Rolex Fastnet Race Starts Sunday, August 16th, LIVE Coverage

Rolex Fastnet Race 2015

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Rolex Fastnet Race Starts Sunday, August 16th - You can track the fleet via the Royal Ocean Racing Club's dedicated mini-site. http://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/

The proposed start times for the Rolex Fastnet Race on Sunday 16th August 2015 are as follows:
ClassStart timeMultihull 1200
IMOCA 60, Class40 & Figaro II 1210 BST or 7:10am ET (US)
IRC 4 1220 BST
IRC 3 1240 BST
IRC 2 1300 BST
IRC 1 1320 BST
IRC Z, IRC Canting Keel & Volvo 65 1340 BST or 8:40am ET (US)

Fleet Tracking: http://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/Tracking-Full-Page-Hidden/2015-fleet-tracking-race-player.html

"Fastnet Carraig Aonair" by Richard Webb. 

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

The Royal Ocean Racing Club has made public the latest entry list for its biennial 600 mile race from Cowes to Plymouth, via the Fastnet Rock, starting at noon on Sunday 16th August. The entry list makes for impressive reading in terms of scale, diversity and quality of the fleet taking part, confirming the Rolex Fastnet Race's position as the world's biggest and most popular offshore race by far.

There are 387 boats entered with a further 74 on the waiting list. If all the boats currently entered were put bow to stern, the line from Cowes would stretch two thirds of the way across the Solent to the mainland (1635.75m). The bulk of the fleet - 340 entries to be precise - are competing under IRC for the race's overall prize, the Fastnet Challenge Cup. With the two American maxis: Jim and Kristy Hinze Clark's 100ft Comanche and George David's Rambler 88, due to be the pace setters on the water, the IRC fleet will, in due course, be divided into classes and class sub-divisions.

Rolex Fastnet Race Homepage: "While it may not be the event's ultimate prize, the monohull battle for line honours in the Rolex Fastnet Race is always hotly contested, coming with considerable bragging rights. This year's race from Cowes to Plymouth via the Fastnet Rock, coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the event's organiser, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, will see the world's two very newest maxis jockeying for this prize. Both belong to American captains of industry and both were launched last autumn Favourite is the 100ft long Comanche owned by Jim and Kristy Hinze Clark. "



A replay of the skipper's briefing for competitors, including the weather briefing by Penny Tranter, Met Office

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