Severe Weather Warning delays start of Rolex Fastnet Race

The RORC Race Office announced yesterday afternoon that the Rolex Fastnet Race start will be postponed for 25 hours due to a severe weather warning issued by the UK Met office.

The first start for the 300 strong fleet will now be Monday 13 August at 1100 BST.

The decision was made after consideration of the severe weather warnings issued by the UK Met Office, in order to ensure that the fleet is not in the exposed waters of the Western Channel and the Celtic Sea at the time that the predicted weather is expected. This postponement is a first in the 83-year history of the race and will not have been taken lightly by the Race Organisers.

RORC Racing Manager, Janet Grosvenor said “it remains the RORC policy to start the race when it is safe to do so and the responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in the race or to continue racing is hers alone.”

Sailing Logic Racing fully supports this decision. Philippe Falle, our Director of Sailing, has been in touch with RORC to offer our support. “While we are of course very disappointed with the delay we totally endorse the decision that RORC have come to. It is not an easy decision to make especially while many of the bigger boats were keen to keep to the original start time, as they would miss the worst of the weather. It was a question of safety for the fleet as a whole and we therefore welcome the decision.”

All our teams are now embracing the opportunity that this extra preparation time has given them. While some have taken to the Solent for a training day others are using the time to check over their game plan and double check all is in order for the new start times tomorrow.

With the forecast boding a fast race, plans for the finish in Plymouth remain in place with the prize giving scheduled for Friday17th August at the historic Royal Citadel.

The Sailing Logic Shore Team will be in Plymouth with the help of Mercedes-Benz Weston-super-Mare who have very kindly donated two very smart Mercedes-Benz vans to us for the duration of the Rolex Fastnet Race. They arrived here in Shamrock Quay on Friday afternoon and are now equipped with team logos and are sitting ready to take our 72 crew members shore kit and the boats delivery sails down to Plymouth. Our thanks go out to Mike Sands, Rupert Knibb and Nic Surry of Mercedes-Benz Weston-super-Mare for making this possible.

We would love to see any of you there in Plymouth. Just come and find the Sailing Logic vans and meet the crew who hopefully by then will be sharing their stories of rounding the Fastnet Rock.

Monday 13th starting times for all classes are as follow:

IMOCA 60 1100
IRC 3 1120
IRC 2 1140
IRC 1 1200
IRC Z 1220
IRC SZ & CK 1240
Multi-hulls 1300