Fastnet Race 2011

Startar i morgon, och man följer det här. Yellowbricks tracking brukar vara bra.

Vi hejar så klart lite extra på Class 40 Solo med Rune Aasberg och Simen Løvgren, Linjett 33 Flamman IV med Sten Lindgren och hans besättning och Swan 371 Rosinante med Tanu-matti Tuominen.

RECORD FLEET RACE TO THE ROCK

• A record fleet of 320 yachts have entered the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race (Previous record ’79 – 303 boats)
• This is the 44th edition of the Fastnet Race
• The ‘professional’ and Non-IRC classes: Volvo Open 70s, IMOCA 60s, Class 40s and Multihulls have been counted above the initial cut-off mark of 300
• The race started in 1925 with just 7 boats!
• 608 nautical mile non-stop race
• 19 nations represented
• 1 day, 20 hours, 18 minutes is the current monohull course record to beat set by ICAP Leopard (GBR) in 2007
• Fujicolor – Fastest 60ft multihull – 15.03 knots (multihulls raced a longer course so can’t give elapsedtime)
• The largest boat is the 140ft trimaran – Maxi Banque Populaire (FRA)
• 2 giant 100ft yachts go head to head – Rambler 100 (USA), ICAP Leopard (GBR)
• Smallest boat in the fleet just 30ft – Bernie Bingham’s Rogers 30, Brightwork (GBR)
• 34 boats sailing with only 2 crew
• Yacht range from 30ft to 140ft
• 10 classes in total
• First start 1100, RYS line, Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK
• Follow the fleet: http://fastnet.rorc.org/
• Listen on the day of the start: Fastnet Radio 87.7FM
• Facebook.com/royaloceanracingclub + Twitter
• The main trophy for overall victory is the Fastnet Challenge Cup. In addition, there are more than 30 additional trophies
• Next Edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race: 11th August, 2013
• The Rolex Fastnet Race is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in association with the Royal Western Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron and has been sponsored by Rolex SA of Geneva since 2001.

19 NATIONS The allure of Rolex Fastnet continues to attract competitors from around the globe. 19 different nations will
be represented in this year’s race with entries from the following countries: Austria; Belgium; China; Finland; France; Great Britain; Germany; Hong Kong; Ireland; Italy; Lithuania; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Russia; Switzerland; Sweden; United Arab Emirates and USA. The British and French make up the bulk of the fleet, but the entries prove the lure of the Rolex Fastnet still crosses the oceans as it did in its earliest days.

THE HISTORY OF FASTNET RACE
First sailed in 1925 and run biennially since the early 1930s, the 608-mile Rolex Fastnet Race has captured the imagination of sailors the world over. It was one of the first true tests of offshore sailing skill and to win this race is an ambition of every racing sailor.

Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) the course starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes, races out of the Solent down the English Channel to Land’s End and across the often tempestuous Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock, before returning on a reciprocal course to the finish off Plymouth.

It is a difficult race testing inshore and offshore skills, preparation and speed potential. It has been a prime mover in the growth of offshore racing over the past 85 years, and is still intricately linked to advances in yacht design, sailing techniques, safety equipment. 2011 marks the 44th edition of the race. The entry list is capped at 300 boats, but this year the RORC has made provision for fully-professional yachts such as the maxi multihulls, the VO70s, the IMOCA 60s and the Class 40s to race in addition to the more Corinthian main fleet. This could swell the numbers by another 50, shattering the current record entry of 303 set in 1979.

The start is scheduled for Sunday, 14 August, with the first warning at 10.50BST. The monohull course record stands at 1 day, 20 hours and 18 minutes, set by ICAP Leopard (GBR) in 2007. With Leopard entered this year alongside the 100-ft Rambler 100 (USA), expect an assault on the benchmark time if conditions permit.

Given the history and popularity of the race, it is little surprise that the Rolex Fastnet means different things to the near 3,000 different people on board the entered yachts. For some it is a once-in-a-life-time personal challenge, for others it is part of a much bigger picture, part of a lifetime of sailing. It is never just another race. It is not undertaken lightly by anyone and each boat and crew must fulfill a strict qualification regime before their entry is accepted.

The Rolex Fastnet is never a simple race and taking place in August it is often provided with Westerlies that are strong to gale force in strength. The progressive succession of low pressure systems which advance on the British Isles from across the North Atlantic Ocean also provide a constantly moving weather pattern.

These depressions are mostly centered north of the English Channel. Knowledge of where any meteorological disturbance is likely to occur, and how best to use it, is the keynote to success. It is even more important now that the boats have faster reactions and are more responsive to changes in wind pressure and direction.

Famous landmarks passed along the route include: The Needles, Portland Bill, Start Point, The Lizard, Land’s End, the Fastnet Rock, Bishop’s Rock off the Scillies and Plymouth breakwater. Even the foreign boats are familiar with these headlands and rocky outcrops by the end of the race.

The Rolex Fastnet Race is organised by the RORC in association with the Royal Western Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron and has been sponsored by Rolex SA of Geneva since 2001.