Vineyard Race Preview

(Stamford, CT)- Labor Day weekend's Vineyard Race is a classic American yachting event: a 238-mile course stretching from Shippan Point, through the swirling currents of the Race or Plum Gut, past Block Island, and on to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard's Bay, to return leaving Block Island to starboard en route to the finish in Stamford Harbor. Begun in 1932, it has attracted the finest sailors and fastest boats for nearly 80 years, and its intricacies and challenges bring them back time after time. Those who are successful nearly always credit local knowledge of these tricky waters and a good deal of luck.

In 1982, Bob Bavier described the race in YACHTING magazine as one of the "yachting classics." Here's how he describes it:  "The greatest distance races of the world have several things in common - a challenging course, competitive fleets and an interesting array of famous yachts. By those standards, the Stamford Yacht Club's Vineyard Race rates close to the top. Like a miniature Fastnet, the Vineyard has a combination of coastal cruising, where currents play a big role, a stretch of ocean sailing, and a mark to round - the Buzzards Bay tower - before returning."

A majority of the J teams are sailing the longer Vineyard course of 238nm.  In the IRC 6 class for double-handed teams are some of the top teams that have also done events like the Bermuda Race.  Taking on the challenge this coming gorgeous holiday weekend will be the J/111 EAGLES DARE skippered by Mike Piper, the J/120 ALIBI helmed by Gardner Grant and the J/120 MIREILLE led by Hewitt Gaynor.  Unusually, the IRC 7 class is also classified as doublehanded, but is dubbed the Class 40 and includes 40 footers; joining them is the J/122 WILEY SILVER FOX with Chris Hall skippering.

The PHRF Class 8 has a trio of J/105s participating and it may become the battle of the junior teams hailing from American YC and Pequot YC.  AYC Juniors are sailing YOUNG AMERICAN and the PYC Juniors are sailing TRUANT.  Hoping to give them a run for the money will be Marcus Wunderlich’s STRATOS.

IRC Class 9 has a quartet of J/109s sailing, all good offshore crews like Jim Vos’ SKOOT from Stamford YC, RHIANNON III (Cao Deambrosio/ Chris Nicolls from Stamford YC), David Rosow’s LOKI from Pequot YC, and Bob Siegel’s PAX 3 from Stamford YC.

A trio of J/120s are taking on IRC Class 10, including Steve Levy’s EAGLE, Marcus Cholerton-Brown’s SUNSET CHILD and Greg Leonard’s HERON.  Finally, in IRC CLASS 11, John Pearson’s J/122 RED SKY will have to contend with four very well-sailed J/44s with heaps of offshore experience amongst them- Norm Schulman’s CHARLIE V, Chris Lewis’ KENAI, Joerg Esdorn’s KINCSEM and Len Sitar’s VAMP.

On the shorter Seaflower Reef Pt Course, a boat that normally does the longer double-handed events will instead be sailing in PHRF 4- the J/92 THIN MAN skippered by Todd Aven.  Then, in PHRF 5 we find the following J teams; the J/105 CLEAN SLATE (Marc Berkowitz); and two J/109s- GUARDIAN J (Don Dwyer of Essex YC) and SWEEET CAROLINE (Chris Ercole from Hempstead Harbour YC).  For more Vineyard Race sailing information

Fun Times @ AUDI Hamilton Race Week

(Hamilton Islands, Australia)- This year’s Audi Hamilton Island Race Week featured a little bit of everything for the sailors- from a gorgeous, brilliant first day of sailing, to pop-up rain storms, to spectacular sunrises and sunsets interspersed with rain and sun.  Never a dull moment for the large fleet of boats that kept criss-crossing the Dent Passage from August 16th to 22nd.

When the weather is “on”, it’s simply stunning.  Perfectly situated on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, amongst Queensland's seventy-four Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island offers an experience like no other: glorious weather, azure waters, brilliant beaches, awe-inspiring coral reefs, fascinating flora and fauna, fine food and wines, and activities almost too numerous to mention.

