FASTNET READY

THIS YEAR MARKS THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FASTNET RACE. YET EVERY EDITION STILL THROWS UP SOME SURPRISES. TO AVOID BEING CAUGHT OUT, WHAT CAN EVERY CREW DO TO PREPARE?

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Summer came early this year, with much of northern Europe basking under stable, warm conditions throughout April and May that brought predictably light winds and sunny, dry days. The balmy period finally broke, in typical British fashion, just before the second May Bank Holiday.

Significantly, this makes 2025 the third season in a row ahead of the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race when many competitors likely completed early training miles or qualifying races in predominantly light conditions. And while we can't yet guess what the wind gods will serve up for the Fastnet start on July 26, the last two races have seen 30+ knot winds in the first 24 hours.

The 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race was particularly testing, with one yacht sunk, a man overboard (all crew safely recovered), multiple dismastings and dozens of retirements all before the fleet had even left the Solent. Over the first night in the last race, conditions deteriorated further, with winds gusting to over 40 knots and a sharp sea of over 4m and waves peaking at 7m. Most of the fleet experienced at least one additional battering later on, with multiple fronts sweeping the racecourse.

Following the race, organisers RORC conducted an internal review. Steve Cole, RORC’s racing manager, explains: “Surveys were taken from boats that took part and then retired or suffered damage. RORC also met with HM Coastguard and other agencies to determine any particular issues that arose from the race.”

Additionally, RORC held two very informative panel evenings with skippers and navigators from competing yachts across the fleets, sharing their learnings from the 2023 race (we highly recommend watching them at youtube.com/@RORCRacing). We've distilled some takeaways from the review and skippers' discussions that any boat preparing for a Rolex Fastnet Race - or any longer offshore - should consider:

TRAIN FOR THE WORST