A record-breaking fleet started the 100th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race with 444 boats heading out on the classic 695-mile offshore
A record-breaking fleet started the 100th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race today, Saturday 26 July, with 444 boats and over 3,500 competitors setting off on the 695-mile epic offshore.
To mark the centenary year, HRH The Princess Royal started some of the fleets. The crowds which packed the shoreline in both Cowes were also treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows, jetting down the Solent in formation just as the Admiral’s Cup’s start got away.
HRH The Princess Royal fires the canon at the start of the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race. Photo: Paul Wyeth/RORC
Conditions were in marked contrast to the previous two races, when howling gales and a severe sea state both kept spectators away and decimated the fleet with dozens of retirements in the first few hours.
By contrast, today the Solent was hot, humid, and relatively flat – the main chop being kicked up by the competitors circling pre-start and the vast numbers of spectator boats that poured out to see the fleet off.
RORC Admiral’s Cup start in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race. Photo: James Tomlinson/RORC
Record Fastnet fleet
The combination of a record entry, a very diverse fleet, a huge spectator flotilla, and the usual Solent traffic will certainly have raised stress levels on some boats. Getting away cleanly and safely is key.
Speaking ahead of today’s start, IMOCA skipper Pip Hare, who is racing with Be Water Positive Canada Ocean Racing commented. “Coming out of the Solent isn’t our favourite place to be in the IMOCAs! You run out of room quite quickly.”
The distinctive yellow Mike Birch-designed trimaran Acapella had a close run-in with a spectator RIB on the Mocra start line, but despite the congestion there have been no serious incidents reported and by evening just three boats had retired (one being Noel Racine’s highly fancied JPK 10.10 Foggy Dew).
Photo: Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex
Big boat start
Despite the punitive two-hour OCS time penalties, many of the starts were also closely contested – the IRC Zero line up was a real show, the crew on Pyewacket 70 appearing dwarfed by the melée of 100-footers as they spun on a dime to duck back on port after trying to approach on the Royal Yacht Squadron end of the line. The Volvo 70 Tschuss got the best start of the big boats.
Of the three 100-footers, BackJack will have been relishing the lighter forecast. Boat captain Tristan le Brun explained: “With our boat we are at max power in eight knots of wind – after that we have to depower the boat. So Black Jack is very strong in light air. It is also quite strong downwind VMG, which will be the second half of the race.”
Although conditions were benign in the central Solent, a building breeze and wind over tide meant that by the time some fleets reached Hurst Narrows and the Needles, the swell had increased and some boats reefed down.
Admiral’s Cup contender Final Final meets lumpy seas in the western Solent after the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race. Photo: James Tomlinson/RORC
Early Fastnet leaders
At the end of the first day, the Ultime SVR-Lazartigue, skippered by Thomas Laperche and Franck Cammas with Pete Burling on board, heads the line honours charge. The Actual Ultim 4 (ex-Gitana) is second, followed by the other two Ultimes. Unsurprisingly, the MOD70s Argo and Zoulou are also chasing hard.
The Hong Kong-based SHK Scallywag leads for monohull line honours, while Charal is second monohull and 1st IMOCA. Tschuss 2 is also firmly in contention.
We’ll be following the fleet to Cherbourg, and bringing you all the news on YachtingWorld.com and YouTube.
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