A very rough first night at sea led to numerous rescue missions and cancellations in the 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race and caused many more competitors to seek temporary shelter from the stormy conditions in the English Channel.
The conditions were more than challenging: on Saturday evening at 9.10pm German time, 38 knots of wind were measured in Hurst Castle, gusting to 43 knots. At around the same time, the crew of Stuart Lawrence's J/120 "Scream II" reported 46 knots of wind off St Albans Point.
More than 100 teams have now abandoned the race. In addition, 15 of the originally registered teams have not even started due to the weather forecast. The British Coastguard had reported 28 incidents, including one sinking, by midday on Sunday.
Evacuation after water ingress
Regarding the latter, the race organisers of the 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race explained in an official statement: "Yesterday afternoon (Editorial office: 22 July, start day), the crew on the Sun Fast 3600 'Vari' recorded water ingress south-west of the Needles at around 4.30 p.m. local time. Thanks to the rapid response of the emergency services, both crew members were evacuated to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and are safe and well. It is believed that the boat sank, although the exact circumstances and circumstances are not yet clear."
'Mayday' played on the radio in a continuous loop" (Melwin Fink)
According to the organisers from the Royal Ocean Racing Club, several calls to HM Coastguard concerned injured crew members. The "SignForCom" co-skippers Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink listened to the information about the accidents on the radio, as did the other participants. It was often about injuries. 24-year-old Lennart Burke and 21-year-old Melwin Fink got off "lightly" with a torn tackline for the J2.
The young double-handed crew experienced 30, 35 knots on average. "When we went out on the Solent, it was consistently over 40 knots before it slowed down again later in the night," said Burke. His team had shed some ballast to achieve more lean angle and protect the hull. "We have to do the same with the flat bow, otherwise we'll smash it," said Lennart Burke.
"We wanted to play it safe, and that was the right thing to do, because 'Mayday' was playing on the radio in a continuous loop," said Melwin Fink, describing the threatening scenario, "behind us we realised that a boat was sinking." Lennart Burke added: "There were also other ships that had cracks in their hulls and were heading for harbours. We also heard a mast break and a number of personal injuries on the radio." Whilst talking about the momentous night, the young Class 40 crew were already sailing in better conditions again.
The first night was stressful, sometimes devastating. But we are also happy to be on the water" (Lennart Burke)
Lennart Burke said early Sunday evening: "It's dream conditions, except that it's upwind. We are sailing at twelve to 15 knots upwind in the sun. The wave is small, although still a little confused. We can see the 'Störtebeker' and the 'Haspa' on the horizon. From Fastnet Rock to almost the finish there is a downwind VMG section. These are the best conditions for our boat. I think we'll be super happy if we can catch up with a few more boats and close the gap," said Lennart Buke about his team's next goals.
Meanwhile, four yachts have lost their masts: Heather Tarr's Sun Fast 3600 "Yoyo" from Ireland, Nick Martin's Sun Fast 3600 "Diablo", Bertrand Daniels' Sun Fast 3200 "Mirabelle" and Tapio Lehtinen's Swan 55 "Galiana", which is due to take part in the Ocean Globe Race shortly, lost their rigs in the first 24 hours of the Fastnet Race. In addition, many other boats suffered helm, deck and other damage.
The strong winds last night were predicted well in advance" (Steve Cole)
15 registered participants did not even start, including Peter Morton's Maxi 72 "Notorious", one of the race favourites in IRC Super Zero. Many teams had sought shelter after the start. "The strong winds last night were predicted well in advance," commented Rolex Fastnet Race Director Steve Cole on the events.
Steve Cole of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) added: "The club would like to thank HM Coastguard and the RNLI for their assistance. It is thanks to their dedication and skill that the incidents were handled professionally and those who required assistance were safely recovered. Now that the front has passed, the wind and swell have subsided. Conditions are expected to remain light for the next 24 hours."
Light windy passage to the Fastnet rock
The wind in the western English Channel had already dropped to ten to 15 knots on Sunday morning and is expected to drop even further to five to ten knots for the passage to Fastnet Rock in the Celtic Sea. Dirk Klasen's Humphreys 39 "Ginkgo" from the Kieler Yacht-Club was the best German boat in the overall IRC rankings in twelfth place on Sunday evening.
First round Fastnet Rock
The ultim "SVR Lazartigue", skippered by François Gabart, was the first to round the Fastnet rock on Sunday morning at 9.04 a.m. German time after just 19 hours, 4 minutes and 31 seconds. The halfway record time, which had been set by "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" in 2019 with a time of 18 hours, 3 minutes and 38 seconds, thus remained unbroken.
