Rolex Fastnet Race day 1

ROLEX FASTNET RACE FLEET FACE TESTING CONDITIONS

Strong winds and short steep seas are taking their toll on the 271-boat Rolex Fastnet fleet, with approximately 90 boats retired as of 1130 BST. Boats have been streaming into Plymouth - the race finish - and other ports along the Devon and Cornwall coastline after they elected or were forced to retire and head for shelter. For some boats it was not so much the wind, but the accompanying sea state that was proving exhausting for the crews.

One of the race leaders, the super-maxi Alfa Romeo retired last night at 2250. With the wind at 30 knots, gusting to 40 knots, the sea state wasn't too bad, but owner Neville Crichton and crew were concerned with the expected conditions at Land's End. He said, "We had made a decision before the race to assess the conditions at Land's End. It's hard to just throttle back -- we were match-racing along the coast with Leopard, on port tack with a triple-reef in the main and had just cracked sheets when the mainsail tore. While this damage was minor we were more concerned with the possibility of damaging the rig." The boat retired and eventually made their way to Gosport.

According to the Coast Guard, three yachts have already experienced rig problems: Jambalaya, a J/105 was dismasted and under tow for Salcombe in Devon, the US entry, Ariel, a Swan 47 has problems with the forestay and is anchored off Plymouth Sound, and the Prima 38, Oz Privateer was dismasted. Onboard Dominic Chapell's IMX 40 Maverick 2, the crew were sailing along comfortably in 35-40 knots of wind, when the mainsail ripped and they had few options but to drop out and head for Plymouth.

The Farr 60, Venomous, arrived dockside mid-morning in Plymouth after retiring. Skipper Derek Saunders said, "it's just like it was written on the tin" with the weather experienced exactly as forecast. With breeze over 40 knots, and forecast for headwinds, the crew decided to retire. "This would have been my tenth Fastnet", Saunders continued, "I guess it'll have to be ninth and a half."

According to Janet Grosvenor, RORC Racing Manager, "The boats are doing exactly what we expected given the conditions. They are going safely into nearby ports - the Race Office is in contact with local Coast Guards to monitor the boats and situation."

The current race leaders, which include Leopard, Rambler and several of the Open 60 fleet are north of Bishop's Rock reaching in a southerly breeze. The 1100 OC Tracker position update had Rambler sailing a course of 281 degrees at 17.3 knots, while ICAP Leopard was making 299 degrees at 17.6 knots.

New this year for the Rolex Fastnet is the OC Tracker system, which is capable of reporting a boat's position, speed and course at pre-determined intervals, and is programmable remotely.

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

Update from Spirit Of Weymouth (from Louay Habib)

First night at sea

Steve White and David Melville are currently approaching Land's End in the Rolex Fastnet race, conditions are pretty atrocious, already there is over 30 knots of wind, a building sea state and torrential rain. Many of the fleet have decided not to go into the Irish Sea at all and are heading for Plymouth. Below is the first report from Peter Zimonjic, media correspondent on board Spirit of Weymouth;

Steve White skipper of Spirit of Weymouth, comments from the race course;

"The Open 60 fleet is the most competitive and technologically advanced fleet to enter the race. All but one of the 16 or so boats in the Open 60 fleet operate with a million dollar budget, with virtually unlimited resources, with the most high profile sponsors such as Hugo Boss or rich European banks. My boat, The Spirit or Weymouth, is the only such boat in this race to be sailing without a sponsor."

Owner and Captain of this 60 foot long, two man boat, is Steve White, a 34 year old father of four from England who has mortgaged his house four times and maxed out his credit at the bank in the hopes of proving his determination, sailing prowess and enthusiasm in the hopes of winning a sponsor to fund his boat to enter the toughest race of them all: The Vendée Globe 2008, a non stop, single handed around the world race. The Everest of the sailing world.

But for now Steve and his friend and co-captain on this year's Fastnet, David Melville must prove the have 'bottle'. As a silent observer I am uniquely placed to watch these men stretch their strength to the limit to remain awake for the three days it takes to round the Irish Lighthouse, to see them battle the elements and their competitors, not to mention Steve's personal debts, to achieve a dream.

Their day began by being forced into last place not long after the 11:00 am, the million dollar dreamers sailing off ahead of them. Undeterred, the pair, who are long-time friends and sailing companions, work tirelessly in 18 knot winds and battering waves to squeeze every inch they can out of their ten-year-old boat.

I ask them why, what it is that motivates them to work so hard to keep aplace in the race that is surely predetermined to be at the rear. "The Open 60 is the formula one of yacht racing," David Melville explains. "If you want to race formula one you can either talk about it or you can scrape money together and run a car at the back of the pack and hope someone notices you and gives you money. It's not perfect but it's better than talking about something you might do, one day, if you get the money."