In the end, it was the J/133 EUPHORIA, skippered by Anthony Coleman, that had a week-long battle for the top of the podium in EHC Racer-Cruiser class.  And, fittingly, the entire regatta came down to the last race in a “who beat who” scenario to determine the winner.  However, the outcome was a surprise, with EUPHORIA taking 2nd in the race, but not good enough to win!  Having to settle for the silver as a result of being tied on 23 pts each and losing the tie-breaker!  Nevertheless, a great performance for Coleman’s team and chances are likely their performance will only whet their appetite to return in 2016 to seek the overall title!

In addition to the large cruiser classes that dominate the event, the 2015 Australian IRC Championship was taking place.  In the IRC 4 Class, Chris & Bernadette Morgan’s J/130 RAGTIME had their moments of brilliance, but could only managed a mid-fleet finish, taking 7th in their class.  For more AUDI Hamilton Island Race Week sailing information.

SAILING Magazine Features J/105, J/11S & J/24

(Port Washington, Wisconsin)- In the September "New Boats " issue the J/105 was featured on the cover of the magazine.  Then, in the “New Boats 2016” article, the new J/11S launched in Les Sables d’Olonne, France for European IRC racing was given an overview.  Then, the famous, classic, world’s largest one-design keelboat class, the J/24, was featured on the “Boats & Gear” cover, as well as being featured in the Used Boat Notebook" on page 56.

Thanks to Sue Reynen and the Schanen Family at SAILING for these boat features.  You can visit their website (http://www.sailingmagazine.net) and follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SAILINGmag)!

KILCULLEN Wins Irish J/24 Nationals

(Lough Derg, Ireland)- The J24 fleet was out in force for last weekend’s J24 Nationals. The event, which was held in Lough Derg Yacht Club, saw 13 boats coming from all parts of the country to compete. With 13 J24s on the start line, it was sure to be an interesting and competitive 9 races.

Perfect sailing conditions were forecast for the first day of racing all sailors were eager to get to the race course and sail the first beat before the starting gun. 10 boats opted for Jib as the strong gusts made sailing upwind more manageable. The first of the three races went off without any faults. Kilcullen, the under 25 team from HYC, secured first place, closely followed by Jamais Encore and Hard on Port.
With some of the most competitive racing the fleet has seen all season, mark roundings were tight and crowded, as two of the boats quickly realized. Winds began to build as two of the top boats Jamais Encore and Hard on Port raced to make it around the top mark on the first beat. With Jamais Encore in the lead by less than a boat length, Hard on Port failed to duck enough and a collision ensued. Both boats were forced to retire as damage needed to be repaired. With Hard on Port taking on water at the bow and Jamais Encore without a push pit, it was unclear if they would make it out of the second day of racing. Kilcullen sailing was second to none as once again they finished first over the line for the second and third race, with Hamilton Bear close on their tail finishing second in race two and three.

Unfortunately on day 2 sailing was postponed on the race course and all sailors waited in anticipation for the wind to fill in. Many sailors took this time to sleep off the sore heads from the night before and wondered if the crew from Hard on Port would make it out for sailing. With luck on their side a boat could be seen motoring out to the race course from the distance, as the boat got closer it was clear to see the team on board Hard on Port were back in full force and ready to make up for lost racing. With the repair and two perfectly placed BMW decals from a past event, the old Italian could be seen to have a new face. Much to the fleets dismay all boats were sent ashore to wait further instructions from the race officer. At 18:00 it was clear to see that no racing would be held and the days racing was abandoned.

On the third and final day of racing the sounds of flags being caught by the wind was a welcomed noise to the fleet. With the wind building throughout the day and heavy rain expected all sailors were in full gear and ready to face the day of racing, some to defend their place within the fleet and others hoping to gain a place or two. The first race of the day went without any mishaps. Two past champions Kilcullen-Eurocarparks and Hard on Port battled it out on the race course for first place with Hard on Port securing its first victory of the event, while Kilcullen finished a close second followed by Jamais Encore in third. The crew on board Scandal were forced to retire early from racing as they lost a halyard up the mast.

