The Fastnet Race - Mini style

by Scott Cavanough on 15 May 2011 Race number 2 for Skippy and her crew in the 2011 Classe Mini season. The UK Mini Fastnet starts today.

Scott Cavanough tells us: 'Another week and another race, now that the season is in full swing it is much more gruelling then I thought having done 300nm of deliveries since the Pornichet Select Race one and a half weeks ago The sail from France to England was a slow one as it took just on 36 hours. We left Douarnenez in France late afternoon only for the breeze to die as night fell the sailing 30 nm over the next 8 hrs made for a very slow night. The welcome at the Royal Western Yacht Club has been fantastic and very happy to help in any way they can.

The UK Mini Fastnet starts today at 1530 BST after a civilised Roast lunch kind of like the last supper, it will feel like that as we get stuck into out first of many freeze dried meals for the next week. This race is one of the few double-handed races on the mini calendar, for this race I have a very good friend of mine James Gair with me for this race. He is an Englishman who has done many miles in the Irish Sea and having just finished the Round Britain and Ireland race he was the perfect choice though he does struggle to fit in and out of the hatch. The race starts in Plymouth rounds Eddystone light before rounding Bishop light then out to Fastnet Rock from there a stunning 100nm downwind run to the Conninberg light on the Irish Coast then back to Lands End and finishing back inside Plymouth Sound just outside the Royal Western Yacht Club the race length is 561 Nautical miles.'

Keep an eye on how Skippy and the crew are going on the Royal Western Yacht Club website http://www.rwyc.org/uk-mini-fastnet-6-50-tracking/

* Scott grew up sailing from the time he was six years old; sailing sabots, 420’S, 16ft skiffs, Australia lightweight sharpies and the Europe dingy, progressing to larger vessels. Scott has been a full time professional sailor for many years with most of the time spent in Europe and the northern hemisphere. He is aiming to be the first Australian to win the Mini Transat 6.5.

**The Mini Transat 6.5 race is known as one of the most extreme yachting events in the world, this event sees the smallest single-handed offshore class of yacht race across the Atlantic Ocean.

Scott Cavanough website