As we cleared the Solent and made our way towards the north coast of France in the hopes of catching favourable wind the stiff morning breeze brought with it waves and ocean spray that made being on deck like standing in a cold shower. When the evening rolled around the wind began to die and we took the chance to eat a dinner of pasta and pesto. It may be the last mean we get in any kind of comfort, the British Coast Guard has issued a worrying storm warning.

Any sailor who hears such a warning during the Fastnet cannot but help think of the disaster of 1979 when boats were abandoned at sea and 15 sailors lost their lives in a powerful gale. For now it is the darkness of night and wondering what weather the blackness with bring upon us.

Update from Alex Thomson onboard HUGO BOSS

“We had a great start. Yesterday evening we pulled away from the pack and were doing really well until we fell into a wind hole at Lands End. We were north of the Scilly Isles when it got light and we could see four to five Open 60s and two maxi yachts. We had 1-2 knots of wind at times. We were further north than the other boats and unfortunately they had a little bit more wind and managed to get away. Since then we have had three sail changes and put a lot of effort in but for very little reward.

“We currently have 20 knots of wind from the south-west and a horrible lumpy sea state. I believe we are lying fourth in the Open 60 fleet behind PRB, Tenemos and Cheminée Poujoulat. We expect to reach the Fastnet Rock at around 20.30 this evening. We are all ok and in good spirits, but we are pretty tired and hungry.

“I am extremely pleased with the new HUGO BOSS. It was obvious yesterday that she is on the pace. After two years designing and building her, it is very nice to see that we have a fast boat.”

Dee Caffari and Aviva retire from the Fastnet Race (from Caroline Ayling)

Dee Caffari has made the decision to retire from the 2007 Fastnet race due to damage to the bottom of the mainsail. Repairing the sail has not been possible due to the worsening weather and proximity to land.

The decision to retire was the only seamanlike option available to Caffari, as continuing in such testing weather would have put the boat and crew at risk. The English Channel’s inshore conditions can often be harsher than offshore due to the increased currents and wind over tide resulting in short, steep seas that are more damaging than larger ocean swell.

Caffari and her crew of Mike Broughton and Matthew Pinsent have suffered no injury during the racing, but have found the sea state very challenging. This was Pinsent’s first offshore race and spending a night in up to 38 knots of wind have shown the Olympian just how tough offshore racing can be.

Dee Caffari, Skipper of Aviva said, “It was a very dark night with visibility down to half a mile and the 38 knots of wind created huge holes in the sea that the boat slammed into time and time again. The fact that half the fleet have pulled out and even Mike, a veteran of 13 Fastnet races, is finding this race tough is testament to the severity of the conditions.”

Despite the strong winds, Caffari had a good night’s racing and kept on the heels of the new generation Open 60s, which will enhance her confidence and sailing skills regardless of the decision to retire.

Andrew Roberts, Campaign Director said, “It must have been an extremely tough night and from a performance point of view Dee must have been working incredibly hard to be just 30 miles behind the leading Open 60s.”

Artemis Ocean Racing retires from the Rolex Fastnet Race (from Justine Ozoux)

A ripped mainsail forces the Artemis team to head back to Southampton

Artemis Ocean Racing (AOR), the sailing team sponsored by leading UK investment company Artemis, were left no choice than to retire from the Rolex Fastnet Race after their only mainsail onboard ripped in gale force winds. At 01:00 on Tuesday morning, after 14 hours of racing, the team of Jonny Malbon, Graham ‘Gringo’ Tourell and the media representative onboard, Ian Cowie, were putting a third reef in the main after the wind picked up to over 40 knots when the tear occurred. At the time the boat was placed very strongly in the leading pack and was looking very competitive against some of the new generation of IMOCA Open 60 boats. The crew are now returning to Southampton and are expected to arrive at 12:00 today, all of the crew are unharmed and in good spirits. In the coming months they will repair the sail and begin a refit in preparation for the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre in November.

After the incident Jonny Malbon, the skipper of Artemis Ocean Racing, commented: “We were four hours from going round Lands End in very strong winds and a horrible sea state but the boat felt good and we were in touch with the leaders. The wind picked up and as we were due south of Plymouth at 01:00, we put a third reef in and the mainsail ripped as we were doing it; to sail the rest of the race with three reefs would never have worked, we wouldn’t be able to fly any spinnakers or any other sails. It’s a big disappointment but we decided there was no option to continue especially as the wind was up to 40 knots. This set back does not change anything, we will fix the sail and are also awaiting a new sail; our preparations for the Transat Jacques Vabre in November will continue as scheduled”