After a competitive day of racing Kilcullen came out on top as the J/24 National Champion of 2015. With Hamilton Bear in second and Jamais Encore finishing in third within the Gold Fleet. In the Silver Fleet YaGottaWanna came out in first with a lead of 5 points on second place Jumpin’ Jive and Johnny Bravo finished third within the silver fleet.

With the J/24 season coming to a close and next seasons event planning already in motion it is clear to see that the J/24 fleet is starting to make a strong comeback with regards to numbers. With the Autumn League in Howth, starting mid September, a start for the J/24 would see interesting racing as the Irish Sea is always an exciting place to race the J/24. Details on the Autumn League can be found by following this link: http://hyc.ie/open-events.  Thanks for the report by Ciara Ryan!  For more Irish J/24 Nationals sailing information

J/111 SKELETON KEY Aces Aldo Alessio Regatta

(San Francisco, CA)- The annual summer time big-boat classic, the St Francis YC’s Aldo Alessio Regatta, took place over the August 21st to 23rd weekend in the usual “fresh to frightening” weather conditions served up by San Francisco Bay.  The format was different than it had been in past years, the StFYC offered up a trio of scoring systems for all who wished to participate and to gain a better understanding of how their boats would perform under various rating rules- PHRF ToT, ORR and HPR.  In addition, there was a one-design class for the J/111 SF Bay fleet.

For the six J/111s sailing one-design, it was loads of fun and tight racing.  Nevertheless, the standout for this regatta happened to be Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY.  They certainly had the “key” to something, like perhaps a direct line to the “big guy upstairs”, since their scoreline of straight bullets was pretty remarkable in this closely-fought racing.  Taking second with nearly as many 2nds was Dorian McKelvy’s MADMEN with 9 pts total.  Hanging on to third place was Rob Theis’ AEOLUS with 12 pts.  The top five was completed with Dick Swanson’s BAD DOG in fourth and Gorkem Ozcelebi’s DOUBLE DIGIT in fifth position.

The debates were raging over on the handicap class fleet.  All the boats were scored in PHRF ToT, but some also elected to be scored in ORR and HPR.  The top J/team was Peter Krueger’s J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE, taking third overall in PHRF ToT.  Tom Siebel’s J/125 TYR TYR had some good scores, but couldn’t make the last race so dropped to 8th overall.  In the HPR scoring, the J/125s took 2nd and 3rd with DOUBLE TROUBLE over TYR TYR.  In the ORR ToT scoring, the J/125s placed 6th and 7th.  The jury is clearly still out on what works best on SF Bay.  Sailing photo credits- Presure-drop.us.  For more St Francis YC Aldo Alessio sailing information

REACH AROUND Crowned J/70 Great Lakes Champ

AQUAHOLIKS Top Corinthians, 3rd Overall Too!
(Chicago, IL)- The annual Verve Inshore Regatta weekend got an early start as fourteen J/70s began their Great Lakes Championship Friday morning with uncertain conditions in the forecast. “We started the day off in six knots of wind at 10:30 this morning and the wind shifted over to the southeast to about nine knots,” said Chicago YC’s PRO Rick Lillie. “We were able to get four square races off today with only a few adjustments.”

Even before racing started there was a shift when NORBOY transitioned to “NORGIRL”! During practice on Thursday, NORBOY’s owner Leif Sigmond was injured after a rough round up and a dip into the storm-cooled waters of Lake Michigan. Not wanting to drop out of the event, Sigmond quickly brought in Sarah Renz as a substitute skipper to round out his all-star team of fellow Chicago Yacht Club members including his wife Laura Sigmond, Melissa Grim and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Stephanie Roble!

