The 49th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race took place between 8 – 14th August. The young crew of the British yacht Sunrise demonstrated the tenacity, skill and moments of inspired intuition required to outperform the opposition at one of sport’s greatest challenges.


A dramatic sky overhangs the fleet as it makes its way west shortly after the start

This year’s edition attracted a fleet of 337 yachts of which 264 were competing for the overall win on time correction. Significantly, for the first time in its near 100-year history, the course did not end in Plymouth, England. The change to Cherbourg, France marks an evolution in this historic race adding 87 nm (161 km) to the length as well as fresh tidal complexities.


The Rolex Fastnet Race attracts an international fleet from over 30 nations

The assembled fleet was as impressive as ever. From professionally crewed maxi trimarans and monohulls, through the ocean racing one design classes to the usual mix of more Corinthian yachts, entries reflected the appeal of offshore yachting and the broad range of opportunities the discipline offers.


The start of the 2021 race was a hard upwind passage into challenging waves

The race began on Sunday, 8 August with crews setting off into the teeth of a fierce south-westerly gusting 30 knots, and a building sea state. It was a brutal first 12 hours or so, with dozens of yachts retiring through equipment failure, injury or overwhelming crew fatigue. It is often said that you cannot win a yacht race on the first day, but you can lose it. One of Sunrise’s expected close competitors was involved in a collision on the first afternoon that left them dismasted.


The supermaxi Skorpios, the largest yacht in the race, encounters steep waves as she enters the English Channel

Leading from the off, the first boat to complete the race was the French multihull, Maxi Edmond De Rothschild, in an impressive time of just over 33 hours – the benchmark for the new course. Skorpios, the largest entrant in the fleet at 43 meters, reached Cherbourg some 24 hours later setting the monohull target time for future races. 


IRC Two victory for Tom Kneen and his young team on the JPK 11.80 Sunrise

Sunrise’s corrected time of 4 days, 6 hours, 45 minutes 4 seconds has given Kneen IRC Two victory by a huge margin. As Sunrise finished, her closest rival was just past the Lizard with more than 120 nautical miles still to sail.

Winning overall from a fleet of more than 250 yachts is, in the words of Tom Kneen, the owner and skipper of Sunrise: “a once in a lifetime achievement”. 

For nearly a century, the Rolex Fastnet Race has set the highest standards of excellence in offshore sailing. It is a challenge that inspires sailors of all backgrounds. Rolex is proud to support a sporting contest that continues to unite like few others, one that mirrors its own Perpetual spirit: humbly adapting to the elements, constantly seeking to improve and summoning one’s deepest resources.

Credits: Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com; Rolex Fastnet Race

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