The 100ft supermaxi, Rambler, designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian, and buit by the Cookson yard in Auckland has capsized in the Rolex Fastnet Race.
She capsized after rounding the Fastnet Rock on the second leg of the race to the Scillies off the south west coast of England. Conditions in the area are believed to have been 15-20 kts. The cause of the capsize appears to be the keel has fallen off.
Her position has been removed from the RORC Race tracking system.
Rambler is reputed to be the fastest supermaxi in the world, and was expected to take line honours in that class in the classic ocean race which has attracted 328 entries. She was originally launched in Auckland as Speedboat, and built for a US based owner.
Wind conditions are believed to be moderate in the race area.
Statement by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, issued 2053 BST Monday, 15th August 2011
The yacht Rambler 100 has capsized between the Fastnet Rock and the Pantaenius Buoy. The Irish Coastguard services are coordinating the rescue. The Baltimore RNLI lifeboat is on the scene. Two Sikorsky helicopters have been scrambled and an Irish Naval vessel is en route to the scene of the accident
All 21 crew have been rescued.
A further statement will be released when more information becomes known.
Ian Loffhagen
Racing Manager
Rambler crew with the bulb-less keel of the upturned yacht clearly visible - hotos from the Fastnet Race rescue taken by Nigel Millard - Click Here to view large photo
Rambler crew leave the capsized yacht - Photos from the Fastnet Race rescue taken by Nigel Millard - Click Here to view large photo
Irish newssite www.thejournal.ie reports that all 21 people on board the vessel – 20 men and one woman – were rescued, with 16 brought ashore on an all-weather lifeboat, and the remaining five taken ashore on an local diving boat.
The Coast Guard at Baltimore attended the yacht – which had been taking part in the Rolex Fastnet Race – shortly after the boat got into difficulty 10 miles south-west of Ballyieragh at around 6:30pm.
Rambler is reported to have been among the leaders in the race at the time of its accident, lost its keel and overturned within two minutes. Its on-board GPS unit, used to track its location in the race, had stopped broadcasting some time earlier.
One member of the crew was airlifted to hospital in Tralee. Coast guard helicopters from Waterford and Shannon attended the rescue, as did an Irish naval vessel.
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