Fastnet 2013 (?)

Getting back into sailing - and specifically yachting - after a long break.

Love cruising but also looking for more of a challenge: racing!

Thinking very seriously of joining a Fastnet campaign in 2013. Loads on the internet.

Trouble is, with campaigns charging £3000+ to get involved, which one should I choose? (I'm doing the Round the Island Race with Stormforce).

What Quagers said about improving your skill set is definitely a good idea. What I'd do personally is get really, really good at doing bow (because bowmen are always in demand, not many people want to/are good enough to do it) and then get good at driving competently too - Bowman and driver are two positions that are absolutely essential. Any monkey can pull a headsail in, but there aren't many people who can do a kite peel at 3 in the morning without stuffing up or be trusted to drive the owners pride and joy without supervision. Just get as much experience as possible on as many boats as possible, it'll make you a more attractive option to people.

Volunteer for the crappy jobs on the boat that no one wants to do. Once you've found the boat you want to try and do it on, be the guy that goes down below afterwards and helps the mid bow pack the kites up before having a beer, put yourself up for delivery trips (if required), offer to help out with maintainance etc. on weekends you're not racing. You just want to get into the owners good books! ;)

Completely with you re "going the extra mile" - as an independent school teacher for the last 8 years, that's the story of my life!

I think you're right to be wary of company offerings for the Fastnet: it is a lot of dosh and, yes, one could end up sailing with a pack of morons and not learning much. I've had a chat with the bloke who runs Stormforce Coaching as regards their Fastnet package... Like Sailing Logic, they seem pretty serious about their competitiveness on the day, so I'm going to continue negotiations and see what emerges. I'm doing Round the Island with them in a month, so that might provide some extra insights.

Thanks again for your help!

I recommend sailing logic because quite simply they are the school who from my experience seem the most interested in scoring decent results, not just getting their clients round the course. 

As well as their own boats (the Reflex 38's) they sub contract to competitive private boats and their owners for specific races when they have the demand. This means their skippers tend to be racers and the boats are up to race spec not just safety spec.

Have a look through last seasons RORC results and in the owner section look for sailing logic, they do well. Recent examples are Visit Malta Puma last season and Scarlet Logic in this years Caribbean 600.

They are expensive though, so as someone else suggested maybe try doing some inshore racing with them to build skills and then use this to get a place on a private boat for Fastnet.