Moloney gears up for Fastnet

by Moloney media on 6 Aug 2005 On Sunday at 1230BST, Aussie Nick Moloney’s Open 60 Skandia will join 13 other Open 60s for the 2005 Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the world’s oldest classic ocean races and run by the Royal Ocean Racing Clubs.

The race will start from the world famous Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and finish at the Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth.

The 14 competing Open 60’s represent the largest Open 60 fleet to ever compete in this classic offshore race that first started in 1925. Open 60 skippers are from far and wide with entries from Australia, France, Brazil, Switzerland and the UK and Skandia will be up against some of the best on the circuit today, including Mike Golding’s Ecover (UK) and Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss (UK) , and French entries Sill & Veola (Roland Jourdain) and Cheminees Poujoulat (Bernard Stamm).

Skandia’s skipper, Moloney, has competed in this race five times aboard IRC 40’s and Whitbread 60’s including Viper in 1995, Toshiba in 1998 and the Open 60 Skandia Set Sail, in 2003. He will team up with boat captain Matt Lees (RSA) and four other crew to tackle the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race on a challenging 608-mile course from Cowes to the Fastnet Rock and back into Plymouth.

An estimated 286 boats from six different classes will tackle the race which takes the fleet south-west down the Solent, past the Needles and out into the English Channel, along the south coast of England - Anvil Point, Portland Bill, Start Point, The Lizard and Lands End.

The fleet will then head north-west across open ocean to the Fastnet Rock, with its mythical lighthouse, before returning to Plymouth, via Bishop Rock Lighthouse on the south side of the Scilly. Tricky tidal currents and changeable weather conditions will fully test the competitors. The Open 60 race is shaping up to be very competitive and they should complete the course in two-three days, dependent on weather conditions.

There are many trophies up for grabs, the most prestigious being the Fastnet Challenge Cup for the overall winner. In 1999, Catherine Chabaud’s Open 60, Whirlpool-Europe 2, won the Fastnet Challenge Cup for Best Overall for BCT/IRC classes in 5 days, 22 hours and 59 minutes. In the 2003 Fastnet Race, five Open 60s competed, including Skandia, but it was France’s Sebastien Josse who took victory on board VMI in an elapsed time of 2 days, 15 hours and 25 minutes.

Moloney’s thoughts on the race:

Weather:

‘At the moment the forecast is changing quite a bit. We are at the leading edge of a high pressure system which will be the case on Sunday with light northerly winds of 5-10 knots, slightly NNW and windier on the first night from the north. The next morning at around lunchtime we’ll have around 10 knots from the north still, which will get lighter as we sail towards Lands End. It should swing round to be NNE by the time we get there. A

'At midday on the 9th, our ETA at Fastnet rock, it is forecasted to be light all the way round. There is expected to be no wind as we go round so it will be light and very trying. Then we should have light downwind sailing all the way back home. It should take us about 3 days but this could all change especially with the light winds forecasted.’

Strategy:

‘We’ll end up trying to utilise any sea breeze during the day and land breeze in the evening. We’ve also got to keep in mind that the tides will have a huge effect, especially closer to shore – when we go past Portland Bill – so we’ll head inshore or offshore depending on the current. It will be really tricky, the fleet will be split – there’ll be some guys offshore and some guys near the beach.

'We’ll pick the guys who we know are the most knowledgeable and hang with them to see what they do. For example, I know that Jean-Yves Bernot will be sailing on Sill et Veolia - he is one of sailing’s top weather experts and has an impressive nautical track record so we’ll be reading a lot into what they do. Mike and Conrad know the coast very well so we’ll be keeping an eye on them too.’

Team:

‘I’ve sailed around the Fastnet rock before but mostly when I’ve been training alone so I’ve always gone offshore as far away from land as possible. I’ll be relying on my team quite a lot. Matt is very good and knows these water very well. Although Craig hasn’t spent much time sailing in the UK, he has done plenty of Fastnet races.

'Lisa is very clued up about the south coast and a great sailor so it is really good to have her onboard. It’ll be a cool race – we’ll be racing against some top boats and some very experienced sailors, so it will be very competitive. Can’t wait to get out there and race again!’

Skandia’s crew:

Nick Moloney (AUS)

Matt Lees (RSA)

Paul Anderson (AUS)

Lisa MacDonald (USA)

Craig Satterthwaite (NZ)

Jonathan Brown (GBR)

Open 60 entry list:

BEST WESTERN CHAMONIX Benoit Parnaudeau (FRA)

CHEMINEES POUJOULAT Bernard Stamm (SUI)

ECOVER Mike Golding (GBR)

GALILEO Walter Antunes (BRA)

HELLOMOTO Conrad Humphreys (GBR)

HUGO BOSS Alex Thomson (GBR)

MARE VERTICALE Joe Seeten (FRA)

PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS Emma Richards (GBR)

PROFORM Marc Thiercelin (FRA)

ROXY Anne Liardet (FRA)

SILL ET VEOLIA Roland Jourdain (FRA)

SKANDIA Nick Moloney (AUS)

UUDS Hervé Laurent (FRA)

VIRBAC-PAPREC Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA)


Check www.nickmoloney.com for updates throughout the race. Position updates will be posted on the site every four hours.

START TIMES 2005 ROLEX FASTNET RACE (BST)

IRC Class 3 1100

IRC Class 2 1120

IRC Class 1 1140

IRC Class Z 1200

IRC Class SZ 1220

Open 60 1240

Multihulls 1300

For further information about the Fastnet Race, please go to:
http://www.rorc.org/fastnet/index.php