Admiral's Cup 2025 in the Rolex Fastnet Race - Hard gains and close calls
by Louay Habib / RORC 27 Jul 14:23 BST
17 July - 1 August 2025
Admiral's Cup 2025 - Jolt 3 takes the AC1 Rolex Fastner Race lead by 1200 BST on Sunday 27 July © Paul Wyeth / RORC
AC1 - Big moves in the big boat class
By 1800 BST on start day the entire AC1 fleet had rounded Portland Bill just before the tidal gate turned against them. Stefan Jentzsch's Botin 56 Black Pearl (NYYC) held a narrow lead on the water ahead of Peter Harrison's TP52 Jolt 3 (YCM), with both boats positioned about two miles offshore.
Just a mile behind them, Karl Kwok's TP52 Beau Geste (RHKYC) and Max Klink's Botin 52 Caro (RNZYS) were holding pace. Gordon Ketelby's TP52 Zen (CYCA) made a bold call, hugging the coastline tight around the peninsula and reaping big gains as a favourable shift aligned perfectly with their move. The Australian team surged back into contention.
As the fleet stretched out toward Start Point, the leaders fanned out north of the rhumb line—Black Pearl furthest north, Eric de Turckheim's NM54 Teasing Machine (YCdF) furthest south. Black Pearl rounded Start Point just ahead of Jolt 3, both doing around nine knots. Slightly further offshore, Niklas Zennstrom's Carkeek 52 Rán (KSSS) and Teasing Machine were charging along at closer to ten knots.
What followed was a top speed offshore drag race towards The Lizard. With the breeze up the front-runners were posting double-digit boat speeds. Black Pearl still led on the water, but the offshore boats, particularly Zen and Teasing Machine, closed the gap significantly.
As they neared the exclusion zones around the Isles of Scilly (three Traffic Separation Schemes), all the leaders chose to pass east of the archipelago, keeping clear of penalties. Meanwhile, James Neville's Carkeek 45 Ino Noir (RORC Red), was forced to retire and divert to Plymouth due to electrical charging issues though all crew remain safe and well.
By 1200 BST on Sunday 27 July (after IRC time correction), Jolt 3 had taken the AC1 lead, holding a narrow 12-minute advantage over Beau Geste. Caro was third, just under an hour behind.
AC2 - Tidal timing and tactical trade-offs
At 1800 BST Saturday, most of the AC2 fleet had rounded Portland Bill with the favourable tide. But several of the smaller, lower-rated boats including Dirk Clasen's Humphreys 39 Ginkgo (BYC), Per Roman's JPK 1180 Garm (RORC Red), Tom Kneen's JPK 1180 Sunrise IV (RIYC) and Thomas Reinecke's Millenium 40 Edelweiss (HSC) were caught on the wrong side of the tidal gate, losing valuable time.
This proved to be a major advantage for the faster-rated boats who punched through while the tide was still with them. Whether the breeze and sea state will favour the smaller boats later in the race remains to be seen.
Navigator Tom Cheney aboard Sunrise IV checked in at 0900 BST on Day Two: "In good spirits on the good ship Sunrise. We're about two boat lengths from Garm—which is both exciting and frustrating! We avoided Christchurch Bay and crossed paths with the other JPK 1180s off Swanage. We lined up for a right shift approaching Portland, but still didn't make it in time for the tide. Since then, it's been a straight drag race. We've clawed back half a mile on Garm, and Django isn't far ahead. We're ripping along but expecting some funky weather near The Lizard. I'm scratching my head at the chart table already."
At the front of the AC2 pack on the water were Karl Kwok's Botin 40 Beau Ideal (RHKYC), James Murray's B&C 42 Callisto (RNZYS), and Pierre Casiraghi's Carkeek 42 Jolt 6 (YCM), the latter slightly further offshore. Pierre Casiraghi gave an update from Jolt 6 at 0900 BST on Day Two.
"We're happy with our Solent exit. With so many boats it's always a challenge to avoid collisions or protests but we came out clean. We worked hard through multiple tacks and managed to pass Callisto. We played the current well and extended our lead on the fleet. The first night went smoothly, we got into our watch rhythm and everyone had rest. Everything's working well on board and we're fighting for every centimetre. We know it's going to be a long battle to the finish."
The news was good for the JPK 1180s at the 1200 BST time check on Sunday. After IRC time correction, Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's Django (YCCS) was leading AC2 by more than two hours. Garm and Sunrise IV were virtually tied for second with Jolt 6 still very much in the hunt.
All is well aboard the good ship Ginkgo as owner Dirk Clasen spots a dolphin giving some driving tips! "We had a hot battle with Nola for the whole night. At the moment we are separated, 2.6 nm to windward, a good position to get away! The crew is in a good mood and we get fresh crew every two hours, just perfect. Now for a full english breakfast - well, in our dreams at least!"
Series standings to date
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