Leading at the end of four races was Thomas Bowen’s REACH AROUND from Charleston, SC.  REACH AROUND is a two-year-old husband-wife program that ranked top 10 in the three top events of the 2015 winter circuit — Key West Race Week, Miami Sailing Week and Charleston Race Week. It is their first event on freshwater. Racing with REACH AROUND was Quantum Sails J/70 specialist Marty Kullman. “We have been sailing together long enough that we all know each other pretty well and react to each other,” said Kullman. “A team that sails together a lot is just in a better situation.”

Local J/70 veteran John Heaton’s EMPEIARIA was sitting in a close second and improved their finishes with each race taking off one boat at a time, moving from fourth to first. Heaton agreed that teamwork and time in the boat together is the key to success. “Our team took a little while to gel today, but it all came together for the last race. We got off the line well, had good tactical decisions, the boat was fast and we put together a complete race and won it by quite a bit,” Heaton said. “It was a good race.”

After two more days of racing, Bowen’s REACH AROUND posted all top three finishes to win the regatta with 16 pts.  Heaton’s EMPEIRIA also maintained their second position over the weekend with mostly top three races in their scoreline.  Behind them, it was a real battle for the balance of the top five and, especially, the third spot on the podium.

As the Corinthian J/70 Great Lakes Champion, Martin Johnsson’s AQUAHOLIKS gang sailed consistently and even won a race enroute to securing the third spot.  Just behind them, 4th and 5th were determined by a tiebreak between Trey Sheehan’s FLAT STANLEY/ HOOLIGAN RACING and the Laura Sigmond’s women’s team sailing NORGIRL!  In the end, FLAT STANLEY won the tiebreak on 40 pts while the ladies on NORGIRL had to settle for 5th place.  The NORGIRL team was also the top Women’s team.  Second in Corinthians and second women’s skipper was Amy Neill’s NITEMARE from Chicago YC and third Corinthians was Ryan Foley’s JOHNNY UTAH.  For more J/70 Great Lakes/ Verve Cup Inshore sailing information

J/70 Chesapeake Champs Announcement!

(Fishing Bay, Virginia)- Fishing Bay YC would like to invite you to the 2015 J/70 Chesapeake Bay Championship.  Following on the success of last year’s event, we have planned what we hope to be an excellent regatta. We expect a strong group of competitors from around the Bay as well as from places afar.

This year the date has been moved up to October 3-4 while fall sailing conditions are at their peak.  Fishing Bay YC is ideally situated at the mouth of the Piankatank River at the Chesapeake Bay offering a variety of sailing areas to suit the conditions. The water temperature will still be mild and the breezes should allow for excellent racing.

We will be offering continental breakfast in the mornings prior to racing and dinner on Saturday evening.  Of course, FBYC will have our famous regatta bar set up throughout the event, beginning at check-in on Friday afternoon.

Schedule:
10/2/15: Registration/Check-in 17:00-21:00 with Happy Hour and appetizers
     “Dock Talk/Debrief”- Allan Terhune with Quantum Sails

10/3/13: Continental breakfast begins at 7:00
     Final registration/Check-in:  8:00-9:00
     Skipper’s Meeting at 9:00
     First Warning at 11:00
     Beer and cash bar open at 17:00
     “Dock Talk/Debrief”- Geoff Becker with North Sails
     Regatta dinner served at 18:00

10/4/15: Continental breakfast begins at 7:00
     First warning at 10:30
     No races to begin after 14:00
     Light snacks and awards following racing

For more information, please be sure to contact Event Chair- Robin Troutman- owner of J/70 USA 380- cell# 804-384-8492 or email- rjtroutman1@gmail.com.   For more J/70 Chesapeake Championship sailing information

Berlin YC Hometown Heroes in DSBL V

(Berlin, Germany)- The Deustche Segel-Bundesliga sailed it’s fifth act on the Wansee in Berlin, Germany this past weekend, from August 21st to 23rd.  Like their compatriots sailing the Fastnet Race, that same “squishy flat” high pressure moved over the European continent and proceeded to park itself over most of the major sailing lakes, leaving many regattas gasping for any breeze.  On Berlin’s Wansee, that was the case.  The first day of racing was canceled because of the absolutely perfect mirror created by a complete lack of wind- yes, the proverbial “glass out”, as some might call it.  Nevertheless, over the next two days, the teams were treated to reasonable winds and the host club’s team, Berliner YC, won the regatta with a remarkably consistent scoreline- in fifteen races posting 5 3rds, 7 2nds and a 1st.  Comparatively, their erstwhile competitors were all over the map playing their own versions of “snakes & ladders” all weekend long!

