Tonnerre de Breskens (NED)

Piet Vroon has been racing with the Royal Ocean Racing Club since the 1950's and at 81 years young, he is probably the oldest competitor in the race. As skipper of Tonnerre de Breskens, Piet has enjoyed tremendous success. However, the Fastnet Trophy eluded him for nearly half a century before he finally won it in 2001. Since 1955, Piet has only failed to go around the Fastnet Rock on two occasions, once when the yacht was dismasted and secondly to attend his mother's funeral:

"It is a very hard race to win overall," commented Piet. "First of all you have to have a good boat and crew but also you need to have the same wind as everybody else. Often the bigger boats get different weather to the rest, so it makes it much harder to win with a smaller boat. If we all get the same weather, then everybody has a chance. Last time was the first Rolex Fastnet with the new boat and we were second in our class. However, we would like to do better than that this year, we know the boat a lot more, we have better sails and a good crew, so I have high hopes for the race. At my age, I am old enough to be the grandfather of all of the competitors but there comes a time when I have to stop, so I will enjoy this one as if it is my last."

Two-Handed racing has seen a rise in popularity in offshore racing and the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race certainly reflects this with 31 entries this year. Nick Martin, RORC Rear Commodore will compete in his 5th Fastnet with his J/105, Diablo-J, four of which have been Two-Handed. Diablo-J is currently at the top of the RORC Season's Points Championship leaderboard in this class:

"We've all been inspired by the great solo sailors of our time and RORC's Two-Handed Class continues to support and provide the opportunity for many of us, typically corinthian sailors with full-time careers, to experience challenging and adventurous competitive racing. An extensive program allows us to pitch ourselves against IRC boats of all classes, both Two-Handed and fully crewed alike. It's highly rewarding, especially when you finish ahead of fully-crewed boats," explains Nick. "It is the dream of many sailors to qualify & compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race, so to achieve this in arguably the most challenging class, can be regarded as a pinnacle for many. It's fantastic that we have attracted a large fleet this year and in my opinion, this has become the most competitive of all fleets."

ICAP Leopard vs Rambler

In 2007, Mike Slade's Farr-designed 100ft Maxi, ICAP Leopard (GBR) crossed the Rolex Fastnet Race finish line in an incredible elapsed time of 1 day 20 hours 18 minutes. Having trailed the 90-foot Rambler (USA) by just three seconds at the Fastnet Rock, Leopard turned on the afterburners, smashing the monohull record by nearly nine hours. ICAP Leopard was also victorious in the last Rolex Fastnet Race, winning line honours in 2009. But this year, ICAP Leopard is under serious threat from George David's Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed Rambler 100, which has proved to be even faster than ICAP Leopard:

"Having won the Fastnet Race twice, the big play is to win three in a row, which would be quite exceptional," commented Mike Slade. "During the RORC Caribbean 600, Rambler proved to be the faster boat in her ideal conditions, but the recent light airs in the Annapolis to Newport Race gave us hope. We were thrilled to lead the fleet out of the Chesapeake River, even though Rambler is a much lighter boat. Rambler 100 may also need to protect herself in bad weather, more than ICAP Leopard. We feel we have a good chance in light and heavy airs, it is the bit in between that we might have a problem! I am really looking forward to the Fastnet, it should be a very exciting race but above all else, I don't want to lose our record to Rambler, that would be heartbreaking and we will vigorously defend it."

The Rolex Fastnet is more than just a race. When the British Isles weather conspires to deliver conditions typical of the time of year it becomes a true test of human endeavour. It is for this reason that the 608-nautical mile race consistently attracts a large and varied fleet: man and machine set against the elements. The 44th edition, which starts from Cowes on Sunday, 14 August 2011, is no exception. The entry list opened in early January and within ten days was closed. The 300-boat limit reached with record speed.

The fateful 1979 race still holds the record for most yachts to start: 303. That number may well be broken this year. Organiser, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), inundated with requests from the `professional' classes such as the Volvo Open 70s, the IMOCA 60s, Class 40s and Multihulls, has determined that these entrants will be counted above the 300-boat limit: an excellent decision for all those with an ambition to take on one of the biggest, offshore classics in the world of yacht racing.

Speed Machine

The Rolex Fastnet traces its history back to 1925. Held biennially since 1931 (except for a break between 1939 and 1947) the race to the Fastnet Rock, off the southwestern tip of Ireland has attracted a mix of sailing's royalty - the stars of the sport, and, a huge number of more Corinthian of participants, all ready to test themselves over the course. Little surprise that two of the fastest, most advanced yachts of the age headline the entry-list. Course record holder Mike Slade and the 100-foot (30.5-metre) ICAP Leopard 3 (GBR) are scheduled to go head-to-head with 2007 rival, American, George David. This year the odds may not favour Slade so much as they did four years ago when he set the benchmark monohull time of 44 hours 18 minutes. David has a new Rambler. Rambler 100 to be precise, the former Speedboat, and generally regarded as the Maxi of her generation ... potentially. She has yet to be tested properly against the elite of Europe or the Southern Hemisphere. There are no guarantees in yacht racing, but if the winds are favourable, expect a dramatic dogfight all the way to the finish in Plymouth.

Winning Machine

After a truly memorable first race in 2009, when they won overall, Niklas and Catherine Zennstrom are returning with their all-conquering 72-foot Rán 2 (GBR). The mostly British crew of the Judel/Vrolijk design have proved her ability on both long and short courses, wrapping up the inaugural Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship in 2010. The Rolex Fastnet, though, is a race that allows powerful legs to be stretched. "We've now done quite a lot of offshore races," remarks Zennstrom, "the Rolex Fastnet is probably the top race together with Rolex Sydney Hobart. As one of the world's oldest offshore races it has such a pedigree." Zennstrom believes the fact that it is held every second year is one of its key attractions along with the sheer number of participating yachts.

Winning in 2009 was understandably a "dream come true" for Zennstrom. With the disappointment of pulling out in the storm-ridden 2007 race still fresh, he is not assuming a second win will come easily. "Winning two races in a row is extremely unlikely. However when we planned this year's races [the Rolex Fastnet] was an obvious choice. We love the challenge and we know the boat is still very competitive in the right conditions. But will we get the right conditions? Last time it was a big boat race, this time it may not and you may end up with a 40-foot cruising boat winning. That's the nature of the offshore handicap races."

As the founder of Skype, Zennstrom is one of a myriad of famous names to have taken on the Rolex Fastnet. Not all have been successful in their efforts, but like Zennstrom, many have returned time and again relishing all that the race entails. The list of well-known names from the world of business and commerce who have competed over the 86 year history of the race includes, Charles Dunstone (founder of Carphone Warehouse), media mogul Ted Turner, marketer Ludde Ingvall, Noel Lister (founder of MFI), Sir Maurice Laing (former CEO of Laings), libel lawyer Peter Carter Ruck, Ron Amey (former CEO of Amey) and newspaper magnate Sir Max Aitken. The race has been touched by politics with former Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Edward Heath and in popular culture by Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran.