Rolex Fastnet Race 2013 sets sail from Cowes
by Peta Stuart-Hunt 11 Aug 2013 21:27 BST
11 August 2013
Bunch up in Poole Bay
Off Cowes, the rain stopped and the sun came out for today's start of the world's largest offshore race, the Royal Ocean Racing Club's biennial Rolex Fastnet Race. In the end, 335 boats set sail for Plymouth via the Fastnet Rock off south-west Ireland, with 292 racing for overall honours under IRC rating and a further 43 non-IRC boats.
As is tradition, the start was upwind into a West-South Westerly that for the first starts was around 10 knots, but slowly built to 15 as the sea breeze developed.
First away were the Multihulls, including the world's two fastest trimarans, Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard's 40m long, Spindrift 2, and Armel le Cleac'h's 31.5m, Banque Populaire, with the latter very late starting. Meanwhile the Sidney Gavignet-skippered, Oman Air-Musandam, was charging along up the mainland shore. Four hours in and Gavignet's team had managed to fend off the two larger trimarans as well as the new 80ft, Prince de Bretagne, trimaran campaigned by double Route du Rhum winner Lionel Lemonchois.
Among the IMOCA 60s it was fellow Vendée Globe winners François Gabart and Michel Desjoyeaux aboard the former's, MACIF, that nailed the start line to perfection. They continued to lead four hours into the race with the Vendée Globe boats approaching St Alban's Head. At this point Marc Guillemot's Safran was taking a more offshore course, as two-time Velux 5 Oceans winner Bernard Stamm on Cheminées Poujoulat had opted to shave the coast at Swanage.
The third group away were the Class40s and Figaros. The Spanish team on the brand new Marcellino Botin-designed Tales II, skippered by Botin brother Gonzalo, also benefitted from heading down the mainland shore of the Solent and at 1600 BST was neck and neck for the lead with the Anglo-American couple Dan Dytch and Emma Creighton on Momentum Ocean Racing, both boats just off Swanage. Catherine Pourre's Earwen was also performing well, having taken a more offshore course.
The double-handed Figaros were still in the middle of Poole Bay at 1600 BST with the Artemis Offshore Academy's Sam Matson and Robin Elsey level pegging with British Solitaire veteran Nick Cherry and Lizzy Foreman on Magma Structures, both boats closest to Swanage.
The IRC classes set off from Cowes with the smallest first, the boats in IRC Four bunching up at the favoured mainland end of the line. At 1600 they too were in the middle of Poole Bay with the French JPK 10.10, Alkaid III, of Gerard Quenot leading the charge inshore, while another French JPK 10.10, Leon, of Jacques Pelletier was in front of the offshore group.
Having started 10 minutes after them, the IRC Three fleet was in the process of overtaking IRC Four. Ian Kirkpatrick's X-37, Fatjax, was ahead in the inshore group with the J/109 sisterships, Kevin Armstrong's Jazzy Jellyfish and Stephen Morris' Jambol, front-runners among those offshore.
Again in IRC Two, the bulk of the fleet was sticking to the shortest course further inshore. This group was being led on the water by two French boats with Samuel Prietz's A-40, Vitaris, inshore and Guy Sallenave's X-442, Ster Wenn 5, doing well further out into the Channel.
The bigger boats in IRC One were also pulling ahead of the smaller, slower boats with overall Season Points Championship leader Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens, out in front, also on the direct route, close to Swanage. In this class the in shore boats are clearly doing better than those offshore, where the Clipper 68, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, is ahead.
The IRC Zero boats have already overhauled the smaller boats and, as expected, the 72ft Mini Maxis American Hap Fauth's Bella Mente and Niklas Zennström's Rán 2 are locked in their own private match race, hugging the coast off Swanage. The Volvo Ocean 60, Team Heiner One, is on a flier offshore. Prior to leaving the Solent, there was disaster in IRC Zero for the brand new Botin 65, Caro, which went hard aground on Salt Mead Ledge.
Among the canting keel boats, the 100 footer Esimit Europa 2 is ahead, but not that far in front of Mike Slade's similarly long, but substantially heavier ICAP Leopard, both having just passed St Alban's Head. In the inter-Volvo 70 fight it is the Ian Walker-skippered Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing that is ahead of the (mostly) female crew on Team SCA.
Looking ahead
This evening, the crews are expecting the wind to veer increasingly into the north-west putting them on to a starboard tack-favoured beat down the south coast of the UK.
Prior to leaving, Andrew Cape, navigator on Esimit Europa II, reckoned that it would take the biggest, fastest monohull in the fleet just over two days to complete the course, while he believed the forecast was favouring 40 footers. "Towards the end, it is not looking great for us. I don't think it will be a big boat race, but things change and we'll just get out there and do our bit. I'd say it would be a small boat race because, on average, they will have better shifts getting to the Rock and back. We will have a lot of beating and running, we won't be able to sail a direct course and we'll be sailing through a light patch."