According to BYC’s skipper, Max Nickel, "Better lucky than smart, that’s our story! We never expected to win. The key to victory was probably our consistency, good starts and a certain home advantage since we do know how the wind works around the lake!”  Max and his crew of Sven Rüggesiek, Heiner Wilkens and Philip Raabe had trained hard for event but had no idea they would topple some of the DSBL’s top teams.

Taking second for the regatta was the Deutscher Touring YC, winning six races but not demonstrating anywhere near the consistency of their Berliner YC friends. In fact, DTYC barely beat out one of the newer teams on the circuit, the Segel-und Motorboot Club Uberlingen.  In fact, SMCU secured third place on the podium as a result of a tiebreaker with one of the more experienced DSBL teams, Verein Seglerhaus Am Wansee (another “local” club).  Taking fifth place was Norddeutscher Regatta Verein.

As a result of their stunning performance, Berliner YC leapt into second overall in the DSBL 2015 League standings.  Their finishes of 5-14-8-4-1 is good for 32 pts and, by virtue of the tie-breaker, sit in second place over Norddeutscher Regatta Verein that have a 7-13-1-6-5 scoreline for 32 pts.  Leading the entire series by a wide margin is Deutscher Touring YC with a very consistent scoreline over five regattas of 1-4-3-7-2 for just 17 pts total. Lying fourth overall is Flensburger SC and in fifth is Kieler YC.  Sailing photo credits- DSBL / Lars Werhmann.   J/70 Berlin Highlights   J/70 Berlin Live Video replay   For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information

J/105 “PANTHER Girls” Rock the Fastnet!

(The Hague, The Netherlands)-  Here’s the report of the women’s two-handed team sailing the J/105 PANTHER from the Netherlands.  Yvonne Beusker (left in this photo) sailed with her friend Edith Voskamp all season long in the Netherlands/ RORC races as a warm-up/ training for the Rolex Fastnet Race.  Here is their story as told by Yvonne about their Rolex Fastnet Race experience:

“Monday 10 August around noon time - what a splendid welcome- drizzly Cowes! The non-stop journey from Scheveningen (NL) prepared us from no wind and sun on Saturday afternoon to a 20-23 kts of wind and, well, the rain the days following. Once sailing you remember it’s all relatively close. Our welcoming committee, while being washed in with the currents into East Cowes, were fanatic battling Cowes Week competitors, cheered by the music ashore. It’s good to be back!

But we’re in for far more than just a cruise. About a little more than a year ago, the idea popped up over a coffee while planning the year’s Two-Handed race schedule for ourselves. Sure why not do the Fastnet Race? Crazy?  Maybe.  But, we made sure to put the opening of the registration for Rolex Fastnet 2015 in our agenda as we know with the limited number of participants, it’s fully booked in no time.

In The Netherlands we have quite an active competition in the Two-Handed scene which is perfect for a good preparation: from October 2014 through to end of March 2015 a winter competition out at the North Sea with the Two-Handed class. The regular 2015 competition kicking off with 50 Mile race competing with 110 yachts. Then working our way to the first Dutch Two-handed Nationals 2015 ever during North Sea Regatta in Scheveningen (NL); a stiff competition of 22 yachts, racing 2 long distance races, 130 mile Vuurschepen Race to Harwich, immediately followed with a 180 mile return of North Sea Race to Scheveningen and last but not least another 4 days of around the cans inshore racing. Fantastic! Even better, with accumulation of all these miles in the last year we had our qualification for the Fastnet more than confirmed.

So there we are Sunday 16 august, D-Day. We have to pass the gate first with all our orange storm sails up before we can do our preparation for the start. And we’re checked in!

