Rolex Fastnet Race 2015 - Preview of the 90th anniversary edition - Start of the Race: 1200 BST on Sunday 16th August - Rolex presents the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race, run by the Royal Ocean Racing Club. With 90 years of history, the race has become a legend in international sport. Will it be a true test of human endeavour once again this year? (Published on Aug 7, 2015)
The world’s biggest offshore race | Press Releases 2015: "The world's largest, most diverse fleet of offshore racing yachts will set sail from the Solent on 16th August in the Royal Ocean Racing Club's biennial Rolex Fastnet Race. 2015 marks the 90th anniversary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and with it a record-sized fleet with as many as 350 boats is expected to take part. As ever the 603 mile course takes the fleet west along the south coast of England, across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off the tip of southwest Ireland, south around Bishop Rock and the Scilly Isles and back east to the finish in Plymouth. Conditions on the race course can range from benign and summery to vicious and stormy and the event is well remembered for the horrific conditions in 1979 that claimed the lives of 15 competitors. Fortunately vast improvements in weather forecasting, safety and communications equipment as well as yacht design over the intervening years mean that a repeat of this disaster today is unlikely. The Rolex Fastnet Race is also one of the most popular events in sailing: the original limit of 300 boats racing for the overall handicap prize under IRC was increased to 340 in 2013 due to the increased demand. This is more than twice as many places as the next most popular of other 600 mile races held elsewhere the world and still, when registration opened in January, all 340 places were filled within just 24 minutes! In addition to this group is the 'non-IRC' fleet, including many top grand prix race boat classes such as the IMOCA 60s, that compete in the Vendee Globe singlehanded non-stop round the world race, and the Class 40s. As always, one of the attractive elements of the Rolex Fastnet Race is its diversity. At one end of the spectrum are the high profile professional sailing teams who congregate on the Solent from the four corners of the globe, many fielding the world's biggest, fastest, most state of the art racing yachts. At the other end are the Corinthian entries, where individual crew will be embarking on what for them will be their own personal Everest - the culmination of a season's training that will have included at least 300 miles of offshore racing (the mandatory requirement to qualify for Rolex Fastnet Race entry)." (source)
Rolex Fastnet Race 2013 Film -
The 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race gathered a fleet of 335 boats in 12 classes -- the largest, most diverse and competitive line-up in the event's 88-year history. Watch the 2013 highlights of this great ocean classic, known as one of the oldest and most prestigious events on the sailing calendar. Published on Apr 9, 2014
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