50 TH FASTNET
Setting sail from Cowes on Saturday 22 July 2023 will be the 50th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race. No doubt the anniversary event will sell out even quicker than normal, if that’s possible. Places in the Fastnet go quicker than tickets for Glastonbury Festival. What is sure is that the fleet, as it always does, will comprise the full gamut of yachting, from classics like Jolie Brise , which won the first ever Fastnet (pictured on the left here passing the famous Fastnet Rock), to the big Ultim trimarans like Sobebo (LOA 32m, beam 23m), pictured above, battling conditions off the Needles in the 2021 race.
The first Fastnet Race was held in 1925, so there is another anniversary around the corner. This is the 50th event because for most of its life the race has been held biennially. It was annual for its first six years and three editions were lost due to WW2. That first race, known as the ‘Ocean Race’ and held on a course from Ryde to Plymouth via the Fastnet Rock, had seven starters. A dinner immediately after the finish resulted in the Ocean Racing Club being established with Lt Cmdr EG Martin, owner Jolie Brise , appointed commodore.
The race was inspired by the Newport-Bermuda offshore race (first held in 1906) and US entries have remained strong, from yacht designer Rod Stephens with Dorade (1931 and 1933), to David and Peter Askew on Wizard (2019). The race has also always attracted a good entry from Europe, especially France, with Eric Tabarly winning on board Pen Duick III in 1967. As France
