Wind brings Rolex Fastnet fleet towards race finish
by Trish Jenkins 15 Aug 2007 22:09 BST
Wind brings Rolex Fastnet fleet towards race finish
Demonstrating just how far ahead the front-runners were, by 1830BST this evening only nine more boats had crossed the finish line in Plymouth after ICAP Leopard and Rambler arrived this morning. The first IMOCA 60 across was the French boat, PRB at 13:17:44 local time.
Co-skippers Vincent Riou and Sebastian Josse on PRB had a fast time on the 60-footer, sailing the 608-mile course in just over 50 hours – the third yacht this year to beat the 1999 record time. Sailing an ocean race two-handed is a feat. It is a short race timewise, the weather is too changeable and it doesn’t allow for any sort of regular watch system. It requires the boat to be raced as if it were fully crewed, with sail changes being extremely strategic to keep ahead of the rest of the Open 60 class.
As Josse explained, “it was a really tough race, really windy the first 24 hours, with a lot of sail changes. We had 14 tacks in the first 24 hours, maybe six or seven sail changes… and we were really, really tired on the first morning, and most important in the race is to try to manage the time we have to recover.
Comparing the IMOCA 60 fleet, he said, “All the new boats the speed is pretty similar, at the end there are really small differences. The most difference we can find is in crew. It was really windy at one stage, and the sail change is really critical and if you do well in the sail change, you win one or two miles. The fleet is so compact…all the guys have the same conditions. You make a big difference, the first night you are so tired to make a sail change, when the wind drops if you wait a little bit late to take out your reef, you lose one knot.”
The 60s demand a lot of attention to race so the crew managed to sleep only about three hours total a day. Describing how he felt physically after the finish, Josse said, “The last leg was a reach with no sail change… the boat is cleared, we have time to eat and sleep.” As for food, it is critical for fuel, Josse adds, “never forget your body.”
Several of the entries were using the Rolex Fastnet Race as a qualifier for the upcoming Barcelona World Race, a 25,000 mile non-stop double-handed around-the-world race starting November 2007.
Fourth over the finish line was Cheminees Poujoulat (FRA) at 15:37:48 BST, followed by Hugo Boss (GBR) at 15:48:01 BST, only four minutes ahead of Delta Dore (FRA), and Temenos (SUI) at 16:35:11 BST, Mutua Madrilena (ESP) at 18:04:51, and Maisoneuve (FRA) at 18:26:22 BST.
Hugo Boss’ skipper Alex Thompson said, “This was my sixth Rolex Fastnet Race and the fastest yet. We had hardly sailed the new Hugo Boss before this race…she seems to be one of the fastest in the fleet which is really nice to know. Capey and I got on brilliantly which bodes well. We are chuffed to bits with the performance of the boat and we could not have asked for anymore.”
Next boats due over the finish line this evening are the Cookson 50, Chieftain (IRL) and the R/P 60, Loki (AUS).
The weather over the race course is currently northwesterly at 20 knots, with 25 knots towards the Fastnet Rock. This will ease to 15 knots overnight, and on Thursday, the forecast is northwest 15-20 knots, with the possibility of 10-15 knot westerlies.
As of the latest OC Tracker position update at 1730 BST, leading on corrected time are Rambler (USA) in IRC Super Zero; Chieftain (IRL) in IRC SZ Canting Keel; Courrier des Coeur (FRA) in IRC Zero; Scarlet Oyster (GBR) in IRC 1; Voador (GBR) in IRC 2; Persephone of London (GBR) in IRC 3, and PRB, in the Open 60 class.
As of Wednesday at 1830 BST, 9 yachts had finished, 69 yachts are racing and 193 yachts have retired from the race.
Friends, family, press and supporters can visit fastnet.rorc.org and click the tracking page to follow the race and results. Boats automatically report every 30mins (on the hour and half hour), and results and tracking are updated shortly after the report is received. The results will be overall and based on corrected time.
Further information about the RORC and the Rolex Fastnet Race may be found at fastnet.rorc.org