There are many possible perspectives on this year's Rolex Fastnet Race and its record fleet of 444 yachts, of which eight monohull yachts and the multihull "Aile Bleue" gave up just over 24 hours after the start. One angle is this: the 51st edition in its 100 years of existence is rather slow compared to previous editions.
"SVR Lazartigue" first at Fastnet Rock
The manageable pace can be seen from the fact that a good day after the start off Cowes, only the multihull record holder "SVR Lazartigue" had rounded Fastnet Rock by 4.30 pm German time. Two years ago, however, the Ultim giant had already sailed into the final harbour of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on the home straight, setting a new multihull record for the British-French classic with 1 day, 8 hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds.
From a German fan's perspective, the current Rolex Fastnet Race in IRC Zero is exciting: the crews on the German yachts "Rafale" and "Varuna 6" scraped onto the podium in fourth and sixth place on Sunday afternoon. Many eyes are also on the fleet of 29 Admiral's_Cup boats in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Here, five GER boats are sailing for the best possible places in the final of the Cup Revival.
Holger Streckenbach's TP52 "Imagine" (Regatta Verein Greifswald) with son and skipper Felix Streckenbach finished ninth in the field of the large AC 1 class, while Daniel Baum's Tison 48 sailed towards the Fastnet rock in thirteenth place in this Cup group. The Australian Botin TP52 "Zen", Peter Harrison's "Jolt 3" from the Yacht Club de Monaco and Karl Kwok's TP52 "Beau Geste" skippered by Gavin Brady set the pace in AC 1.
Admiral's Cup Final in the Rolex Fastnet Race
In AC 2, Dirk Clasen's Humphreys 39 "Ginkgo", Walter Watermann's Farr 42 "X-Day" with skipper Lars Hückstädt and Thomas Reinecke's Hamburg Millenium 40 "Edeleweiss" struggled to catch up with the leading group later on Sunday afternoon in 11th, 14th and 15th place. The boats in the AC-2 midfield, including "Ginkgo", were still close together on Sunday afternoon.
The Italian "Django JPK" led the way in AC 2, heading for the Fastnet rock. It was interesting to note that in the smaller class of the two leading teams in the Admiral's Cup team ranking, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the Yacht Club de Monaco were initially "only" in sixth place ("Beau Ideal") and fourth place ("Jolt 6"). For a better Italian chance of winning the Admiral's Cup final, however, the Wally Rocket 51 "Django WR51" would have to improve on its sixth Fastnet place in the large AC 1 class.
As the positions continued to change, it was not possible to make any more precise predictions about the Admiral's Cup victory. But this one: It remains very exciting, because the Rolex Fastnet Race counts three times for the Cup boats! Click here to track the Fastnet race. All groups can be selected individually after clicking on the "Leaderboard" at the top left under "Tag".
Smaller AC-2 boats in the tidal trap
The previous evening, the first Fastnet day at sea, the entire AC1 fleet had rounded Portland Bill at 7pm German time before the tide turned against them. Stefan Jentzsch's Botin 56 "Black Pearl", which competes in the Admiral's Cup for the New York Yacht Club, was just ahead of Peter Harrison's TP52 "Jolt 3" from the Yacht Club de Monaco. Both boats were only around two miles off the coast.
Just a mile behind them, Karl Kwok's TP52 "Beau Geste" (RHKYC) and Max Klink's Botin 52 "Caro" were keeping up the pace. By then, the crew on Gordon Ketelby's TP52 "Zen" (Cruising Yacht Club of Australia) had made a bold decision, keeping close to the coast around the peninsula and benefiting from a favourable wind shift that coincided perfectly with their manoeuvre. The Australian team pushed so far ahead that they were still sailing close to the top of the AC-1 on Sunday afternoon.
In AC 2 on Saturday evening, the majority of the fleet had rounded Portland Bill on a favourable tide. Some of the smaller chasers, including "Ginkgo", Per Roman's JPK 1180 "Garm" (RORC Red), Tom Kneen's JPK 1180 "Sunrise IV" (RIYC) and Thomas Reinecke's Millenium 40 "Edelweiss" (HSC) ended up "on the wrong side of the Tidentor", according to the organisers from Royal Ocean Racing Club. They lost some time in the process, while the leading AC-2 boats were able to sail away in favourable conditions. It remained to be seen whether the wind and swell would also favour the group at the back as the race progressed.
"Hot battle" between "Ginkgo" and "Nola"
Nevertheless, the mood on board "Ginkgo" was good and optimistic, as Dirk Clasen reported in the morning after the crew spotted a dolphin: "We had a heated battle with 'Nola' all night. We are currently separated again - a good position to escape. The crew is in good spirits. We have fresh people on board every two hours, which is perfect. Now we're ready for an English breakfast - okay, at least in our dreams."
An aesthetic delight - how top photographer Gilles Martin-Raget looked at the Fastnet launch at the Needles:
