Above: Peter and David Askew’s V070 Wizard heads for home after rounding Fastnet Rock in last year’s race en route to overall victory – a rare occurrence in recent years when French teams on much smaller boats have dominated. Top left: it’s only the first dozen or so miles, but make the wrong choices after the start through the currents and shifts of the Solent and life can start to look a little bleak for that first night of the race to the aggressive and often spectacular tidal gate at Portland. Fortunately the Fastnet is a complex course, much more complex than most of the other 600nm classics. and there are plenty of options ahead of you to make up the lost ground (or not…) Even more in 2021 with the course having been extended to the new finish port of Cherbourg (left) with its enormous all weather harbour (and plentiful excellent hostelries – ed). With a race village on a scale not seen before for this offshore classic the French organisers confidently expect a total footfall in excess of 150,000
Rolex Fastnet Race the main points are: l at least 50 per cent of the crew (but not less than two) including the ‘person in charge’ must have completed at least 300 miles of offshore racing together, within 12 months of the start of the race on the boat entered. An offshore race is considered to be of more than 75 miles including at least one night at sea. l the 300 miles of offshore racing can be completed within the RORC’s offshore race programme (within 12 months of the Fastnet start). The RORC series in 2021 will comprise nine offshore weekend races, typically of 100-150 miles, in a variety of locations. The majority start in the Solent and race in the English Channel, but others take place in the North Sea (with starts from Harwich and Burnham-on-Crouch) and the Irish Sea. The 2021 RORC programme can be found at
www.rorc.org/racing/race- programme/2020-race-programme. RORC racing manager Chris Stone says,
‘Crews can benefit from carrying out their qualifying miles within the RORC’s own programme as it provides a chance to size up the competition. Some races, notably the Myth of Malham from the Solent around Eddystone Rock and back, also offer opportunities to test-sail parts of the course plus you can of course practise starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line and familiarise yourself with the complexities of exiting the Solent.’
l at least 30 per cent of the boat’s crew (but not less than two), including the person in charge, must have completed training to Section 6 of the World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations within five years of the start of the race. l at least one member of the boat’s crew must hold an in-date First Aid Certificate completed within the last five years. For entries without access to the
RORC’s domestic offshore programme, for example yachts coming from overseas, an alternative method of qualification must be agreed with the RORC race team on a case- by-case basis. Proposals should be lodged as soon as possible after registration. Apart from the grand prix classes like
the Ultim, Imoca 60 and Class40, and multihulls eligible to compete in the Mocra class, yachts will race in the main IRC fleet. Here competition is typically hottest for the respective prizes within the five main IRC divisions. The minimum permissible IRC TCC for entry is 0.850, which roughly equates to a Contessa 32. There is no upper limit, so sailing superyachts and 100+ footers can also apply. The overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet
Race under IRC receives the historic Fastnet Challenge Cup trophy. It is said that each boat races to win its class and the weather will decide who is the overall winner and recent winners have shown this to be true. Many have been French – father and son team Pascal and Alexis
Loison, the first two-handed team to win the race overall in 2013 (double-handers remain eligible to win overall), followed by French champion Géry Trentesaux’s Courrier Du Leon and Didier Gaudoux’s Lann Ael 2, with American brothers David and Peter Askew’s VO70 Wizard finally prising the trophy from French hands in 2019… when French crews won every class with past winner Alexis Loisin (this time sailing with Jean-Pierre Kelbert of yacht builder JPK) claiming IRC Three and the IRC Double-Handed class, and Géry Trentesaux (of course) winning IRC Two. Like the crews, yachts entering the
Fastnet Race must be fit for purpose. In terms of equipment they must comply with Category 2 requirements of the World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations (including RORC prescriptions)
that
prescribe a boat’s stability, equipment and construction standards. Full details of all of the qualification
requirements will be published in the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Notice of Race, but a full blow-by-blow guide on how to enter, including a sample email outlining how a team intends to carry out its qualification mileage, can be found on the event website at:
www.rolexfastnetrace.com. Chris Stone concludes: ‘Above all we
are keen to ensure that anyone wishing to enter the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race will have the opportunity to do so. If anyone has any queries about any aspect of entering or qualification please feel free to contact the RORC race team in Cowes. We are here to help you.’ James Boyd
q SEAHORSE 61
JEAN-MICHEL ENAULT
KURT ARRIGO
KURT ARRIGO
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