RegattaHow the Fastnet disaster of 1979 came about ...

Pascal Schürmann

 · 05.08.2019

Regatta: How the Fastnet disaster of 1979 came about ...Photo: YACHT-Archiv
Sailors at the Fastnet Race 1979
... and why it would probably not happen in the same form today. Meteorologists have analysed the weather forecasts from back then - and not only that

A team of scientists has used the weather data from the past to feed today's forecasting models and thus gained exciting insights. 40 years ago, the participants in the Fastnet Race were caught completely unprepared in a severe storm. 15 sailors and four sea rescuers died in the disaster, and a total of around 200 crews were in distress at sea.

The question asked by the meteorologists involved in the investigation was whether a comparable accident would still occur today under the same weather conditions or whether the sailors could be better provided with information about the approaching storm. The results can now be read in the new issue of YACHT (issue 17/2019, available now in newsagents and as an Digital edition available).

Pascal Schürmann

Pascal Schürmann

Editor YACHT

Pascal Schürmann joined YACHT in Hamburg in 2001. As head of copywriting and head of the editorial team, he makes sure that all articles make it into the magazine on time and that they are both informative and entertaining to read. He was born in the Bergisches Land region near Cologne. He learned how to handle the tiller and sheet as a teenager in a touring dinghy on the Sneeker Meer and on a tall ship on the IJsselmeer. During and after his studies, he sailed on the Baltic Sea and in the Mediterranean. As a trained business journalist, he is also responsible for boat financing and yacht insurance reports at YACHT, but also has a soft spot for blue water topics.

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