Team News Corp leads the VO60s home in Rolex Fastnet
by Volvo Press 15 Aug 2001 12:47 BST
Fanfare for Britain's Fanstone
Photo © Strategic
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Britain's Jez Fanstone has baptised the Team News Corp syndicate with their first victory after winning the Volvo Ocean 60 class in the Rolex Fastnet Race. They stole victory from John Kostecki and his illbruck crew after a game of cat and mouse in the English Channel throughout the night and early this morning.
Fanstone and navigator Ross Field remained cool under pressure during a nail biting final 12 hours to beat illbruck by 21 minutes, gliding across the finish line in just seven knots of breeze at 08.28UTC.
Although the two race boats were neck and neck on the final leg to the finish, a thick bank of fog rolled in making it impossible to see each other. Such was the density the finish line at Plymouth Breakwater was invisible from Queen Anne's Battery Marina.
Commenting on his win, Fanstone said, "It's always fantastic to win a yacht race. We're delighted with the way the crew worked together, they were awesome. Overall, there were some good moments and some bad moments and we learnt a hell of a lot. It has been very good practice for the short legs of the Volvo Ocean Race."
He continued, "The racing was very close, it was as though we were attached with a bungee. We were yo-yoing all the way but in the end, we got the jump that they didn't get and that was the difference".
illbruck's two year development programme has certainly paid dividends as their performance was observed as "clockwork in motion".
"It was pretty riveting stuff. We had a very good race but they (News Corp) sailed well too - they sailed a bit better. We were pleased with our boat. Let's put it this way, we don't want to trade boats with anybody. I think the Volvo is going to be a close race, this has been a huge lesson for all of us," commented illbruck skipper John Kostecki.
Close Calls in Rolex Fastnet Race
Two extraordinary head to head battles in the Rolex Fastnet Race were only settled in the final stages this morning. Ludde Ingvall's 79-foot Nicorette finally overtook Hasso Plattner's 80-foot Morning Glory just five miles from the finish of the 608-mile ocean racing classic, when they went further offshore looking for more wind. They had been locked in battle all of the 240 miles back from the Fastnet Rock and the margin between them, at the end of 62 hours of racing was just 2 min 47 secs.
Slightly further apart were the two leading Volvo 60s, Jez Fanstone in NewsCorp putting exactly 21 minutes between himself and John Kostecki in illbruck. Both results could have gone either way, but it was the same offshore tactic that worked for Fanstone.
"What we have learned is that the Volvo Ocean Race is going to be very close, a very hard nine months," said Fanstone, safely ashore in Queen Anne's Battery as the crew carried on to Gosport and a 10-day refit for the boat."It's disappointing, but they did a better job and fully deserved the
win," said Kostecki. We learned about our boat and aour competitors. It was a huge lesson but, let's put it this way, we don't want to trade boats with anybody."
The remaining two Volvo 60s, Roy Heiner's Assa Abloy and Gunnar Krantz's Team SEB were due to finish before lunch.
Giovanni Agnelli's 92-foot Stealth had been first home, slipping gently through an almost glassy sea to take the cannon which signalled line hours just 62 second before 04.00 in the morning.
Sandwiching the two 80-footers and fourth monohull across the line was the second 92-footer, Mike Slade's Skandia Leopard. They were nearly five and a half hours behind Stealth, hampered after an important, number 5, headsail broke before they had covered hardly the first mile after the start off Cowes on Sunday. These were blowey conditions and they could use only the storm staysail, which, said Slade, was why they dropped back.
With yachts due to finish all day long, Mike Broughton of the organising Royal Ocean Racing Club was taking a careful look at the performance of the Farr 52, Loco. She had until 6.30 this evening to beat Morning Glory on handicap and become the front runner to take the Fastnet Challenge Cup.
Further back, the remainder of the 211 boats still competing were streaming round the lighthouse and rock off south-west Ireland. They had a fresh 15 knots of wind, but the forecasters are predicting that the breeze will lighten again for the rest of the week, so the smaller boats will be finishing on Friday, maybe even later.
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