When seven boats started the first Fastnet Race in 1925, nobody could have guessed that this race would develop into one of the most famous offshore competitions in the sailing world. 98 years later, the organising British Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), its many partners and thousands of sailors are now celebrating the 50th edition of this fascinating long-distance race.
You only have to look at the names of the boats engraved on the Fastnet Challenge Cup to understand the heritage of the race" (Paul Cayard)
Amateurs, experienced sailors and renowned professionals will take on the challenge on boats of different ages, designs and sizes. There are also 27 German boats taking part in the anniversary edition. The Rolex Fastnet Race enjoys a legendary reputation worldwide and has already attracted many of the sport's greats to the south of England, where the America's Cup was born in 1851: the dreamy maritime town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight in the south of England.
Paul Cayard, America's Cup and Ocean Race great from the USA, sums it up: "Anyone who has competed in the Rolex Fastnet Race gets an immediate sense of its unique history and the impact its development has had on the evolution of ocean sailing. You only have to look at the names of the boats engraved on the Fastnet Challenge Cup to understand the race's heritage and why it is held in such high regard."
The attractive course leads from Cowes via Fastnet Rock to Cherbourg
Much has remained the same for almost a century, but one thing has changed significantly: For only the second time in a row, the course does not run from Cowes via Fastnet Rocks to Plymouth as it once did, but ends in Cherbourg in France. On its way west out of the Solent, the fleet will pass well-known landmarks in the English Channel, including the Needles at the western end of the Solent, Portland Bill, Start Point, The Lizard and Land's End, before embarking on the open water passage through the Celtic Sea to the symbolic turning point at Fastnet Rock off the south coast of Ireland.
The famous lighthouse on the steadfast rugged rock in the Irish Sea marks the symbolic halfway mark of the course before the fleet makes its way back across the Scillys to the finish harbour of Cherbourg. Following the successful launch of the new course in 2021, sailing-loving France will remain a partner of the British organisers in the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race, much to the delight of the many French teams taking part.
Gigantic record fleet on course for Fastnet
The rush of participants this year was greater than ever before. A gigantic record fleet of more than 450 boats has announced its arrival for the start on 22 July at 1 pm local time (3 pm German time). The hosts have the largest contingent with 158 boats, just ahead of France with 140 boats.
Germany is the third strongest nation with 27 boats, just ahead of the Netherlands with 25 boats. The German field includes small boats such as the Elan 360 "Toke" with Norma Puls, the Swan 38 "Truwen" with Jens-Werner Hinrichs or Dirk Clasen's Humphreys 39 "Ginkgo", medium-sized boats such as the Rainbow 42 "Uijuijui" with skipper Maurice Oster and racy racers such as Stefan Jentzsch's Botin 56 "Black Pearl".
The German two-handed world champions are at the start
Among the well-known German participants are the two-handed world champions Jonas Hallberg and Till Barth on the JPK 10.30 "Hinden", the crew around skipper Felix Streckenbach on the TP52 "Imagine", Daniel Baum's team on the beautiful wooden single "Elida", Rasmus Töpsch and Bertil Balser on the JPK 10.10 "Sharifa", the Judel-Vrolijk 52 racer "Haspa Hamburg" from the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt or the "Germania VI" from the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation.
Things will be exciting in the Class 40, where the young German pros Lennart Burke (24) and Melwin Fink (21) will be back in action after their team's stage win in Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables. Lennart Burke's back injury is on the mend. The duo are transferring their Pogo 40 S4 from Cherbourg to Cowes this week, aiming to arrive in Cowes the day before the Fastnet start. The co-skippers on "SignForCom" have also set themselves an ambitious goal. "We would like to sail into the top five of the Class 40," said Lennart Burke.
Class 40 duo Burke and Fink: the two of them in Fastnet training for the Transat Jacques Vabre
What is unusual is that, as usual, crews of two, but also crews of three and four are permitted in the Class 40 at the 50th Fastnet race. "We've only known this for just over a week, but we're sticking with the two-man constellation because we also want to train for the Transat Jacques Vabre in the autumn," says Burke on behalf of his Next Generation Sailing Team.
Based on the recent form of the boat and team, Lennart Burke (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) and Melwin Fink (Schaumburg-Lippischer Seglerverein) should also deliver a good race as a pair. Sebastian Ropohl and his team on the Akilaria RC2 "Cantaloop 40" are also competing in the Class 40. The all-rounders and experienced sea sailors from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein are racing as a team of three. Ropohl's co-skipper David Rowen is looking forward to his sixth Fastnet.
Fascination Fastnet Race - THE video:
And here is the video preview of the 50th edition:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
