On Saturday 3rd August 2019 over 300 yachts will set off to race around the ‘teardrop of Ireland’, the Fastnet Rock, after starting off Cowes on the Isle of Wight on the South Coast of England.
The race takes place every two years and covers 608 nautical miles. The rock is more than half way so once you get around it you are heading for home to the finish at Plymouth.
The race, which only had seven entries in 1925 for the first edition, can be wild and windy with strong Westerlies battering the fleet. The current monohull race record is 42hrs 39min set by Ian Walker’s Volvo Open 70 Abu Dhabi (UAE) in 2011. The multihull race record is currently held by the 130-foot trimaran Banque Populaire V, skippered by Loïck Peyron, with a total elapsed time of 32hrs, 48min set in 2011.
Unlike Australian ocean races, the Fastnet has embraced short handed fleets with 95 yachts entered for the 2019 event. The new Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300, hull #3 will have only just been launched but will be on the start line and the finish line!
Follow the fleet here and cheer the Jeanneau contingent on.