Rolex Fastnet Race 2021: Strong performance by the German Fastnet crews

The 2021 Fastnet Race is still in full swing and the majority of the field has now rounded the Fastnet Rock. But there is already great joy on the German side. As things stand, the crew of the sailing group Störtebeker on the Carkeek 47 of the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt has managed to sail to second place in the IRC Zero class.

After three days, eleven hours and six minutes, the ship skippered by Katrina Westphal crossed the finish line off the harbour of Cherbourg at 22:46 local time on Wednesday evening. A top ten position in the IRC ranking is still possible at the moment. There, the Hamburg sailors are currently in ninth place. Overall, they finished the legendary race around the Fastnet Rock in 30th place.

In addition to the Störtebeker sailing group, the German offshore yacht "Varuna" (KER 56) also successfully completed the race. Although the crew around skipper Jens Kellinghusen crossed the finish line ten hours earlier - as the 14th ship overall - the calculated race value according to the IRC measurement formula was more favourable for the Störtebeker sailing group. The "Varuna" is therefore one place behind the HVS crew in both the IRC zero and IRC overall rankings.

The die was already cast in the Imoca 60 class on Wednesday morning. Frenchmen Charlie Dalin and Paul Meilhat took victory in the 13-boat field. From the start, their "Apivia" put in an incredible ride. At times, the French were able to keep up with the much larger ClubSwan 125 "Skorpios". Charlie Dalin said after the race: "We have new foils and some new sails. You have to keep developing the boat to be at the top of the class."

For Dalin, the victory in the Fastnet Race should be a little compensation after he narrowly lost the title to Yannick Bestaven in this year's Vendée Globe. The latter finished behind him in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. However, due to a rescue operation, he was credited with time, which ultimately made him the winner.

In the Fastnet Race, Bestaven retired during the start off the Isle of Wight in the south of England. His "Maître Coq" was damaged in a collision in the turmoil of the start line. He had to return to the harbour.

Second place in the Imoca class went to the "Charal", skippered by Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt. Third place went to the British "11th Hour Racing Team".

The first ship to cross the finish line off Cherbourg was the Ultime-Tri "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild". In a record time of 1 day, 9 hours and 15 minutes he finished the course of the world's biggest offshore race on Monday.

Further results and a live tracker can be found on the Fastnet Race website.

Downloads:

England: Cornwall (pdf)

Great Britain: Cornwall, Scilly Islands (pdf)