With just under forty days to the start of the Rolex Fastnet on Sunday, 9 August, the 300 registered crews are hard at work completing their qualification miles and other prerequisites. The 608 nautical-mile offshore classic has a fearsome reputation - not always lived up to - but one which deserves respect by all involved; especially in the year marking the thirtieth anniversary of the saddest chapter in the race's illustrious history.

The fleet is in excellent shape. With participants from sixteen different nations on the start-line, it will be an international gathering of the yacht-racing fraternity. The British and French make up the bulk of the fleet, but entries have been received from Hong Kong, Australia and the USA too, proving the lure of the Rolex Fastnet still crosses the oceans as it did in its earliest days.

The Americans are fielding half-dozen entries, including 2005 Rolex Sydney Hobart winner, Rosebud, owned and campaigned by Roger Sturgeon. The STP65 is an out-and-out racing machine with a pro-crew onboard, a far cry from Australia's most famous entry this time around: Alex Whitworth achieved notoriety in the sailing world for undertaking a circumnavigation of the globe with Peter Crozier that coincidentally started with the 2005 Rolex Sydney Hobart and ended at the finish of the 2006 edition of the race, after taking in the 2005 Rolex Fastnet en-route. All this in the tiny, but robust, Brolga 33, Berrimilla, a different proposition to the carbon machine that Sturgeon has at his command, but certainly an indication of the diverse nature of the competing boats.

A  Memorial Service to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of the 1979 Fastnet Race will be held on WEDNESDAY, 5 August 2009 at Holy Trinity Church, Cowes at 1730

The church is situated behind the Royal Yacht Squadron.

All sailors, family and friends are welcome.   It is anticipated that this Service will attract a number of people and in order for us to make sure that we can accommodate everyone please make your interest known to Janet Grosvenor on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The RORC members' cocktail party on the RYS lawn follows this Service at 1830. For tickets to the cocktail party please contact Siobhan Geraghty on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Applications for the 2009 Rolex Fastnet opened on 1 January and effectively closed two months later when the 300 cap on entries was reached. Organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, immediately set up a waiting list, which currently stands at seventy confirming the enduring and considerable interest in this classic offshore race that this year starts at noon on Sunday, 9 August from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at Cowes.

As one would expect with so many yachts entered, the fleet is a broad cross-section of the international offshore racing scene, with the smallest yacht (Fore Winds from Poland) at 30ft (9.5m) up to the largest at 100 feet (30.5m). Crews range from the full on professional through the Corinthian racers to those just taking part for the adventure and challenge presented by the 608 nautical miles. Entries have been drawn from near and far. The allure of Rolex Fastnet continues to attract competitors from across Europe, the USA and, even, Hong Kong and Australia.

The highlight within the substantial fleet looks to be the current race record holder - Mike Slade's Farr 100 ICAP Leopard (GBR), which has undergone some surgery since setting a time of 1 day, 20 hours, 18 minutes in 2007; given the right conditions she could well lop more time off the benchmark. Leopard will not be the only 100-footer on the line, Liara the Bill Dixon designed Performance Yachting 100 will be there too. Whilst Liara is performance oriented, she should be no match for a race-prepared Leopard, which looks likely to be cutting a lonely furrow at the head of the fleet unlike 2007 when it took until near the finish to shake off the smaller Rambler. Just behind the big boys will be a much-anticipated battle in the 65 to 75 foot mini-maxi range with the STP65s Rosebud (USA), winner of 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart, and Luna Rossa (ITA), new this season, set to do battle with Ran (GBR) the 72-foot Judel/Vrolijk design owned by Nicklas Zennstrom of Skype fame.

With 300 yachts already registered for the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race, the Royal Ocean Racing Club has taken the unprecedented step of closing the entry list some three months ahead of the date set in the Notice of Race.

Eddie Warden Owen, RORC Chief Executive summed up the Club's feelings: "Naturally, we are delighted at the level of interest shown in race once again.  The Rolex Fastnet is one of our flagship events and reaching the entry limit so early is wonderful news for the RORC and for the sport of offshore yacht racing, especially in these testing times".

The Rolex Fastnet is a challenging 608 nautical-mile offshore race. All yachts registered have to undergo a rigorous qualification process to comply with the entry requirements before being allocated a confirmed place in the race. The entry criteria are in place to ensure that crews are suitably prepared for all conditions.

All is not lost for those interested who have missed the cut, since the RORC has started a waiting list. Prospective competitors who have not already entered the Rolex Fastnet Race should register themselves and their boats online at http://remus.rorc.org and then email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  confirming their wish to be added to the waiting list; emails should include the boat name and sail number in the subject field of the email.

And those on the waiting list in search of encouragement that the wait may not be in vain need look no further than Ger O'Rouke and Chieftain - the overall winner of the 2007 Rolex Fastnet. Chieftain was only confirmed as entered during the week leading up to the start.

Note: A high resolution version of the image is available to registered media at www.regattanews.com