Maloney and Skandia Set Sail for Fastnet Race

by Offshore Challenges on 9 Aug 2003 Skandia Set Sail' will cross the Fastnet start line at 10h00 BST on Sunday, 10th August as one of five Open 60's (see list below) to be racing in the 40th edition of this 608 mile race from Cowes, Isle of Wight to Plymouth via the Fastnet Rock, off the south west tip of Ireland. The Open 60s will have their own start and be racing in their own class.

The IMOCA Open 60 class will be the only class in the Fastnet fleet to be polled via Satcom C up to four times a day providing up to date positions along the race course. This service wil be provided by OC Events for the IMOCA class, and supported by Ecover and Skandia.

Skandia are sponsors of the Open 60 ex-Kingfisher currently on charter to Team888 project for the Fastnet race as part of their Skandia Set Sail programme. Skandia are already long-term sponsors of the Cowes Week regatta, title sponsor to Sam Davies' Figaro campaign and sponsors to the Olympic Star campaign of Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell.

'Skandia Set Sail' will be raced by a fully international crew from the UK, Australia, Germany and South Africa. Headed up by Australian Nick Moloney (winning skipper Class 2 solo Route du Rhum and co-skipper of winning boat Kingfisher in the EDS Atlantic Challenge) alongside Team888 co-skippers Mark Denton and Jonny Malbon from the UK. German prop sailor Timmy Kröger, South African Wayne Norris and BBC TV reporter, Robin Marks completes the line up of the crew: ‘I am really looking forward to getting on the helm of SKANDIA SET SAIL - she is a fantastic boat and one I know well from racing in the EDS,’ said Moloney. ‘We have a good crew who may not have raced together before as a complete unit, but who all bring different experience to the boat, especially Timmy who has great experience at the top end of the sport. Between Jonny, Mark and myself we’ve raced this boat over 25,000 miles.’

The forecast is for light conditions on start day: ‘We are at looking at light easterlies on Sunday and Monday which could give us some reasonable downwind conditions,’ said Mark Denton. ‘But to set records you need loads of breeze coming from the right direction and right now it's not looking that good but there are records and then there is winning your class and that will be the focus for Skandia Set Sail’.

In 1999 Catherine Chabaud racing the Open 60 'Whirlpool' won the IRC class in 2 days 5 hours 22 mins and 59 secs. To break the record for ballasted monohulls (currently 2d 5h 8m 51s set by RF Yachting in 1999) would require an average speed of more than 11.48 knots over the 608 mile course. The course will take the 250+ boat fleet from the RYS start line at Cowes along the south coast past Anvil Point, Portland Bill, Start Point, The Lizard, Lands End out towards open ocean heading north west to the Fastnet Rock before returning to the finish at Plymouth.


Open 60 Class - Fastnet Race:
Boat / Skipper

Chaman 3 / Dominique Wavre
Ecover / Mike Golding
PRB / Vincent Riou
SKANDIA SET SAIL / Moloney/Malbon/Denton
VMI / Sebastien Josse

Visit http://www.imoca.org/fastnet for positions during the race.