No let up in weather for last five Fastnet boats

by KPMS on 19 Aug 2007
The last five boats yet to finish in the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet - Lutine, Nightlife, Ghost, Farthing, and Spellbinder - were approaching the Scilly Isles this morning, on the home stretch to Plymouth and the finish line of this 608-mile ocean classic. The Swan 53 Lutine was leading, rounding Bishop's Rock light at 1000BST, and they are expected to finish this evening. The others should reach Plymouth during the day on Sunday. The yachts are getting a fast ride back but no relief from a frontal system that is producing southerly winds of 20-25 knots.

The Beneteau First 32, Blustery Day, came across the line at 0534 local time. Skipper Martin Biggs, sailing in his third Fastnet, and his first with his own boat said the sailing was fantastic. He was remarkably upbeat considering the list of breakages the boat had incurred, including no wind instruments and a dead engine, and then at the Scillies the gooseneck broke and the boom fell off and had to be jury-rigged and the spinnaker sheets and guys broke so they had to sail the last 100 miles from the Scillies with just a headsail. Biggs laughingly remarked that 'we managed to sail for five days together without killing each other!' and, clearly, both he and his crew are ready to do it again.

On board the Sigma 38, Persephone of London was a family affair with four of the eight crew Goodhew family members, and only three crew over 20 years old. The Goodhews included Oliver, 15 - possibly the youngest crew member in this year's Fastnet - Tim, 17 and parents, Karen and Nigel. While they had done the Eddystone Race, this was their first go at a Rolex Fastnet Race, and they did well, winning IRC Class 3A, and the Hobbs Bowl for 1st Sigma 38.

The yacht endured windy conditions on the first night and the crew thought briefly about diving into Falmouth, but they carried on. Son Tim was on the helm for about four hours on the tough beat up to the Fastnet Rock, and Oliver steered on the downwind run from the Rock, during which he said 'there were no wipeouts, but lot's of running on the lee a lot, and top speed surfing at 19 knots.'

The prizegiving took place at the Royal Citadel, home of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, in Plymouth on Friday evening, 17th, August. A Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece in steel and platinum and the Fastnet Challenge Cup were presented to the first Overall in IRC Handicap, Ger O'Rourke, owner of the Cookson 50, Chieftain. Line Honours winner Mike Slade of ICAP Leopard was awarded the Errol Bruce Cup.

During his opening remarks, David Aisher, Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club paid tribute to the fleet and the responsible approach of all owners to the race and the severe weather forecast.

Commodore Aisher also highlighted a number of records and firsts for the race, 'this year's Rolex Fastnet is one of setting new records. Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard has set a new record for a canting-keel monohull of 1 day, 20 hours, and 18 mins at an average speed of 13.52 knots. George David's Rambler has broken the existing monohull record by some 8 hours and set a new monohull record of 1 days, 21 hours, and 3 minutes.'

He continued, 'There are some other records worth mentioning - 300 entries is the highest number since 1979 and is the first time since the '79 race that we have reached the 300 boat limit that the Club has imposed on the race entries. The other new record is that to my knowledge this is the first time anywhere in the world that 300 yachts have been successfully tracked by a satellite tracking system. Other firsts included a first ever postponement of the start, a decision made in response to the impending weather.'

A full list of trophies is available online at http://fastnet.rorc.org.

2007 Rolex Fastnet Race Class Winners:
Zero Canting Keel: Chieftain (IRL), Ger O'Rourke
Super Zero: Rambler (USA), George David
Zero/A: Snow Lion (USA), Larry Huntington
Zero/B: Courrier du Coeur (FRA), Gery Trentesaux
IRC 1/A: Sydney (GBR), Sailing Logic, Josh Richardson
IRC 1/B: Scarlet Oyster (GBR), Gordon Appleby
IRC 2/A: Antares (NED), F. Winterswijk
IRC 2/B: Foggy Dew (FRA), Noel Racine
IRC 3A: Persephone of London (GBR), Nigel Goodhew
IRC3B: Cavatina (IRL), Eric Lisson
Two-Handed: Voador (GBR), Simon Curwen

At the time of writing, 55 boats have finished, five are still racing, and 211 have retired. The final yachts are expected to arrive from tonight through Sunday.

Further information about the RORC and the Rolex Fastnet Race may be found at http://fastnet.rorc.org