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The 'Fastnet race' is a yachting race in the United Kingdom. It is considered one of the classic offshore races. It happens every two years, and is a course of 608 miles. The course is unusual, as it begins off Cowes, travels to the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland, which the competitors round, and then back to Plymouth via the south side of the Isles of Scilly. The prize is known as the 'Fastnet Challenge Cup'.
The first Fastnet race, with seven entries, was won by ''Jolie Brise'' in 1925.
The International Offshore Rule (IOR) was introduced in 1973, and the yachts and crews began taking sponsorships.
Storms during the 1979 race resulted in the deaths of 15 competitors. This led to a major overhaul of the rules and the equipment required for the competition.
The race drew further attention from outside the sport in 1985 when the maxi-yacht ''Drum'' capsized after her experimental keel sheared off. Pop star Simon Le Bon, co-owner and crew member of ''Drum'', was trapped under the hull with five other crew members for twenty minutes, until being rescued by the Royal Navy. The Search and Rescue Diver was Petty Officer Air Crewman (POACMN) Larry "Scouse" Slater of 771 Naval Air Squadron who appeared on ''This Is Your Life'' on 9 April 1986.
The record is currently held by Mike Slade's Icap Leopard 3 with an elapsed time of 44hrs 18min.

Contents

Fastnet since 2005

Winners

External links

Fastnet since 2005

The 2005 race was sponsored by Rolex and organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club with the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth.
For the first time in 83 years, RORC postponed the start of the 2007 race by 25 hours, starting 13 August, due to a severe weather warning. Overnight gale force winds and, in particular, extreme seas forced many boats to retire, sheltering in ports along the south coast of England, including Torbay, Plymouth and Weymouth [1]. By 1000 on 16th August, 207 boats of the 271-strong field had retired with at least three suffering rig problems. [2]
Despite the conditions, Mike Slade's Icap Leopard 3, launched in June 2007, set a new record of 44 hours 18 min, taking almost 9 hours off the previous record set in 1999. Ger O'Rourke's Chieftain was the overall winner on corrected time.

Winners

Year	Yacht	Owner	Designer	Nationality
1925	''Jolie Brise''	Lt Cdr E. G. Martin	Paumelle
1926	''Ilex''	Royal Engineers
1927	''Tally Ho''	Lord Stalbridge	Albert Strange
1928	''Nina''		Starling Burgess
1929	''Jolie Brise''	Lt Cdr E.G.Martin	Paumelle
1930	''Jolie Brise''	Lt Cdr E.G.Martin	Paumelle
1931	''Dorade'' [3]	Stephens	Sparkman & Stephens
1933	''Dorade''	Stephens	Sparkman & Stephens
1935	''Stormy Weather'' [4]		Sparkman & Stephens
1937	''Zeearend''	Kees Bruynzeel	Sparkman & Stephens
1939	''Bloodhound''	Ikey Bell	Camper and Nicholson
1947	''Myth of Malham''	Capt. J.H.Illingworth	J. Laurent Giles
1949	''Myth of Malham''	Capt. J.H.Illingworth	J. Laurent Giles
1951	''Yeoman''	Owen Aisher	Camper & Nicholson
1953	''Favona''	Sir Michael Newton	Robert Clark
1955	''Carina''	Dick Nye	Phillip Rhodes
1957	''Carina''	Dick Nye	Phillip Rhodes
1959	''Anitra''	Sven Hansen	Sparkman and Stephens
1961	''Zwerver II''		Sparkman & Stephens
1963	''Clarion of Wight'' [5]	Derek Boyer DFC	Sparkman & Stephens
1965	''Rabbit''	Dick Carter	Dick Carter
1967	''Pen Duick III''	Eric Tabarly	''Chantier La Perrière''
1969	''Red Rooster''	Dick Carter	Dick Carter
1971	''Ragamuffin''	Syd Fisher	Sparkman & Stephens
1973	''Saga''	Erling Lorentsen	Sparkman & Stephens
1975	''Golden Delicious''	Richard & Harvey Bagnall	Ron Holland
1977	''Imp''	David Allen	Ron Holland
1979	''Tenacious'' [6]	Ted Turner	Sparkman & Stephens
2001	''Tonnerre de Breskens''	Piet Vroon	Lutra Design Group
2003	''Nokia''	Charles Dunstone	Reichel & Pugh
2005	''Iromiguy''	Jean-Yves Chateau	Ron Holland
2007	''Chieftain''	Ger O'Rourke	Farr

External links

★ [7] Royal Ocean Racing Club

★ Royal Engineers Museum History of Royal Engineers Sports