Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 - Video and Wrap-up
by James Boyd / RORC 6 Aug 16:29 BST
Rolex Fastnet Race fleet sets off into the Channel © Carlo Borlenghi / ROLEX
In stark contrast to the motley seven cruisers and decommissioned pilot cutters of the first Fastnet Race in 1925, this year's edition continued to break records, setting sail on 26 July with 444 entries, once again confirming the Royal Ocean Racing Club's premier event as the world's largest offshore yacht race. This year it also marked the 100th birthday of the RORC and the launch of ocean racing as a sport in the UK.
For its centenary the club reintroduced the Admiral's Cup, which during the 1970s and 80s was the world's premier grand prix yachting event. This proved a success beyond all expectations, attracting 15 two boat teams representing yacht clubs from around the world (read more here). Also for the first time there was a class for the nine Ocean Fifty trimarans.
For a third time the race finished in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, but perhaps this edition's most welcome feature was mild weather, following two stormy editions. The forecast suggested the Azores high extending out towards the British Isles would dominate for the race's duration, bringing stable conditions but a fully upwind passage to the Rock, followed by a run back. In fact the bottom half of the fleet did experience some frontal activity bringing brisker winds, but rarely exceeding 25 knots.
Despite the light conditions, this year's start was only marginally less adrenalin-fuelled thanks to the giant fleet and the large turn-out of spectator craft; giant crowds lining key vantage points in Cowes and along the western Solent. Once again for safety the maxis and the multihull fleets were sent off first.
Despite four 32m x 23m Ultim trimarans taking part (including the 2019/21 line honours winner making her first outing in new livery as Actual Ultim 4), it was Jason Carroll's MOD70 Argo that led out of the Solent. That evening, her sistership Erik Maris' Zoulou, took the lead briefly until the Ultims inevitably thundered past.
Monday was multihull arrivals day in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. For a second year SVR Lazartigue, skippered by Tom Laperche, took multihull line honours, finishing in 1 day 17 hours 18 minutes 4 seconds, well outside of her record time set in 2023's stiffer conditions. Among her crew was triple America's Cup winner and 49er Olympic gold medallist Peter Burling, fresh from his Portmouth SailGP victory. For a second year Armel le Cleac'h and Banque Populaire took second.
The race between the MOD70s went to the wire with leader Zoulou breaking one of her three rudders, allowing Argo to sail around her, reaching Cherbourg some 12 hours after the Ultim winner but 20 minutes ahead of her rival.
While constrained by a box rule and with one design C-foils in their floats, the Ocean Fiftys enjoyed exceptionally close racing. Matthieu Perraut/Jean-Baptiste Gellée on Inter Invest were first out of the Solent but Erwan le Roux/Audrey Ogereau on Koesio led out across the Celtic Sea. Ultimately Inter Invest was first home at 19:58:13 followed by Koesio 31 minutes 16 seconds later. The top seven Ocean Fiftys arrived within two hours.
Thanks to the lighter conditions, many more arrivals occurred during the small hours. The line honours monohulls in IRC SZ as well as the IMOCAs finished on Tuesday morning. While in 2023 an IMOCA beat the first maxi yacht across the line, this year length prevailed and with an excellent race between the three 100 footers: Remon Vos' Black Jack 100, Seng-Huang Lee's SHK Scallywag and Joost Schuijff's past line honours winner Leopard 3. Scallywag had made the best exit of the Solent, having overtaken the IMOCA fleet that had started 20 minutes before.
Mid-evening SHK Scallywag led Black Jack 100 past Start Point while, just astern, the Sam Davies-skippered Initiatives Coeur was first IMOCA ahead of Jérémie Beyou's Charal. But en route to the Lizard, the Elodie Bonefous-skippered Association Petits Princes-Queguiner overhauled them all, although sailing deeper. Thus after tacking north IRC SZ led into the Celtic Sea, the 100s then showing their upwind superiority and manoeuvrability. They arrived at the Rock late on Sunday night, SHK Scallywag 6 minutes 17 seconds ahead of Black Jack.
On the leg back, the maxis were able to sail deep, gybing on the shifts, while the IMOCAs sailed hotter and gybed just once when they could lay the Casquets TSS some 240 miles away. The IMOCAs recovered their deficit with Charal and Association Petits Princes-Queguiner overtaking Leopard 3 as they approached the Channel Islands. Here Black Jack 100 split south of Alderney and she claimed monohull line honours shortly after midnight Tuesday in 2 days 12 hours 31 minutes 21 seconds.
Black Jack's owner Remon Vos was delighted with his line honours victory over Scallywag, turning the tables on last autumn's Rolex Middle Sea Race. "They had a great setup, were faster than us, but this time we were a little faster," Vos explained. "There are some beautiful boats in this race, very similar, very competitive. Having three boats of similar speed, we enjoy the close competition; it makes you better and sharper."
