Who Will Win The 2015 Fastnet Race?

4th August 2015

#fastnetrace – With a record-sized fleet of 335 in the running, the question 'who will win the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race on handicap is a tough one writes James Boyd.

As ever, the corrected time prize is raced under IRC, which this year aims to equalise a fleet as diverse as Jim Clark and Kristy Hinze Clark's VPLP-Verdier 100 Comanche (with a IRC TCC of 1.975) to the modest Contessa 32 Hurrying Angel 4 of Lucinda Allaway (TCC of 0.872); from state of the art carbon fibre racers, such as the new IRC 72 Mini Maxi Momo, to Matt Brooks' classic Dorade, the 52 footer which won the Fastnet Race outright in 1931 and 1933 under young designer-skipper Olin Stephens. In between are every imaginable flavour of cruising yachts, cruiser-racers to out and out performance machines.

The winner will be partly determined by the weather. If the race has a strong start and a light finish then it is typically a 'big boat' race. If the opposite is true, and the wind only fills in later, then it is a 'small boat' race as occurred in 2005 when one of the smallest and slowest boats in the race, Jean-Yves Chateau's Nicholson 33, Iromiguy, claimed the victor's Fastnet Challenge Trophy.

Whichever boats wins, IRC seeks to ensure that it is among the best sailed in the fleet.

As usual, the Rolex Fastnet Race features many of the world's best sailing teams. While Niklas Zennström's Rán II, which won the race in 2009 and 2011, is not competing, the race is being contested by two similar Judel Vrolijk designs, MOMO, the new Maxi 72 of German Dieter Schön and the more travelled Bella Mente of American Hap Fauth. Winner of this spring's RORC Caribbean 600, Bella Mente has been fitted with a deeper fin and among her all-star crew is Britain's Adrian Stead, who was central to Rán's winning afterguard.

"With Belle Mente we've got a pretty good chance of winning," says Stead. "But I think any well sailed, well prepared and optimised boat has always got a chance in the Fastnet."

Amongst the group of canting keel boats there are some strong candidates including George David's Rambler 88, Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino, one of two canting keel Cookson 50's (a design that has won the race before and a proven offshore race winner), plus a few IRC optimised Open (IMOCA) 60's, which given the right conditions could upset the form book.

Nipping at the heels of the Maxi 72s will be Bryon Ehrhart's Reichel-Pugh 63, Lucky, recent winner of the Transatlantic Race (and winner of the 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart as Stephen Ainsworth's Loki). Around 50ft, the hottest competition will be between former Admiral's Cup winner German Tilmar Hansen and his Elliott 52 Outsider, Peter Harrison's TP52 Sorcha, race legend Piet Vroon's Ker 51 Tonnerre 4, and the new Carkeek 47, Black Pearl, of German Stefan Jentzsch.

In recent years, dominating the sub-40ft classes as well as the overall results has been France. Eric Tabarly, the event's first French winner aboard Pen Duick III in 1967, would have been proud of the 2013 result when 13 of the top 16 boats were from his side of La Manche, the event won outright for the first time by a doublehanded crew in father and son Pascal and Alexis Loison. Even two years earlier, in a race theoretically favouring the 'big boats', half of the top 22 boats were still French.

And this situation remains in 2015. At present in the RORC Season's Points Championship, French boats occupy the top three spots, all tipped for success this year, and interestingly all are boats from French manufacturer JPK.

Overall leader is Louis-Marie Dussere's JPK 1010 Raging Bee, a sistership of the Loison's 2013 winner Night & Day. Dussere is relatively new to sailing, it taking over from windsurfing as his sport of choice six years ago. He has been campaigning Raging Bee since 2013.

As part of the preparation for the Fastnet Race, there are also some equipment choices to be made specifically for the race, Dussere advises, particularly over the use of asymmetric or symmetric spinnakers (or both): "In the five last Fastnets, there was only one where the weather was good for asymmetrics. If you have a northwesterly from the Fastnet Rock or it is westerly from the Scilly Isles to Plymouth it is good for symmetric spinnakers."

Among the French, Dussere rates the Loisins, who are returning this year once again aboard their JPK 1010 Night And Day, and veteran campaigner Géry Trentesaux who is competing in JPK's latest model the 1080, Courrier Du Leon. As Dussere describes it: "After the 1010 I didn't think they could create a better boat, but the 1080 is better."

