FASTNET MAGIC

This year’s Rolex Fastnet was another iconic edition of the race. It served up plenty of challenges but largely pleasant conditions for most, with the exception of a lumpy outbound crossing of the Celtic Sea. The return was fast, with even smaller boats reporting surfing at 15 knots, while some of the larger monohulls topped 30 knots.

Certainly the format shows no sign of losing its wide appeal. The complex course always serves up new conundrums, even for the most experienced competitors. Yet again there was a record entry, with 388 starters, including 64 doublehanded in IRC. It’s also a genuinely international race – fewer than half the entries were British, while French boats made up a further 24 per cent of competitors.

With four 130ft Ultime foiling trimarans entered, the question was not whether the multihull record, set by Banque Populaire in 2011, would fall, but by how much. Before the race, there was informed speculation that these boats could get around the course in an astonishing time of 15-18 hours. Conditions weren’t suitable for such a quick rounding, although the record was reduced by a good margin. What few predicted, however, was just