How to follow the RORC Centenary Rolex Fastnet Race
by James Boyd / RORC 24 Jul 18:30 HKT
26 July 2025
Rolex Fastnet Race © RORC
This year's centennial edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race will set sail this Saturday, 26 July from the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes, Isle of Wight, bound for Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France via the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland and Bishop Rock off the Scilly Isles.
At present 451 yachts are entered, which, if all start on Saturday, will break the previous record entry of 430 which took part in the Rolex Fastnet Race's 50th edition in 2023. With these numbers the Rolex Fastnet Race is by far the world's largest offshore yacht race in terms of participants. Boats are competing from 34 countries with crew from 57 and ranging in age from 14 to 81.
The entries range in size from the world's fastest and largest offshore race boats, the 32m long by 23m wide flying Ultim trimarans - likely to cover the 695 mile course in a little over a day, to the IMOCAs of the Vendée Globe and Ocean Race, plus other French grand prix classes such as the Ocean Fifty and Class40.
The bulk of the fleet resides in the IRC classes. These span some of the world's fastest 100ft maxi yachts in IRC SZ down to 30ft family cruisers and sailing school boats in IRC Four, including a sizeable groups of one designs and 80 doublehanded yachts in the classes in between. (See Facts & Stats)
Returning for the club's centenary is the Admiral's Cup for the first time since the event was last held in 2003. But it will be the first time since 1993 that the Admiral's Cup fleet has competed in the Fastnet Race (for the 1995 Admiral's Cup it was replaced with the Wolf Rock race). The Fastnet Race formed the cornerstone of the Admiral's Cup since it was first held between three boat teams from just the UK and USA in 1957. This year 15 two boats teams, representing yacht clubs from afar afield as New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong, are competing in the revitalised Admiral's Cup, with the Rolex Fastnet Race reinstated as the concluding event of this prestigious series.
The Rolex Fastnet Race is one of the few events where regular sailors can line up on the same start line against numerous heroes of the sport, from the America's Cup, Vendée Globe and Ocean Race winners to Olympic gold medallists.
This year the fleet is divided into 13 classes - six IRC classes, from IRC SZ to IRC Four, plus five non-IRC classes (Ultim, IMOCA, Ocean Fifty, Class40 and MOCRA) and two Admiral's Cup classes.
See our previews/form guides:
Pre-start:
The following events will be broadcast live on the RORC YouTube channel and streamed live into the Cherbourg Race Village:
Press Conference - Friday 25th July: 1400 BST. From the RORC Cowes Clubhouse: Watch Live here
Weather and skippers briefing - Friday 25 July: 1600 BST. From the RORC Cowes Clubhouse: Watch live here
Live broadcast - start of the Centenary Rolex Fastnet Race: Saturday 26 July
1100 BST: The live broadcast will begin; hosted by Holly Hamilton with commentators Dee Caffari, Louay Habib, Hannah Diamond, Nikki Henderson, Andy Rice and special guests Lisa McDonald and James Boyd.
The start takes place from off the Royal Yacht Squadron line, West Cowes from 1120 BST, with rolling starts for the classes separated by 10 minute intervals.
Spectators:
From the shore: For those in Cowes, the best place to view the start from on land is anywhere between the Royal Yacht Squadron and Egypt Point in West Cowes. The time to be in situ is between 1100 and 1330 (after the final start at 1320). But there is the great opportunity to see one of the great spectacles in sport as the 450 boats set off down the western Solent. This can be seen from the key vantage points on the Isle of Wight or mainland sides - the best viewing spots being Fort Victoria or Fort Albert on the island, or for those on the mainland, from Hurst Castle at the southern tip of Hurst Spit.
From the water: Those wishing to view from boats on the water should be extremely cautious and avoid the area immediately to the west of the start line and under no circumstances get in front of any of the competitors. This is especially required for the first two starts, for the Multihulls and IMOCAs, the entries in which are both extremely high speed but also have restricted visibility and manoeuvrability. Course marshalls will be attempting to keep the race course free from spectators while keeping the next group of starters to the east of the start area.
After the start
Tracking:
All the yachts are fitted with YB trackers enabling the RORC centenary Rolex Fastnet Race to be followed in near real time from yb.tl/fastnet2025 (available online or via the YB App).
The tracker permits the full fleet, separate classes or individual yachts to be followed. The tracker display also features a pop-up leaderboard for each class and for the IRC classes calculates a real time ranking based on each boat's rating. Additional features include four different map types, the ability to overlay the latest weather and to scroll back through the race.
Another vital part of following the race is the RORC's SailRaceHQ results systems. Introduced for 2023 was a feature of the tracking which included perimeter rings around key marks of the course - the Fastnet Rock, Bishop Rock and the Cherbourg finish - enabling both more accurate leg-by-leg rankings to be produced, adding to the spectator experience. This can be found here. This will show when boats yet to finish need to reach Cherbourg if they are to win their class on corrected time.
Live Blog: A live blog, with information being sent back from the boats, will feature on the race website.
Event website: www.rolexfastnetrace.com News updates: Race reports on individual classes and regular twice daily synopses on the race as a whole, will also feature on the race website, created by our team of race journalists: James Boyd, Rupert Holmes and Andy Rice.
Social Media: #RolexFastnetRace @rorcracing
Virtual Regatta
Those not sailing can get a taste of the race by competing in the Virtual Regatta edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race by joining the game on virtualregatta.com
The 51st edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race starts from Cowes, Isle of Wight on Saturday 26th July 2025.
For further information, please go to the Rolex Fastnet Race website.