Ultimately Tschüss 2 claimed IRC SZ. Winner of the RORC Transatlantic Race, the Caribbean 600 and the Transatlantic Race back, Christian Zugel's VO70 was also a favourite for the overall win, which she had achieved as Wizard in 2019. "These Volvo boats do really well in strong wind," said Zugel. "But we had a lot of light moments and sometimes almost no wind. We struggled quite a bit to get going towards the Rock. Eventually we made it around the Rock and we had some decent wind going down. When we closed on Cherbourg we had the tide against us, but the team worked their butts off, getting sails on and off, going flat-out to keep the boat moving."
The top three IRC SZ maxis reached the finish before the IMOCAs, with Leopard 3 arriving just 12.5 minutes ahead of Association Petits Princes-Queguiner in turn 8 minutes 15 seconds ahead of Charal. This represented a first victory for Elodie Bonefous, viewed as the IMOCA's new hot talent, racing the latest IMOCA, launched in February.
Bonefous attributed victory to the skill of her crew that included her coach, former Solitaire du Figaro winner and Vendée Globe competitor Yann Eliès. "All four are Figaro sailors which is good training for a finish like we had. We were really focused on the sails, boat speed etc which was difficult given the number of gybes we made."
Tuesday afternoon and evening saw the first IRC Zero arrivals with David Griffith's JV60 Whisper claiming line honours, chased throughout by Jens Kellinghusen's Ker 56 Varuna 6. However ultimately IRC Zero would be the first of several classes in this race to be won by the lowest rated: Norwegian Kenneth Bjoerklund's Enderpearl is a CNB76 fitted with every mod con (among her breakages was the dishwasher and the wine cellar door) but also a larger carbon mast and some racing sails. Enderpearl was the clear class leader ahead of Eric Defert and Jean-Pierre Dick's Swan 76 La Loevie and Hans Bouscholte's Whitbread 60 Boudragon.
Finishing among the IRC Zero leaders was Admiral's Cup 1. Ultimately Peter Harrison and Pierre Casiraghi's Yacht Club de Monaco team won the rejuvenated Admiral's Cup overall, yet the Dutch team Ker 46 Van Uden/Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team, won Admiral's Cup 1 in the Rolex Fastnet Race, despite their campaign being a youth training program. Their victory was decisive, on corrected time 2 hours 45 minutes ahead of Daniel E Baum's Tison 48 Elida, in turn 4 hours 10 minutes ahead of Eric de Turckheim's NMD 54 Teasing Machine.
"After the Rock," skipper Gerd-Jan Poortman confided, "the wind was always coming from behind, but it was moving over the course almost at the speed we were doing. Therefore the big boats were in less air all the way from the Fastnet to Alderney."
Meanwhile the Carkeek 40 Jolt 6 won Admiral's Cup 2 but by just 2 minutes 45 seconds from Philippe Frantz's NMD 43 Albator. Pierre Casiraghi admitted he had been most concerned about James Murray's Callisto: "We lost them at one point: we could see on the tracker they had managed to stretch, but we managed to come back and knew that if we stayed close to them, it was going to work." Callisto was first home just 23 seconds ahead of Jolt 6, but dropping to fourth on corrected time.
The Class40s finished amid the IRC Zero/AC1 arrivals. From a strong turn-out of 24 entries six incurred two hour OCS penalties. The tightness between the winners in this box rule class was demonstrated by just 1 minute 49 seconds separating the lead duo Axel Trehin/Corentin Douguet's Faites un don sur SNSM from Spain's Pep Costa/Pablo Santurde's VSF Sports. The winners took the lead in Lyme Bay and never relinquished it despite strong challenges from the Spaniards who regained ground returning from the Rock. Ultimately Faites un don sur SNSM won by rock hopping through the Channel Islands for tidal relief. The first seven Class40s finished within an hour.
In IRC One Frans Van Cappelle's J/122 Moana was first home. On corrected time for most of the race the Australian family team on Linda Goddard's Swan 53 Bedouin led, entertaining their followers with tales of on-deck pilates and 'blind steering' games. However once finished they lost a protest for not giving way in a port-starboard incident after the start at Hurst Narrows with Svante Jacobsson's Farr Millenium 65 Celeste of Solent and were disqualified. This resulted in Long Courrier, the Sydney 43 GTS of 2015 winner Géry Trentesaux's taking the top spot, his sixth class win in this race. Ed Bell's JPK 1180 Dawn Treader was second, despite both she and Long Courrier carrying severe OCS penalties. Mention should also be made of the remarkable 1961 line honours winner Stormvogel, which finished fourth in class and 27th overall of 380 boats in the complete IRC fleet.
