Fastnet Race

Turning mark - Fastnet Rock

The Fastnet Race is a famous sailing regatta for yachts in the English Channel and the Celtic Sea . It is held in odd years at the end of the (annual) Cowes Week .

history

One of the main prizes is the Fastnet Challenge Cup . Until 1999, the Fastnet race was the final regatta of the Admiral's Cup . The regatta has been called the Rolex Fastnet Race since 2001 because Rolex has been the main sponsor of the race ever since . The race is hosted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Yacht Squadron .

The 608 nautical mile regatta starts in the Solent off Cowes , rounds Land's End and circles Fastnet Rock off the south-west coast of Ireland. It rounds the Isles of Scilly on the way back and ends in Plymouth . The race lasts for several days and is notorious for lulls and extreme weather conditions. Many boats suffered accidents .

Fastnet Race memorial stone 1979

In 1979 the Fastnet race ended tragically when the regatta field got caught in a hurricane predicted very late . Many boats overturned in the area of ​​the Labadie sandbank. 15 regatta participants and four other sailors drowned. At least 75 yachts overturned. As a result, the safety rules were tightened and the number of participants was limited. In particular, the skippers were strongly advised to only board a life raft when the ship is clearly sinking or burning inextricably; because of the 24 yachts abandoned during the 1979 race, only five actually sank while crews drowned in the life rafts. This showed that even a severely damaged yacht is in most cases safer than a life raft. The Fastnet race of 1979 is considered the greatest catastrophe in yachting.

The start of the 2007 race was postponed by 25 hours due to the weather. It was the first start postponement in the history of the race. Squalls and rough seas caused numerous damage and the abandonment of the race in 207 of the 271 ships that started. Mike Slade's Icap Leopard 3 (built in 2007) set a new course record under these conditions with 44 hours and 18 minutes. The calculated winner was Ger O'Rourke with Chieftain .

List of winners

Winner according to the calculated time

year	yacht	flag	Owner	constructor
1925	Jolie breeze	United Kingdom	Lt. Cdr EG Martin	Alexandre Pâris
1926	ilex	United Kingdom	Royal Engineers	Charles E. Nicholson
1927	Tally Ho	United Kingdom	Lord Stalbridge	Albert Strange
1928	Niña	United States	Paul Hammond	Starling Burgess
1929	Jolie breeze	United Kingdom	Bobby Somerset	Alexandre Pâris
1930	Jolie breeze	United Kingdom	Bobby Somerset	Alexandre Pâris
1931	Sea bream	United States	Olin Stephens	Sparkman & Stephens
1933	Sea bream	United States	Olin Stephens	Sparkman & Stephens
1935	Stormy Weather	United States	Olin Stephens	Sparkman & Stephens
1937	Zeearend	Netherlands	Kees Bruynzeel	Sparkman & Stephens
1939	Bloodhound	United Kingdom	Ike Bell	Camper & Nicholsons
1947	Myth of Malham	United Kingdom	Capt. JHIllingworth	John Laurent Giles
1949	Myth of Malham	United Kingdom	Capt. JHIllingworth	John Laurent Giles
1951	Yeoman	United Kingdom	Owen Aisher	Camper & Nicholsons
1953	Favona	United Kingdom	Sir Michael Newton	Robert Clark
1955	Carina	United States	Dick Nye	Philip Rhodes
1957	Carina	United States	Dick Nye	Philip Rhodes
1959	Anitra	Sweden	Sven Hansen	Sparkman & Stephens
1961	Zwerver II	Netherlands	Otto van der Vorm	Sparkman & Stephens
1963	Clarion of Wight	United Kingdom	Derek Boyer DFC	Sparkman & Stephens
1965	Rabbit	United States	Dick Carter	Dick Carter
1967	Pen Duick III	France	Eric Tabarly	Eric Tabarly
1969	Red Rooster	United States	Dick Carter	Dick Carter
1971	Ragamuffin	Australia	Syd Fischer	Sparkman & Stephens
1973	saga	Brazil	Erling Lorentzen	Sparkman & Stephens
1975	Golden Delicious	United Kingdom	Richard & Harvey Bagnall	Ron Holland
1977	Imp	United States	David Allen	Ron Holland
1979	Tenacious	United States	Ted Turner	Sparkman & Stephens
1981	Mordicus	France	Taylor and Volterys	Mauric / Gaubert
1983	Shamrock	Netherlands	Maller & Snoeren	Hellevoetsluis
1985	panda	United Kingdom	Peter Whipp	Philippe Briand
1987	Juno III	United Kingdom	M. Peacock	Rob Humphries
1989	Great news	United States	John Calvert-Jones / Tom Blackaller	Bruce Farr
1991	Min-O-Din	United Kingdom	John Humphries / Matt Humphries	David Thomas
1995	Nicorette	Sweden	Ludde Ingvall	Ribadeau-Dumas / Simonis Voogd
1997	Royal Blue	Sweden	Gunnar Ekdahl	Ribadeau-Dumas / Simonis Voogd
1999	Whirlpool Europe 2	France	Catherine Chabaud	Marc Lombard
2001	Tonnerre de Breskens	Netherlands	Piet Vroon	Lutra Design Group
2003	Nokia	United Kingdom	Charles Dunstone	Reichel / Pugh
2005	Iromiguy	France	Jean-Yves Chateau	Ron Holland
2007	Chieftain	Ireland	Ger O'Rourke	Bruce Farr
2009	Rán 2	United Kingdom	Niklas Zennström	Friedrich Judel Rolf Vrolijk
2011	Rán 2	United Kingdom	Niklas Zennström	Judel / Vrolijk
2013	Night and Day	France	Pascal Loison	Jacques Valer
2015	Courrier Du Leon	France	Géry Trentesaux	Jacques Valer
2017	Lann Ael 2	France	Didier Gaudoux	Joubert-Nivelt
2019	Wizard	United States	David and Peter Askew

