J/99 Wins 100th ROLEX Fastnet Race Division!
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 100th edition of the ROLEX Fastnet Race, hosted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), will go down in history as one of the world’s biggest offshore races, with 381 IRC-rated yachts competing. From the start off the famous Cowes/ Royal Yacht Squadron starting line in the Solent, the fleet rounded Fastnet Rock just off the southeastern tip of Ireland, then headed for home to the finish off Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France- a distance of 695.0nm. In short, the race turned into a monster windward-leeward race, beating to windward from the Cowes start to “the Rock”. The fleet then popped kites and headed for France on a downwind sleigh ride. There were some amazing highlights for J/Teams in this race.
IRC 3 Division
IRC Three line honors went to Philippe Girardin’s J/120 HEY JUDE, one of the highest rated boats in the fleet. She had held the lead not just on the water, but also under IRC, for much of the race. Their hopes for the IRC 3 fleet win were dashed when the strong adverse tide around Alderney and the Cotentin peninsula slowed them. As a result, the lower-rated boats that arrived at that point later were sailing in nearly slack current, such is the roll of the dice in the Fastnet Race!
Eventually, HEY JUDE took sixth place on IRC handicap time, a good outing for the grizzled offshore racing veterans on Girardin’s beautiful navy-blue J/120.
“We were pleased with the weather this year, because Philip has a problem with his back – we are now old men,†mused crewman Louis-Marie Dussiere, who has been a friend of Girardin’s since they were at dental school 40 years ago. “We had a very bad start. But, we were able to come back towards the head of the IRC Three fleet, leaving the Solent. We had a very good exit at the Shingles, and we were back at the head of the IRC Three fleet at Portland Bill.
At Fastnet Rock, there was a little rain and very low clouds. We could see nothing-not even the light of the Fastnet Rock-until we were one mile away. We even had to do a very late tack for Fujitsu British Soldier 70-footer!”
Ultimately, it was Julien Bentz’s J/99 WHIMJY 99 that crossed the Cherbourg-en-Cotentin finish line at 0042 local time to take victory in IRC 3 after IRC handicap time by 19 minutes.
“The weather changed a lot, and it was really difficult over the last 24 hours. The conditions were shifty and the current very challenging,†Bentz commented. “It was a roller coaster of emotions, but we fought until the end, and it paid off!
For most of the crew, it’s our first Fastnet, so it’s a great achievement to beat a fleet of 87 boats! We have been working on this project for two years, and, while it was a mix of intense racing and adventure, there was also a lot of discovery for us along the way.”
What was their winning formula? “A mix of many things, of course. We prepared very well for two years. The crew and the atmosphere also were important, we’ve been sailing together for a very long time, maybe 45 years with Romain Troublé!”
“It was a very good race for this boat- upwind and downwind, with no reaching- it was perfect,†added Troublé, son of former America’s Cup skipper and supporter Bruno Troublé. “The Fastnet Rock two days ago in the fog and the dark at two o’clock in the morning was quite an amazing memory for us!!â€
IRC 1B Division
The large 36-boat fleet had four well-prepared offshore J/crews. In the end, after pushing hard for the entire race, it was Mike O’Donnell’s J/121 DARKWOOD team from Ireland that took fourth place.
The other J/Teams fared well but had their fair share of issues on the race track. Francois Charles’s J/133 SUN HILL IV from France was having a solid race until a bad tactical decision dropped them back. Then, Nick Edmonds’s J/45 STICKLEBACK suffered a torn mainsail soon after passing Land’s End on the way to Fastnet Rock. That was a disappointing blow to the STICKLEBACK team, having to resort to sailing with the first reef in the main for the balance of the race and dropping down from their top-five position!
IRC 2A Division
This large 33-boat fleet has a significant armada of J/crews- nine boats total. It was a “tour de force” for five of those teams.
Following on their second place in IRC Two in the Myth of Malham, Lawrence Herbert’s J/133 CORAZON and his young crew (all under 30) sailed a strong race, taking the silver medal for their hard-earned efforts!
Taking the bronze medal was the J/122 MOJITO, owned by Peter Dunlop and Victoria Cox, and racing out of Pwllheli Sailing Club.
The other J/crews in the top ten were Frans van Cappelle’s experienced crew from the Netherlands, racing their J/122 MOANA to fourth place. Following them were Chris Power Smith’s J/122 AURELIA from Ireland in sixth place and Nick Southward’s J/122 WHISKEY JACK with his Hong Kong-based crew finishing in 7th place.
IRC 3A Division
In this fleet of 43 boats, Frenchman Philippe Girardin’s very experienced, winning offshore crew on his J/120 HEY JUDE fulfilled their desire to garner silver in this epochal 100th edition celebration of the ROLEX Fastnet Race. While they just missed IRC 3 division overall honors due to the tidal gate near the finish, they took the silver medal in IRC 3A division, missing the fleet win by a mere 4 minutes!!
For more ROLEX Fastnet Race sailing information
https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/en