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#fastnet : South, veering northwest later, 5 to 7. Occasional rain then fair. Good, occasionally poor. ABOUT 4 hours AGOPampusclub
Fast-tracked by The Fastnet Race: In August 2011 I was offered a heaven-sent opportunity to show some of the pho... http://t.co/z4VCv2NS ABOUT 9 hours AGOShippingAreas
#fastnet : Southerly or southeasterly 4 or 5 increasing 5 to 7. Occasional rain. Moderate or good. ABOUT 12 hours AGOShippingAreas
#fastnet : Southerly or southeasterly 4 or 5 increasing 5 to 7. Occasional rain. Moderate or good. ABOUT 16 hours AGOEamoZ
#Fastnet service - No sense in ending route | Irish Examiner http://t.co/5fP2Ll3t #Munster , write to your MEPS in #Europe , get some response ABOUT 19 hours AGOShippingAreas
#fastnet : Southerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, increasing 6 or 7 at times. Occasional rain or sleet. Moderate or good. ABOUT 23 hours AGOwallyhenry
Watched the documentary last night about the Rambler 100 capsize and rescue during the Fastnet race. So glad I didn't lose any friends that. ABOUT 1 day AGOShippingAreas
#fastnet : Variable 3 or 4, becoming southerly or southwesterly 5 or 6. Occasional rain or sleet. Moderate or good. ABOUT 1 day AGOShippingAreas
#fastnet : Easterly, veering southerly, 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later. Rain later. Moderate or good. ABOUT 1 day AGORORCrating
These are what we need in the office in winter... http://t.co/bvTeiisP what do you think, @OffshoreOne ? ABOUT 1 day AGOC103Cork
C103 News@6: #Ireland is in the red, #Fastnet Line fails & #VHI increase premiums from March ABOUT 1 day AGOShippingAreas
#fastnet : Easterly, veering southerly, 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later. Rain later. Moderate or good. ABOUT 1 day AGOThe first Fastnet Race |
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Some critics refused to acknowledge the first Fastnet race in 1925 as a true ocean race as racing did not cover long distances across an ocean or sea. However, the race quickly evolved due to the popularity of the new sport of ocean racing in England.
The first race catered for a new breed of yachtsman, the amateur cruising man looking for a challenge, which cruising alone could not satisfy. Typically, he would sail the yacht himself and perhaps only employ a deck hand or two, unlike the pre-war yachtsman who needed up to 30 men to sail his huge racing yacht. After racing in the 1924 Bermuda race aboard one of the entries, Northern Light, a young Englishman named Weston Martyr was so impressed with the sport that he wrote a letter about it to an English yachting magazine. 'It is,' Martyr wrote, 'without question the very finest sport a man can possibly engage in for to play this game at all it is necessary to possess, in the very highest degree, those hallmarks of a true sportsman: skill, courage and endurance.' On his return to England and following his enthusiasm, a committee was set up to promote an English ocean race. The committee consisted of Martyr, E. G.Martin, who had purchased a converted Le Havre pilot cutter called Jolie Brise and Malden Heckstall-Smith, the editor of the yachting magazine. The committee proposed a course of 615 miles from the Isle of Wight to the Fastnet rock off the south-west coast of Ireland and then back to Plymouth. They were to race for the Fastnet Challenge Cup. The yachts rounded the Isle of Wight either eastwards or westwards, according to the state of the tide in the early Fastnet races and the Scillies and the Fastnet Rock could be rounded in either direction for many years. The first Fastnet race attracted seven boats to the start line. The fleet consisted mainly of a collection of old cruising boats starting the race from the Royal Victorian Yacht Club at Ryde on 15 August, 1925. It turned out to be a typical race for the course with the faster yachts making good time and safely in port when the slower entries were hit by high winds and uncomfortable seas. Two boats retired and one made such slow progress that she was unable to reach the finishing line before the timekeepers had gone home. Two boats in the race stood out among the fleet - Jolie Brise, the 56-foot pilot cutter and Gull, a 30 year old yacht. Battling it out on the race course, Jolie Brise ended up with a resounding victory, finishing 20 hours ahead of her rival in 6days, 14hrs, 45mins at sea. In future years she went on to win the race again in 1929 and 1930. She is still sailing today and won the 2000 Tall Ships Race Overall. It was during this first race that the owner of Jolie Brise, George Martin announced the formation of the Ocean Racing Club. The race had been fun and it was proposed that it should be held again the following year. SourcesThe Royal Ocean Racing Club programme, archives The Royal Ocean Racing Club, Ian Dear - published by Adlard Coles 2000 |