Almost a week after the Cowes start of this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race some boats were still at sea, some with miles to go to the finish line in Plymouth, however prizegivings took place and by Sunday 16th. August all boats were safely in port.
While the previous Rolex Fastnet Race is remembered for the course record time being demolished, the only record broken in this year's running of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's biennial 608 nautical-mile classic was one relating to competitor patience, as light winds at the start and end, combined with powerful spring tides, made for a 'tactically challenging' race, and one of the slowest in recent years.
With over half the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet berthed in and around Sutton Harbour, in the Barbican area of Plymouth, the prize giving at the Royal Citadel was a packed affair on Friday afternoon. The principal topic of conversation was the large number of boats still at sea. Of 299 starters, nine had retired, 194 had reached Plymouth, leaving 106 yet to finish.
Despite ICAP Leopard crossing the line first, due to the handicap system Niklas Zennstrom of Ran 2 was awarded the Fastnet Challenge Cup and a Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece for his win in IRC class overall. Zennström's Judel-Vrolijk designed 72-footer finished the race in an elapsed time of 63 hours, 1 minute and 33 seconds, which corrected out to 2 hours, 19 minutes ahead of the second-placed Italian America's Cup team Luna Rossa on board their STP65. A number of other trophies were presented but as some of the classes had yet to be decided, Ian Loffhagen, the Racing Manager announced another prizegiving on Saturday.