The Rolex Fastnet Race is an iconic – near-mythical – event that tests skill and stamina on many levels. In this, the first of a two-part series, Georgie Corlett-Pitt takes a look at the event ahead of its Golden Jubilee…
The 50th anniversary Fastnet Race will take place on Saturday 22 July, when a record entry of 500+ boats with some 3,000+ crews representing 30+ countries is expected to cement its long-held status as the world’s biggest offshore race. It will be an historic edition of an event that has both shaped the face of amateur offshore racing and brought new heroes to the fore of elite racing.
For 2023, the course will once again stretch 695nm from Cowes out across the wilds of the Celtic Sea to loop around the Fastnet Rock – within touching distance of the Irish coastline – before passing the Scilly Isles and traversing the English Channel en route to the finish in Cherbourg. Organised biennially by RORC with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron and – for the second edition running – the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in France, the race has been sponsored by Rolex since 2001, and has an unrivalled international reputation.
Asked to describe the Fastnet Race, the words “mythical” and “legendary” crop up frequently – appropriate for a race that’s the dream of many but the conquest of few; the tough course with its notoriously unpredictable weather and testing tide conditions mean that the race – and those intrepid adventurers that take on its challenges – have justifiably earned their place in history.
First run in 1925 – an annual event known simply as the Ocean Race – the race was conceived by British yachtsman Weston Martyr who was inspired by his experiences in the Bermuda Races to re-create a similarly challenging event on home waters. Just seven boats entered the inaugural event, of which two retired and one timed out; unlike across the pond, offshore racing was a fledgling sport in Britain.
‘Paid-hands’– usually commercial seamen – were permitted but the event was run under a largely Corinthian spirit, open to any full-decked yacht between 30-50ft in length. The early iterations saw variations in the course, leaving from the Isle of Wight (initially from Royal Victoria YC at Ryde) sometimes westbound, sometimes eastbound; at times finishing in Plymouth, at others the Solent – but always with the iconic Fastnet Rock as the goal.
On 21 August 1925, Jolie Brise, a gaff-rigged pilot cutter, won the inaugural race – completing