Another race favourite was in IRC Two: Alexis Loison and Jean-Pierre Kelbert's new Léon, this time a JPK 1050, the latest model from Kelbert's Larmor Plage-based yard. In fact Léon lost out going offshore at the Lizard leaving Victoria Cox and Peter Dunlop's J/122 Mojito to lead IRC Two out across the Celtic Sea, with Herve Benic's First 40 Iritis first around the Rock. However downwind en route back, Léon quickly drew alongside 2017's overall winner Didier Gaudoux's higher-rated Lann Ael 3, the duo extending away in the IRC Two fleet. Gybing they were able to sail directly east, with Léon passing south of Alderney to pull into Cherbourg 9 minutes ahead. Achille Nebout/Tanguy Bouroullec's Pogo RC Amarris was third, positions not only replicated in IRC Two-Handed (IRC Two taking over from IRC Three this year as the top class for doublehanders) but, crucially in IRC Overall, aided by the wind going left for the next arrivals forcing them to gybe downwind.
In IRC Three Philippe Girardin's J/120 Hey Jude was first between the Land's End TSS and the Scilly Isles, while Denis and Annamarie Murphy's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo led the bulk of the fleet west past the Scilly Isles and out into the Atlantic, only tacking north some 50 miles later. In fact this giant split made little difference: the Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier, which had followed Hey Jude east of the Scilly Isles, led on the water at the Rock, 2 minutes 44 seconds ahead of Hey Jude with Nieulargo third, another six minutes nine seconds astern, but ahead on corrected time.
As with the IRC Two boats ahead of them, the IRC Three leaders found themselves running as they approached the southwest side of the Casquets TSS. Ultimately Hey Jude was first home but under IRC Julien Bentz's J/99 Whimjy 99 corrected out ahead of Bellino and Luc Fourichon and Gerard Quenot's JPK 1030 Blue Skies.
Behind, most of IRC Four also left the Scilly Isles to starboard, heading well out into the Atlantic before tacking north. This time, Ludovic Menahes on the JPK 1010 Raphael, who had taken the extreme version of this option, benefitted, leading around the Rock, 45 minutes ahead of Ondrej Vachel and Pavel Roubal's sistership Garuda IV. On the run back, Raphael's advantage withered as sisterships Alban Mesnil & Romain Gibon's Abracadabra 2 and Adrien Zucconi's Loiza closed, the former edging ahead giving the Scilly Isles a wider berth. Abracadabra 2 further benefitted from passing south of Alderney, as Raphael went north, reaching Cherbourg 36 minutes 9 seconds ahead on the water and winning by a similar amount on corrected time. For Mesnil and Gibon their IRC Four victory came after winning both IRC Three and Two-Handed in 2023. They also won the substantial battle between the 16 JPK 1010s.
"We are very pleased to win this year because it was very different to the last edition," said Gibon. "To succeed last time it was mainly a willingness to keep pushing while you were cold and tired. This time, the weather was more moderate and so it was normal racing, with strategy and boat speed more important."
In the other races within a race, Iritis won among the 14 First 40s. Ben Shelley's Mocking-J topped the 10 boat J/109 fleet, while the lead finisher among the J/Boats was Robin Herbert's J/133 Corazon, where son Lawrence won the Duncan Munro Kerr Memorial Trophy for the best yacht with a 'youth' skipper.
Alexandre Noel and Damien Le Moign's Fondation Arthritis topped the 15 JPK 1030s; Rob Craigie and RORC Commodore Deb Fish's Bellino the 16 boat Sun Fast 3600 fleet; Simon Toms' Zephyr the 12 Sun Fast 3300s and Pierrick Penven's Zephyrin topped the 16 Sun Fast 3200s.
The class with by far the broadest performance range was MOCRA Multihull spanning the two turbo-ed MOD70s to Gary Taylor's Excess14 cruising catamaran Dogzhouse. Ultimately this was won by the 63ft Irens-Cabaret trimaran Paradox3 skippered by Adam Davis, which was virtually able to lay the finish from Bishop Rock. Her time corrected out ahead of the first performance cruising catamaran home on the water, the carbon fibre ORC 50 GDD, co-skippered by round the world legends Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron.
The MOCRA fleet was at its largest ever thanks to the participation of seven Dazcats. Of these it was the 1295 Minor Swing of Didier Bouillard that came out on top, also winning the Crystal Trophy as top multihull below 50ft.
Ultimately IRC overall victory went to Léon, the second time ever doublehanders have won the Fastnet Challenge Cup since Loison and his father Pascal aboard the JPK 1010 Night and Day lifted it in 2013. For Loison it was also his sixth time winning IRC Two-Handed since the class was introduced in 2005.
"This year the podium is full of doublehanders, but they are all French sailors who have done the Solitaire du Figaro many times - I will do my 19th this year. That is the best offshore school in the world." The new JPK 1050 was also key. Compared to their last 1030 Loison explained: "This has more sail area and is a longer, but lighter, boat and the bow is more like a scow. For me it is a little Class40 with the IRC spirit, which Jean-Pierre [Kelbert] and Jacques Valers [designer] know well."
Perhaps most impressive of the centenary Rolex Fastnet Race was how few boats retired, partly thanks to the light to moderate forecast as to the preparedness of the fleet. This year 95% of the fleet finished, compared to just 60% in 2023.
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