THE 50TH Rolex Fastnet Race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg, via the iconic Fastnet Rock off Ireland, is one that will live long in the memory — one of the most challenging in many years.

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When the iconic Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) event got underway on Saturday afternoon, the weather was wintry and really quite foul on The Solent.

 

The Solent shoreline was packed deep with spectators — braving the conditions to witness the greatest assortment of offshore yacht racing hardware ever assembled.

The special 50th edition of the Fastnet Race set sail with 430 yachts — up from the previous record of 388, pre-Covid, in 2019. 

Among them were at least eight Island-based yachts and around 50 local sailors, among various crews.

Sailors had to encounter gusty conditions, with a densely overcast sky and drizzle that built to rain, together with "the heinous washing machine sea state" at the western exit of The Solent's Hurst Narrows, as they passed the Isle of Wight’s most famous landmark, The Needles.

Isle of Wight County Press: The crowds came in force in the rain at Cowes on Saturday.The crowds came in force in the rain at Cowes on Saturday. (Image: Martin Allen)

As usual, this built increasingly with the ebb tide, especially affecting the smaller yachts in the brisk conditions, of up to 45 knots and waves as high as 4m.

At 9.38pm in Cherbourg on Sunday, SVR Lazartigue set a new record of 1 day 8 hours 38.27 minutes — breaking the time set by Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Groupe Edmond de Rothschild two years ago by 36.27 minutes. 

As the weather completely switched to dead calm, the final racers limped into Cherbourg on Wednesday.