LYC Members Participate in 2011
Fastnet Race
August 14-17, 2011
Plymouth, UK
Carina rounds Fastnet Rock.
Photo courtesy the Royal Ocean Racing Club
Two LYC members competed in the 2011 Fastnet Race, one of the world’s premiere offshore races. The Fastnet is a 608-mile race that starts off the Isle of Wight in England, heads west through the Irish Sea to Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland, then back through treacherous seas and currents to the finish line off Plymouth, England. Rich du Moulin raced aboard Rives Potts’s McCurdy and Rhodes designed 48-footer Carina. After placing second in the Transatlantic Race, Carina would not be denied in the Fastnet, besting 64 other boats to win the IRC-2 class and placing fifth overall out of over 275 teams. Colin McGranahan sailed aboard the chartered J/122 Oojah and after a tough slog out to Fastnet Rock, ground back significant distance to place 35th in IRC-2. Results. READ MORE for a race recap from Rich du Moulin.
By Rich du Moulin, courtesy the Storm Trysail Club
Ed du Moulin, who held the Carina speed record of 14.8 knots (not bad for an old heavyweight boat) couldn’t take the time off for Fastnet. In his place we took STC member and ex-Kiwi Chris Bouzaid. Chris won the Sydney-Hobart in 1969 and was knighted! We called him Sir Chris, out of respect of course. Also aboard was ex-RORC Commodore, and present Rear Commodore of the RYS, David Aisher with whom Rich raced Fastnet in 2009.
Having been picked off at the wire at the end of the 3000 mile Transatlantic Race, the crew of Carina was eager to win the Fastnet. The odds were not very favorable given the extreme local conditions and the sheer size of the fleet. The Fastnet Race dates back to 1926 and has an incredible history. In 1979 a storm struck the fleet as it crossed the Celtic Sea to Ireland. Most of the fleet had to retire, many boats were sunk, and 15 lives were lost. Ted Turner’s Tenacious (with Rives and Bud on board, plus many other STC members) won that race. The Storm Trysail Foundation honored that crew last year. Since 1979, improved safety-at-sea training and yacht inspections have succeeded in producing a very well qualified fleet.
The size of the fleet is simply amazing—314 starters this year ranging from small sturdy Sigma 33s, to the swing-keel 100 foot Rambler 100 and the 140 foot French trimaran Banque Populaire, holder of the around the world record. Carina was in the largest class (IRC2) that had a total of 72 boats! The British like big classes and crowded starting lines- lots of excitement and fewer trophies. Must be a leftover from the Battle of Trafalgar. Before starting, the entire fleet, flying day-glow orange storm jibs and storm trysails, sailed through two check-in gates. The starting area looked like a convention of fireflies.
The half mile long starting line was between the inner distance mark 50 yards off the rocks at the base of the Royal Yacht Squadron (an old castle), and an outer distance mark in the middle of the Solent, the channel between Cowes and the mainland. Rives steered Carina to a beautiful mid-line start and our class beat down the Solent with a building ebb current boosting us forward. The fleet short-tacked to stay in the strongest mid-channel current. As the Solent narrowed, the fleet converged into the exit passage known as the “Needles” due to the jagged white rocks lining one side. It was an unbelievable sight-- 314 boats beating out a narrow rock-lined channel in a 5 knot ebb.
Carina exited the Needles in the top 5 in class and commenced the 200 mile lumpy beat to the west, passing historic landmarks and lighthouses straight from Master and Commander-- names like Portland Bill, Eddystone Light, the Start, the Lizard, the Bishop, and Lands End. The sense of history was undeniable- William the Conqueror invading England; Sir Francis Drake attacking the Spanish Armada; the British Navy blockading Napoleon; Hitler scheming to invade England.
The top boats in our class converged at Lands End, the extreme western tip of England. Under the jagged cliffs of Lands End, we headed northwest across the Celtic Sea for Fastnet Rack off the southwest corner of Ireland- 180 miles away. The southwest wind kicked up to 30-35 knots on this leg, creating a nasty seaway that had some stomachs “rejecting” the cook’s best offerings. After four headsail changes, Carina was shortened down to her small blast reacher, genoa staysail and reefed main. As we approached the Irish coast, the wind decreased and headed. Carina approached the big rock with a beautiful view of the green hills of Ireland.
At that time, cell service kicked back in, and we heard about Rambler100 losing her keel and capsizing. We all had friends aboard, and were relieved to hear that the entire crew was rescued. Later we got the details of some miraculous close calls, like navigator Peter Isler managing to swim out from inside the capsized boat, nearly drowning in the process. From a “team” point of view, the loss of Rambler 100 was a blow to our three boat Team USA made up of Rambler 100, Vanquish (the All-American Offshore Youth Team organized by STC members Ralf Steitz assisted by Jesse Fielding), and Carina. Too bad-- all members of our team were at that point in the top 6 out of 314 boats.
Rounding close aboard (100 yards) from the towering Fastnet Rock and its foaming reefs might be the most dramatic scene in ocean racing. The Rock is nine miles off the Irish coast. It is shocking to imagine how the Irish ever managed to build such an imposing lighthouse on such an inhospitable rock. Lots of Guinness probably.
From Fastnet Rock, the course took the fleet 7 miles to an offset mark, back around the Scilly Islands to the west of Lands End, and then into Plymouth Harbor, where the Mayflower departed 400 years earlier. For 8 hours we flew the chute, and then as the wind clocked we shifted to Code Zero and finally to genoa. For the final 100 miles of the race once again Carina had to beat through light spots, squalls and major wind shifts. We knew we were in a close race for first in class and top five in fleet.
Our closest class competitor was the fast, new, well-sailed French Gaia. For 600miles we were hardly ever out of sight of each other. Race rules required all competitors to keep on line their AIS (Automatic Identification System). Gaia gamed the rules a bit by turning hers off during the final 75 miles, so we could not track her in the fog and squalls. But she could track us because we kept our AIS in operation. We considered protesting, but didn’t want to create a diplomatic scene or have them call in Mirage jets. At the finish we learned that we had beaten her anyhow by about 20 minutes. Carina had taken first in class in an exciting and challenging race. Later we were to learn that we were 5th in the fleet, only beaten by the four biggest boats in the race.
Entering the port of Plymouth, we passed the famous “Mayflower Steps” where the Pilgrims boarded in 1621. We sailed beneath the city park named the “Hoe” where Sir Francis Drake first saw the Spanish Armada and then gathered his fleet for the attack. Carina motored through the locks to the inner harbor and tied up next to friends on Scarlett Oyster, another strong competitor who was within sight the entire race. Dark and Stormies miraculously appeared on deck and the celebration began. The British hosts in Plymouth were fantastic, and over the next two days the harbor filled with nearly 300 racing yachts from over 20 countries. The crew of Carina had experienced one of the world’s most amazing races in terms of geography, history and competition. The adventure will continue, as Carina departed August 26 for Sydney, Australia where the crew will re-unite for the Sydney-Hobart Race starting the day after Christmas.
