will carry a tracking device. I am not sure if race organisers will post the yachts updated positions on a website, but if they do, it is always a very powerful tactical tool.
Weather and strategy
It is hard to say that the Fastnet has a general set of weather conditions. In the Sydney-Hobart race, the race conditions are more predictable and you are sure to get a SW/W behind a frontal system at some time during the race because the southern hemisphere storm track (the pattern of mid-latitude low pressure systems that circle the globe in the southern hemisphere) does not turn off in the summer time like it does in the north Atlantic. In the northern hemisphere, the storm track disappears north around May and decreases significantly in intensity, making weather conditions in the Fastnet much less predictable. The Fastnet course can be dominated by a high pressure system and be a drifter the whole way, like 2005, or it can be affected by a low pressure system and subject to storm force winds like the conditions in the 1979 race. In 1979, 15 people died in the storm and only 85 yachts finished the race from 303 starters.
The first part of the Fastnet is the race out of the Solent, similar to the race out of Sydney Harbour, but is more affected by currents. The start’s in the morning this year so yachts may be lucky and sail out of the Solent in gradient wind or more likely they will drift around and get flushed out with the tide while waiting for a sea breeze to develop on either the mainland shore or the shore of the Isle of Wight if there is no gradient wind.
The English coast
Once out of the Solent and into the Channel, the coastal part of the race begins and yachts sail on a course south-west to west. I have started this race in the evening as the yachts leave the Solent in a dying sea breeze so you have to make sure you are fully prepared to anchor for the night so that you do not go backwards once the tide changes out in the English Channel. Anchoring skills are critical in this race and the British and Europeans are very good at it, something that Australians don’t do often in our local ocean races.
In the English Channel, currents vary in direction and tidal movement also has a profound effect. There can be acceleration of 3-4 knots around the headlands and little or no movement across the Channel at slack tide. The decision is often whether to stay inshore and race along the headlands to get a push or go out further into the middle of the channel where there might be more wind and less tide, for example. If the race starts in the afternoon or evening, yachts may decide to stay in less tide inshore and use up the last of the dying sea breeze. This year, the race starts in the morning so who knows what the strategy might be.
Tactics
In the early part of the race it is normally advisable to stay out of the shipping lanes in the busy English Channel and although the rhumb line takes you inside the outer edges of the channel, yachts can be tempted to head out into the shipping lanes if there is a tide change or better wind. The authorities are not afraid to give out fines to yachts that do not cross the shipping lanes in accordance with the Collision Regulations so this is an added factor to consider in a yacht’s strategy. The main thing in this first 200 miles along the south coast of England is make a plan and estimation of when you may reach the different tidal gates and place your yacht as best you can to maximise or minimise tide while at the same time staying in the best wind.
Once you get around Lands End on the south-west tip of England, it is out into the open sea and into the ‘offshore’ part of the race. The tide is no longer a factor and the course takes you north-west to Fastnet Rock. If there is gradient wind from the right direction, it can be a soldier’s course to Fastnet Rock. However, it is not uncommon for the wind to drop out if a high pressure is moving over the top of the race course, so then it is a question of where the wind will fill from next. Fastnet Rock is a lighthouse on a small islet and a buoy is placed near the lighthouse which yachts must round to keep traffic orderly. From Fastnet Rock, it is south about 150nm to Bishop Rock on the west end of the Scilly Isles and then the coastal race recommences as the yachts re-enter the English Channel and head east, and then north-east for Plymouth. Tension invariably mounts among crews because Channel and Plymouth Sound can exhibit similar qualities to the Derwent River in the Hobart Race. The finish line is off the break water in Plymouth, not further up the river, but tidal gates and lack of wind still see potential for major place changes right up to the finish line.
Winning information
The UK is a well-populated place with a long history of weather forecasting. It has well-funded and sophisticated meteorological services and communication of that data to the public is easy to access and widespread. In fact, it is all they talk about over there: the weather. Crew can have just about anything texted any time to their mobile in the form of weather updates, observation data and forecasts. There is no excuse for a yacht to go out unprepared in this race and there are many buoys located over the course to give up-to- date wind information to help spot the next shift, so whether you are a local or a colonial, the Fastnet Race is yours to win.
‘Yachts may be lucky and sail out of the Solent in gradient wind or more likely they will drift around and get flushed out with the tide."
"Anchoring skills are critical in this race and the British and Europeans are very good at it, something that Australians don’t do often in our local ocean races."
Australian interest in fleet
The fleet will vary from the 98ft super-maxis Alfa Romeo of Australia- based Neville Crichton and the brand new Sydney built Leopard3 owned by London businessman Mike Slade. There will also be 60ft multihulls and plenty of Corinthian 35ft cruiser-racers. The Sydney-based Loki, of Stephen Ainsworth, is also expected to compete as part of her European campaign. The 60ft Reichel Pugh design should be a strong performer with world champion sailor Cameron Miles at the helm.
Most of the 300 fleet will race under IRC where the star attraction is likely to be Mike Slade’s Farr-designed Leopard3 built by McConaghy's yard in Mona Vale, Sydney. The new boat will be aiming for line honours, but if the wind is light may have a tough time against seasoned campaigners Alfa Romeo and the 90ft Rambler(ex-Shockwave VI/Alfa Romeo, formerly owned by Crichton).
Other Australian interest in the Fastnet includes Andrew Cape who joins Brit Alex Thomson on the Open 60 Hugo Boss. They are in a fleet of several ORMA 60s.
Mid-fleet, the newly built Azzura Marine Martin 49 Yani will be competing against two new 46-footers of Nick & Annie Haigh’s DK46, Dark and Steamy, and RORC Commodore David Aisher’s Rogers 46, Xeoman XXXII.
In 2005, conditions were ideal for the smaller yachts as the breeze filled in from behind the fleet and it was Jean-Yves Chateaus’s Nicholson 33, Iromiguy that won on IRC handicap the Fastnet Challenge Cup. Prior the win the last sub-40 footer to win was back in 1975, and again a sturdy Nicholson 33.
In addition to the main trophy for overall victory under IRC ‘ the Fastnet Challenge Cup ‘ there are more than 30 other trophies given out at the, 17 August prize-giving in Plymouth. Introduced this year is the Seahorse Magazine trophy for Class Super-Zero. The RORC, in conjunction with Cowes Combined Clubs (CCC), has created a trophy for the overall class winner, taking part in the three events: Skandia Cowes Week Super-Zero Series, the RORC Channel Race and the Rolex Fastnet Race. The Super-Zero class has been created specifically for any boat wishing to race that is between 14 and 30 metres LOA and with an IRC rating of 1.420 and upwards, whether it has a fixed or canting keel.
The first signal for the start of the 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race sounds at 0950 on Sunday 12August. Further information about the RORC and the Rolex Fastnet Race can be found at www.rorc.org
Adrienne Cahalan's Fastnet races:
The involvement goes back a long way with the job of navigator in the 1993 Fastnet aboard the Whitbread 60 Heineken. Again in 1995 as part of the Admirals Cup event aboard the ILC 40 Rats on Fire which came third in its class. Other Fastnets included co-skippering the Maxi One Design 80 Jacobs Creek and also breaking the unofficial record navigating Steve Fossett's Playstation in 2002.