Ian Moore, navigator on the IRC 72, Bella Mente, also felt that the present forecast wasn't playing to their strengths, with the forecast lining up to be a "very classic 2.5-3 day race. It is not playing to our strengths: We are fine going upwind, but we were hoping for a bit more breeze and a bit more reaching. Right now, the TP52s are looking pretty good, because they get to come home in some decent pressure, a lot better than our run home in the light air."
At the smaller end of the fleet, Alexis Loison, is sailing doublehanded with his father Pascal on the JPK 10.10 Night and Day, which won the RORC's Channel Race not only in the double-handed division, but also overall. "For my boat it is good weather I think, not strong wind, good conditions for us," said Alexis. "It is south-westerly to the finish into the Fastnet, with 20-25 knots which will be good."
Nigel Goodhew, racing double-handed with his son Tim on the Sigma 38, Persephone of London, predicted: "I think it will be a relatively slow race compared with the last few, and very tactical. The headlands are going to be decisive and it'll be very interesting to see what happens when we go around the traffic separation schemes which are effectively two new marks of the course."
The smaller boats like Persephone will enjoy being able to sail directly across to the Rock in south-westerlies, however Goodhew predicts that they will miss the best pressure at the Rock which is due for the faster boats that arrive there on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.
fastnet.rorc.org
SCA's all-female team starts the iconic Fastnet
At 1350h GMT today Team SCA confidently crossed the line to start the iconic Rolex Fastnet Race. This will be the first time that the team has taken part in a major race since they started their training program earlier this year.
Liz Wardley, Team SCA crew member commented before the start: "This is our first real race, really, as a team and on this boat. We have been preparing quite a while for this now, and the boat is shipshape and ready to rock 'n roll. The crew is as ready as it will ever be today, and I think that we work well as a team and we just have to get our little pink boat around the race track as fast as we can."
Brad Jackson, one of the team coaches who will be onboard for the race commented: "This is a big milestone in our campaign, and as it is our first competitive race that is a big deal for us. The girls have been looking forward to it for a long time and for us as coaches it is important to see how it is going to work under the real environment of a race, the pressure, the tiredness, and all those things. That is going to be good for all of us."
Team SCA is expected to arrive at the finish in Plymouth in the early hours of Wednesday morning 14 August.
Team SCA Crew Rolex Fastnet Race 2013: Annemieke Bes NED, Carolijn Brouwer NED, Sophie Ciszek AUS, Sam Davies GBR - Navigator, Brad Jackson NZL - Coach, Sarah Lihan USA, Annie Lush GBR, Justine Mettraux SUI, Pepe Ribes ESP - Coach, Joca Signorini BRA - Coach, Liz Wardley AUS - Boat Captain & Klaartje Zuiderbaan NED.
Spindrift 2 gets going on the Rolex Fastnet Race
At 1300hrs (French time) today (Sunday, August 11) the maxi trimaran Spindrift 2 started the jewel the crown of English sailing, and its own log book, by taking part in the 45th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race. At the end of a July punctuated by intense and productive training sessions, the two co-skippers, chose to boost the adrenaline with the vital atmosphere of competition, launching the racing campaign of Spindrift 2, the largest racing trimaran in the world. The famous regatta, starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, traces the British coast, heads round the Fastnet Rock, before returning to finish in Plymouth Bay. The 608-mile course is highly tactical with its specific currents and wind spikes that pave the way into the Channel and the Irish Sea. Guichard and his crew of 13 are beginning, with this classic race, a new chapter in the history of their tall ship. Whilst the forecast conditions leave little chance to think of record times, the level of competition, especially from the other large trimarans, who will make the most of the west southwesterly winds today, means there is plenty to do in order to perform well and it will be a motivation for the Spinrift sailing team, which is so intent on racing efficiently and to the full potential of their maxi trimaran.
"We will leave first, ahead of the Imocas, Class40s and other IRC boats, and with the other large trimarans in the event, by the western Solent," Guichard said this morning, recounting the joy of, for the first time, getting into the deep end of a prestigious competition at the helm of Spindrift 2. The excellent training sessions have already tightly knitted the top-level crew, who have taken stock of both the potential, but also the demands of the world's largest trimaran. The goal for this race, in the absence of weather conditions to beat the clock, will be firstly to leave no navigation black marks on this first blank page and also to guarantee the cohesion of the crew and the esprit de corps. The race record, set by the same boat in 2011 in the colors of Banque Populaire V, of 1 day and 8 hours does not seem possible for the Spindrift team faced with upwind conditions and the strong opposing currents of the Solent that will dictate their passage to the Irish Sea and Fastnet. "Our routing see us arriving in Plymouth overnight from Monday to Tuesday after 1 day and 12 to 13 hours racing," Guichard said.
