Phaedo3 provisionally second in 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race
by Rachel Jaspersen 19 Aug 2015 07:51 BST
19 August 2015
Phaedo3 was second over the line and is provisionally second on corrected time in the MOCRA Multihull class in the Rolex Fastnet Race.
After a long, tactical duel in the uncharacteristically light winds of the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race, Lloyd Thornburg's MOD 70 trimaran Phaedo3 finished 2nd on the water, mere minutes behind the 131-foot-long trimaran, Spindrift 2.
And while the winds may have been light, the racing in the 600-mile long run from Cowes, along the south west coast of England, around Ireland's Fastnet Rock and back to Plymouth was as fierce as ever. Thornburg, co-skipper Brian Thompson, and the rest of the Phaedo3 crew battled within sight of the maxi trimaran Prince De Bretagne nearly all the way back from the famous rock, and they were only able to pass the larger trimaran just before the finish off Plymouth.
Thornburg was ecstatic at the finish:
"This is the most exciting race I've ever done! Between leading everyone out of the Solent and then battling with Musandam-Oman Sail and then Prince de Bretagne all the way to the Rock and making a mistake in letting her by." In the breeze on the way up to the Rock, Phaedo" was making 30 knots. "We wanted to get her [Prince de Bretagne] back, but we weren't certain we could. Then we saw her almost overtaking Spindrift and we thought she might get in first. Luckily they were racing each other which gave us a lane to come in and start catching up.
"We were in sight of each other for most of the course. It was pretty amazing – a couple of hours ago we were still looking at Spindrift 2, the world's fastest boat and strategizing about how to get past her..."
Line honours for Spindrift 2 in the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race in a time of 2d, 10h, 57m, 41s (from Spindrift racing)
On August 18th at 23:57:41 (CET), the maxi-trimaran Spindrift 2 was the first boat across the finish line in Plymouth in the 46th Rolex Fastnet Race after a thrilling tactical race in an unusually calm Celtic Sea. For 58 hours, Dona Bertarelli's and Yann Guichard's crew raced through erratic winds within sight of their closest rivals, who chased them all the way to the finish line. It was a race full of twists and turns, even in the last few miles, before Spindrift 2 sealed her second victory in as many years. The ocean-going black-and-gold trimaran is better suited to the winds of the Southern Ocean than the unusually calm conditions of this year's Rolex Fastnet Race, but the French and Swiss crew successfully negotiated this test of teamwork and endurance, which came with just a few months to go until their attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy.
"It's always a pleasure to come back to this legendary course," explained Dona Bertarelli at the finish. "The light, unpredictable winds made it all the more difficult. We had to use every last gust to make headway. The race required determination, endurance and teamwork. We had to perform a lot of manoeuvres and we had to test the changes made to prepare the boat for the Jules Verne Trophy. The results were positive from a technical point of view, because our power increased by 20% at certain points of sail."
Yann Guichard also spoke about the race: "It was my second Fastnet Race and it's always very exciting to sail around Fastnet Rock. It was a long, slow race, but we learnt a great deal. We saw that the boat is now much quicker in light winds. It was the first race for Spindrift 2 in her new configuration. We've got quite a few small tweaks to do here and there. It was a very useful exercise as part of our preparations for the around-the-world record attempt."
Shortly after finishing the race in Plymouth, the trimaran headed back out to sea to return to her home port of La Trinité-sur-Mer, which she is expected to reach on Wednesday during the day.
Musandam-Oman Sail cross Rolex Fastnet Race finish line after marathon light airs ride (from Oman Sail)
Oman Sail's flagship MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail crossed the finish line of the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race in the early hours of this morning after a marathon ride that tested their patience and tactical skill and was rewarding despite not winning.
When Sidney Gavignet's crew ghosted across the finish line in Plymouth at 0433 BST, they had been at sea for 2 days, 16 hours and 33 minutes, encountering light winds across much of the 600 nautical mile racecourse.
They were the fourth boat across the line, arriving just six hours after Spindrift 2, the world's fastest boat, to record a provisional second place overall in the multihull class behind rival MOD70 Phaedo 3.
It was not the win they had set their sights on, commented skipper Gavignet, but it had provided an enormously valuable learning curve for the entire crew, however experienced, since an early tactical error lost them the lead which in the light airs proved costly.
"Our overall strategy for the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race was very simple - stick with the other guys because we are confident in our boat speed," said Gavignet, moments after the finish.
"But we didn't – just after the Scillies on our way out to the Fastnet Rock, there was a shift in a cloud and instead of sticking to our plan, we took the shift. It didn't last long - just long enough for our competitors to get past us."
"It was a shame since we gave away our lead and never managed to get it back. This happens sometimes, that's racing – it is a good lesson to relearn and remember."
The 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race was the latest event in Oman Sail's long-term programme, which started in 2008, to develop world class sailors and the lessons in patience, perseverance and sailing tactics learned throughout this race had been invaluable, Gavignet added.
"Our Omani teammates are improving day-by-day; we use these events to train our fellow crewmembers in a race environment and the guys all rose to the occasion," he said.
"The teamwork is really solid, we are making progress over the years and race-by-race, we are pushing the guys. It takes time to learn everything, but in general it has been a great race even if we haven't won our class this time."
For one of those Omani teammates Sami Al Shukaili, his first Fastnet Race was a far cry from the last time he had been in the Irish Sea when Musandam-Oman Sail broke the Round Ireland record in the spring reaching speeds up to 35 knots.
"This was my first Fastnet Race but it was a good challenge to race in such light wind and learn about the trim of the sails and the boat to maximise our boat speed.
"It also showed to me the importance of being positive and patient on the boat and staying upbeat."
Fahad Al Hasni, racing in his second Fastnet, said the light winds had made the race tougher than expected but rounding the Fastnet Rock as part of a competitive racing fleet had boosted their team spirits.
"It was a very light Fastnet Race and well done to Phaedo," he said. "It was a tricky race – making a error early on cost us and we spent the rest of the race trying to make up the ground lost.
"But it was good to see the Fastnet Rock again. During our training out of Lorient we use it as a goal, so we are quite familiar with it but it was good to see it in race mode.
Immediately after the finish, the crew sailed Musandam-Oman Sail back to her base in Lorient where preparations will begin for their final major race of the year, the Rolex Middle Sea Race in October where they hope to line up once more against Phaedo.
"We congratulate Phaedo on their success here," said Gavignet. "They did an excellent job of holding on to the big boats which was very impressive but this Musandam-Oman Sail team is outstanding because there was a very good team spirit on board. We will have to take our revenge at the Middle Sea Race!"
www.rolexfastnetrace.com