First Ship Home

→ Main article : First Ship Home

year	yacht	flag	Owner	constructor	sailed time
1925	Jolie breeze	United Kingdom	Lt. Cdr EG Martin	Alexandre Pâris	6d 3h
1926	Halloween	United Kingdom	Col JFN Baxendale	William Fife III.	3d 19h 5m
1927	La Goleta	United States	R. St. L. Beverley	Alden
1928	Niña	United States	Paul Hammond	Starling Burgess
1929	Jolie breeze	United Kingdom	Bobby Somerset	Alexandre Pâris
1930	Jolie breeze	United Kingdom	Bobby Somerset	Alexandre Pâris
1931	patience	United Kingdom	HE West	Charles Nicholson
1935	Kismet III	United Kingdom		William Fife III.
1937	Bloodhound	United Kingdom	Isaac Bell	Charles Nicholson
1939	North wind	German Empire	Navy	Henry Gruber
1947	Latifa	United Kingdom	Michael Mason	William Fife III.
1949	Latifa	United Kingdom	Michael Mason	William Fife III.
1953	Bloodhound	United Kingdom	Isaac Bell	Charles Nicholson
1955	Mare Nostrum	Spain		Sparkman & Stephens
1979	Condor of Bermuda	Bermuda	Bob Bell	John Sharp	2d 23h 25m
1981	Condor	Bermuda	Bob Bell	Ron Holland
1983	Condor	Bermuda	Bob Bell	Ron Holland
1985	Nirvana	United States	Marvin Green	Dave Pedrick	2d 12h 34m
1989	Stone Camp II	New Zealand	Peter Blake	Bruce Farr
1995	Nicorette	Sweden	Ludde Ingvall	Ribadeau-Dumas / Simonis Voogd
1999	RF Yachting	New Zealand	Ross Field	Bruce Farr	2d 5h 8m
2001	Stealth	Italy	Gianni Agnelli	Frers	2d 10h 58m
2003	Alfa Romeo I.	New Zealand	Neville Chrichton	Reichel / Pugh	2d 9h 2m 0s
2005	Maximus	New Zealand	EBS Yachting	Greg Elliott	2d 20h 2m 7s
2007	ICAP leopard	United Kingdom	Mike Slade	Bruce Farr	1d 20h 18m 53s
2009	ICAP leopard	United Kingdom	Mike Slade	Bruce Farr	2d 11h 9min 36s
2011	Banque Populaire V.	France	Loick Peyron	VPLP	1d 8h 48m 46s
2013	Spindrift 2	France	Yann Guichard and Dona Bertarelli	VPLP	1d 14h 53m 58s
2015	Spindrift 2	France	Yann Guichard and Dona Bertarelli	VPLP	2d 10h 57m 41s
2017	Concise 10	United Kingdom	Tony Lawson	VPLP	1d 18h ​​55m 00s
2019	Gitana 17	France	Cyril Dardashti	Guillaume Verdier	1d 04h 02m 26s

literature

• Nick Ward / Sinéad O'Brien, Alone with Death. A secret tragedy from the Fastnet Race 1979. 1st edition Bielefeld, 2009, ISBN 978-3-7688-2548-1
• Svante Domizlaff, Yachts in a Hurricane: The Fastnet Race 1979. 1st edition. Bielefeld 1999, ISBN 3-7688-1090-9
• John Rousmaniere, Storm Force 10 - The Black Day by FASTNET. Bielefeld 1986, ISBN 3-7688-0533-6

Web links

• Official website of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, organizers of the Fastnet Race (Engl.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Website: regattanews.com Regatta course map , accessed September 5, 2015
2. ↑ Admiral's Cup 1979: Disaster in the Irish Sea. Retrieved March 18, 2019 . 
3. ↑ John Rousmaniere: Revisiting Lessons from the Fastnet . SailNet.com. January 2000. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
4. ↑ d = day, h = hours, m = minutes, s = seconds
5. ↑ website transatlanticrace.org Yachtportrait Nordwind , (English) , accessed on September 11, 2015