"The Fastnet Race is timely for our gradual rise. It is important for the efficacy and cohesion of the crew to be able to run through the many lessons gleaned from the training sessions. The other maxi-multihulls that are in the race are certainly shorter than us, but they have power to weight ratios more suited to the conditions forecast today. We will have some serious competition on the water."
With only one night at sea, the Rolex Fastnet Race is not yet a real oceanic test, but the men Spindrift 2 will still benefit from the walk through of their watch system. "Everybody is on deck today, because leaving the western Solent is never easy," Guichard said. "There will be plenty of boats on the water (347 boats are entered), and we will need to immediately negotiate the strong currents. At nightfall, we can rotate the watches, with some rest and work. The slightly lower than expected wind means the sea state will not be as big as Fastnet, but it is upwind sailing is waiting for us in the first part of the race, before, hopefully, a fast return to Plymouth downwind..."
The crew on the maxi Spindrift 2 for the Rolex Fastnet: Dona Bertarelli – Skipper, Yann Guichard – Skipper, Xavier Revil, Erwan Tabarly, Antoine Carraz, Christophe Espagnon, Nicolas Texier, Jean Baptiste le Vaillant, Thierry Douillard, Sébastien Marsset, Thomas Rouxel, François Morvan, Simone Gaeta, Erwan Israel.
History in the making as first Omani woman ever competes in Rolex Fastnet Race onboard Oman Air-Musandam (from Oman Sail)
Female Omani sailor Raiya Al Habsi takes on the biggest challenge of her life as the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race gets underway this morning.
An amazing sight greeted Omani sailor Raiya Al Habsi and the crew on Oman's flagship MOD70 Oman Air-Musandam in the Solent this morning when the Royal Yacht Squadron canon was fired to mark the start of the biggest ever Rolex Fastnet Race.
Oman Air-Musandam might be racing in a class of just four other multihulls but behind them making their way to the Squadron line was the massive flotilla of 342 boats making for a truly extraordinary scene.
The trimaran, crewed by a mixed European and Omani team that in addition to Raiya Al Habsi making history for her country, includes Fahad and Ahmed Al Hasni, French skipper Sidney Gavignet and offshore veterans Neal McDonald from Great Britain racing his ninth Fastnet Race and Damian Foxall from Ireland. Dee Caffari, who is embarking on her sixth Fastnet, is a highly experienced crew member in her own right and is onboard as Raiya's mentor.
Oman Air-Musandam swept confidently across the line ahead of the fleet and Raiya settled down to absorb as much as she can over the course of the next 36 hours.
"I spoke to my family this morning who are watching the live coverage back in Muscat and I think they were more nervous than me," said the 25 year-old former customer services assistant who was one of the first women to join the Oman Sail Women's Sailing Programme and is the first ever Omani woman to compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race.
"I didn't get much sleep last night because I was so excited and nervous in equal measure so it was good to meet up with the rest of the team this morning and get on board and get busy," she said with her customary wide smile.
British yachtswoman Dee Caffari, the first woman to have sailed single-handed and non-stop around the world in both directions and the only woman to have sailed non-stop around the world three times, was on hand to give Raiya some valuable tips not just on sailing but on how to savour her big moment.
"It is really important that Raiya looks over her shoulder at the start to see the 340-odd boats that are taking part in this race," she said. "She will take this memory back home and inspire lots of other Omani women through her stories."
"It's likely that we will be finished in 36 hours so we won't see all these boats in one place again and it will be a very proud moment for her and for all the Omani sailors. They won't have seen anything like this before!"
For Sidney Gavignet, skipper of Oman Air-Musandam, this will be his last fully crewed race on the MOD70 before he and Damian Foxall pair off to train for their double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre that starts on 3 November.
"We have had a very good week here in Cowes taking sponsors and guests sailing which has been very good for our preparations for the Fastnet Race and now we feel ready to go," he said. "It has also given us the opportunity to acclimatize Raiya to sailing on the MOD70 – she is very new to this type of boat and will learn a lot over the next few days."
The first few hours of the 611 nm race from Cowes to Plymouth were looking straight forward, Gavignet added, with a medium to heavy breeze on the beat to the Fastnet rock and 20 knots downwind to the Scilly Isles and into Plymouth where they hope to arrive at midnight on Monday.
Oman Air-Musandam Fastnet crew: Sidney Gavignet (FRA), Neal McDonald (GBR), Damian Foxall (IRL), Ahmed Al Hasni (OMA), Fahad Al Hasni (OMA), Dee Caffari (GBR), Raiya Al Habsi (OMA), media man - Mike Deppe.