Race Updates 2011

IRC Two winner Carina II is skippered by Rives Potts. The Rear Commodore of the New York Yacht Club raced the 1969 48' sloop in last month's Transatlantic Race to take part in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Carina II is a family affair: Rives Potts has his son William working the bow, navigator Dirk Johnson has his 16 year old son Dirk Jr. on board and Watch Captain, Richard du Moulin's son, Edward works on trim.

The three families represent a dynasty of sailors for Newport Rhode Island. Rives Potts has competed in several America's Cup campaigns. Potts sailing Carina is a veteran of 20 Newport Bermuda Races and has won the coveted St. David's Lighthouse Trophy on three occasions.

"I think the Rolex Fastnet Race is one of the most fabulous races in the world," exclaimed Potts dockside in Plymouth. "I think it's probably filled with more passion than any other race that I know of. I think the Bermuda Race rivals it, but the Fastnet Race has probably been greater. The second thing is I wanted to sail with my son and some of my best friends' sons. So we had a bunch of fathers and sons on the boat and we had a great time."

Joe Powder is one of the main-stay crew on Richard Loftus' Swan 65, Desperado, whether its hammering away at a winch or climbing the pole to spike a kite, Joe is an an all action monkey with a cheeky nature. Joe is a long standing RORC member, (overseas as Joe lives in the Jungle).This year, due to the inaugral presentation of the Joe Powder Trophy, Joe has stayed on in Plymouth after the Rolex Fastnet Race to help the race team and be available at the Prizegiving Ceremony. During his time in the Race Office, Joe has especially enjoyed reading the 'story of the race' and here are his favourite blogs from the boats.

"As a veteran of the Rolex Fastnet Race I know what agonies and ecstasies it takes to round the Rock when people start pilfering my secret banana stash." Chattered Joe. "This year I preferred to follow from the comfort of the jungle and with such a choice of ways to keep up with the crews I found myself drawn to reading the blogs. Swinging from my tree, I sympathised with the grim tales of malfunctioning heads, equipment breakdown and the inevitable repercussions of choppy seas. It seems the preoccupation with food has not changed since my day, but dried food, vats of chilli and 'come dine with me sailor' - what happened to a good old-fashioned banana and monkey nuts?

I read tales of endurance, initiative (fixing heads with a champagne cork - genius!) and hearty debate on the proper etiquette of offshore racing (etiquette isn't the word I'd use to describe the land-based antics...and I'm a monkey) I suggest you read them too!"

[Editor's Note: You can now help to decide the Best Blog Trophy; a brand new iPad, in a poll on the RORC's Facebook page]

Arguably the heart and soul of the Rolex Fastnet Race are the sailors racing in Class IRC Three and IRC Four. Sutton Harbour Marina in Plymouth is now ram-packed with finishing yachts and 135 of them have been racing in Class Three and Four. The boats come in all shapes and sizes and fly the flags of nine different countries; Belgium, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Sweden and the United States.

Noel Racine's Foggy Dew, repeating their success in 2007, won IRC Class Three. The 33' JPK built in Morbihon Brittany, France is a real pocket rocket, which enjoys fast downwind conditions, however this year, the race for Foggy Dew was mainly upwind.

"It was a very hard battle with the other JPK Wasabi, we were neck and neck all the way to the Fastnet Rock and then the wind died and shifted unexpectedly and Wasabi got there before us by about 40 minutes. So after that we really had to do a lot of hard work," said Racine.

"We had good strategy in the Celtic Sea and as we reached Bishop's Rock, we were just a few metres ahead of Wasabi but still behind on corrected time. 90-miles from the finish, we were beating into light wind and it was there that we made up our time, tacking on every wind shift. This year was very different to 2007, it was a like a 600 mile regatta with several races. The Rolex Fastnet Race is a very interesting race, there are many different parts, you have to change your thinking all the time, to win you have to be able to adapt."

Niklas Zennström's Rán (GBR) is once again the overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race and the prestigious Fastnet Challenge Cup.

Rolex Fastnet Race course record history since 1925.

A crew of 14 sailors, nine of whom have lost at least one of their limbs whilst serving in the Armed Forces, successfully completed the Rolex Fastnet Race early this morning. The jubilant crew are currently lying 30^th in their class (IRC 1) and the race is one of BLESMA's showpiece rehabilitation events of the year. BLESMA (British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association) was formed in 1922.

Sailing on Spirit of Juno, Ondeck's Farr 65 for the first time was double amputee, Alan Roberts: "I wanted to give myself a challenge, especially since the accident and losing both my legs. I like to set myself goals and I've achieved that today! The whole race was brilliant from start to finish. I'd never sailed before and both training for it and actually taking part was brilliant, really good. There was so much banter on board, typical military banter, jokes being cracked even when it was raining, soaking wet and cold. The jokes were flying round all day and night and it kept morale up so everyone stayed in good spirits. Now I've been introduced to sailing, I would definitely like to do more. Hopefully with BLESMA and then look at the bigger picture, maybe get myself on a Day Skipper course and then work my way up to watch leader."

"We're really pleased to have won our challenge between the Forces boats - the other boats are still out at sea and may be for some time. In a way, it's sad that the race has finished as we've bonded really well, but even if this part of our voyage is over, I'm sure there will be more opportunities to meet up," continued Roberts.

By 9 am on Thursday morning, 70 yachts had completed the Rolex Fastnet Race. A steady stream of yachts came in during the night, 52 in just 12 hours.

The first ever Lithuanian yacht to compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race, Ambersail, finished just after 6.30 pm. The yacht has been on a three-year odyssey to celebrate a thousand years of their country's history. After completing a circumnavigation in 2009, Ambersail competed in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland before sailing the boat across the Atlantic to take part in the RORC Caribbean 600. The Volvo 60 then raced back to Britain in the Transatlantic Race in order to take part in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Ambersail skipper, Simonas Steponavicius has competed in all of the above.

"The Rolex Fastnet Race is one of the races that any offshore sailor just has to do," enthused Simonas. "I don't think any Lithuanian has ever competed in this great race, now there are 15 of us and we know that our friends back at home want to compete in the future. We have always dreamed of doing the race and now I know why, it has been running for so long. It is a fantastic race, very tactical and complex. It has something of everything; working the tide, understanding the effects of land on the wind, ocean racing and some fantastic conditions.

After a brisk first 48 hours, pace in the Rolex Fastnet Race has slowed up.

Racing offshore Two-handed is not for the faint-hearted. It requires all-round seamanship, determination, stamina and above all, courage. 28 yachts started the Rolex Fastnet Race in the Two-Handed division and they endured a tough beat up to the famous rock. Despite having two crew, most of the time sailors are alone on deck whilst their teammate sleeps. Two hours on and two hours off are common watch systems. Autopilots are permitted but hand steering is far more conducive to better performance, the vast majority of the yachts are modified production yachts and do not have sophisticated equipment. During the 2011 RORC Season's Points Championship, 49 yachts have raced with the Club in the Two-Handed division.

For the Rolex Fastnet Race, J-Xcentric leads the Two-Handed Class on the water and after time correction. At the rock, John Van der Starre and Robin Verhoef's J/111, J-Xcentric was just nineteen minutes ahead on corrected time from Nicholas de la Fourniere's X-34, Exile/Mirabaud, the defending Rolex Fastnet champion for the Two-Handed Class. Peter Olden's A 35, Solan Goose of Hamble was just four minutes behind Exile/Mirabaud after time correction. Mike Jaques J/120, Nunatak and Paddy Cronin's HOD 35, Psipsina were also going well and very much in the hunt.