Trentesaux has won his class in the Rolex Fastnet Race no less than three times and was fourth overall in 2013. But this season he has had the most extraordinary win rate including victories in the Cervantes Trophy, the Myth of Malham and the De Guingand Bowl.

If the weather gods smile on him, you would not bet against Trentesaux.

Fastnet Race Live Tracker 2023

Track the progress of the 2023 Fastnet Yacht Race fleet on the live tracker above

The 50th edition of the 700-mile race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club starts from Cowes, Isle of Wight, on Saturday, 22nd July.

Published in Fastnet

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RORC Fastnet Race

This race is both a blue riband international yachting fixture and a biennial offshore pilgrimage that attracts crews from all walks of life:- from aspiring sailors to professional crews; all ages and all professions. Some are racing for charity, others for a personal challenge.

For the world's top professional sailors, it is a 'must-do' race. For some, it will be their first-ever race, and for others, something they have competed in for over 50 years! The race attracts the most diverse fleet of yachts, from beautiful classic yachts to some of the fastest racing machines on the planet – and everything in between.

The testing course passes eight famous landmarks along the route: The Needles, Portland Bill, Start Point, the Lizard, Land’s End, the Fastnet Rock, Bishop’s Rock off the Scillies and Plymouth breakwater (now Cherbourg for 2021 and 2023). After the start in Cowes, the fleet heads westward down The Solent, before exiting into the English Channel at Hurst Castle. The finish for 2021 is in Cherbourg via the Fastnet Rock, off the southern tip of Ireland.

The leg across the Celtic Sea to (and from) the Fastnet Rock is known to be unpredictable and challenging. The competitors are exposed to fast-moving Atlantic weather systems and the fleet often encounter tough conditions

Flawless decision-making, determination and total commitment are the essential requirements. Crews have to manage and anticipate the changing tidal and meteorological conditions imposed by the complex course

The symbol of the race is the Fastnet Rock, located off the southern coast of Ireland. Also known as the Teardrop of Ireland, the Rock marks an evocative turning point in the challenging race

Once sailors reach the Fastnet Rock, they are well over halfway to the finish in Cherbourg.

Fastnet Race - FAQs

When is the next Fastnet Race?

The 49th edition of the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, UK on Sunday 8th August 2021.

What's new about the 2021 Fastnet Race?

The next two editions of the race in 2021 and 2023 will finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin at the head of the Normandy peninsula, France

What will the fleet size be for the 2021 Fastnet Race?

Over 300. A record fleet is once again anticipated for the world's largest offshore yacht race.

Who races in the Fastnet Race?

The international fleet attracts both enthusiastic amateur, the seasoned offshore racer, as well as out-and-out professionals from all corners of the world.

What types of boats compete in the Fastnet Race?

Boats of all shapes, sizes and age take part in this historic race, from 9m-34m (30-110ft) – and everything in between.

What is the multihull Fastnet Race record?

The Fastnet Race multihull course record is: 1 day 4 hours 2 minutes and 26 seconds (2019, Ultim Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Franck Cammas / Charles Caudrelier)

What is the monohull Fastnet Race record?

The Fastnet Race monohull course record is: 1 day, 18 hours, 39 minutes (2011, Volvo 70, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing).

Who won the 2019 Fastnet Race?

David and Peter Askew's American VO70 Wizard won the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race, claiming the Fastnet Challenge Cup for 1st in IRC Overall.

How long has Rolex sponsored the Fastnet Race?

Rolex SA has been a longstanding sponsor of the race since 2001.

When was the first Fastnet Race held?

The first race was in 1925 with 7 boats. The Royal Ocean Racing Club was set up as a result.

What boat was the winner of the first Fastnet Race?

The winner of the first Fastnet Race was the former pilot cutter Jolie Brise, a boat that is still sailing today.

Was there an Irish entry in the first Fastnet Race?

Cork sailor Henry P F Donegan (1870-1940), who gave his total support for the Fastnet Race from its inception in 1925 and competed in the inaugural race in his 43ft cutter Gull from Cork.

Has Ireland every won the Fastnet Race?

Ireland has won the Fastnet Race twice. In 1987 the Dubois 40 Irish Independent won the Fastnet Race overall for the first time and then in 2007 – all of twenty years after Irish Independent’s win – Ireland secured the overall win again this time thanks to Ger O’Rourke’s Cookson 50 Chieftain from the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland in Kilrush.

©Afloat 2020

At A Glance – Fastnet Race