In the days ahead of the start, we’d gone out to get accustomed to the surroundings: tides, stating line and other local conditions. We were fortunate to have our coach Erik van Vuuren with us, who knows the area pretty well and for last minute tuning of the boat.

Media helicopters fly above the Solent to record all they can on the epic 90th anniversary Rolex Fastnet Race. It is very impressive to sail between all the other 390 competing yachts, and these 100 ft Maxi’s and 70 ft Tri’s really make you feel humble on our 10.5 meter yacht. And we’re all competitors. Imagine, in which sport can you have a Formula 1 car race against a Golf 2nd generation and actually even win?

We were looking for signs— could the crash of both our watches and our starting watch be a sign that we are entitled for the Rolex chronometer? With our J/105, we were part of the fastest yachts (on paper) in Class 4, the largest class with a fleet of 72. Both duos as well as full-crewed yachts are combined in the Classes and thus start together. We were prepared for a really light weather start and actually light weather throughout at least Monday. Knowing such upfront made us prepare the anchor with enough rope and make the mental frustration level a little more acceptable. The tide is strong in the Solent, so we wanted to make sure not to drift over the starting line and being obliged to return to do a restart. 

Well let’s not waste too much on our start; we basically got stuck between other drifting yachts and score-wise were falling near bottom. We knew the return from the rock would be a blast, where our J/105 could be planing downwind. The starting position turned out to be an expensive mistake and we’ve been fighting all the way throughout the race to make up for the loss, return to an 18th position in our Class 4A.

When you’re sailing with a team, it’s pretty obvious: you split the crew into teams and have them divide watches among them. So how does that work with us, duo’s? Well, we basically do the same work as the full-crewed teams, but in essence just need to work a little harder. You know that if you race together you are more efficient. Being human too, other elements kick in: sleep and rest, every moment you can. Approximately 60% of the time one is sailing solo, the other 40% you need for: sail arranging, repair, sleeping, eating, navigation.

To perform in a longer period of time it is key to see when one can rest. We get the latest compressed weather files via iridium satellite to plan ahead. That feels like getting back in time even before 1995! To give you an idea, while you’re out surfing through free Wi-Fi at your local coffee shop, an average file download of 40kb takes 1.5 minute to set up plus an additional 4 minutes to download with 9.6 kb a minute satellite connection- - - or longer if the connection is lost! So, dear friends, that’s why we skipped the sharing of these nice pictures and movies during the race.  With the raw data files we make our weather forecast, strategy and plan ahead when to expect action or one of us has to rest. My friends warned me not to get carried away in this blog with the details on the weather and strategy, but obviously feel free to ask if you’re up for it.

Work and play, for days. The highs of the trip must have been the start, the rounding of the Fastnet rock and really, the last 100 miles or so planing back with outrageous speeds, and cheering dolphins all around us playing with the waves of our bow. That’s why you have a J/105!! Thursday night at 03:15 UTC we were welcomed in Plymouth by Coach Erik; as the Dutch do, he’d been cycling his butt off for 350 kilometers from Cowes to Plymouth to be in time to take our mooring lines!  What a man! We LOVE him!  So good to see you all again!  We LOVE you all!

A few facts and figures (thanks Chris!) on the 90th anniversary edition of the RORC and the famous Rolex Fastnet Race 2015:

• Since 2005, the first Two-Handed Class was allowed to compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race.
• In total, only 176 duos have completed the Rolex Fastnet Race since it was first allowed
• Out of this total, only 19 Two-Handed Dutch boats have finished the race  
• And for the record books, J/105 Team PANTHER is the only all-female duo to have completed the Fastnet Race!

NOTE – J/105 Panther was brought to Netherlands in 2009 from the U.K. by her current owners- Yvonne Beusker & Edith Voskamp. It has been active in international inshore & offshore racing since. In 2009 and 2010 PANTHER was raced by a mixed full-crewed team.  In 2011 and 2012 by an all-female full-crewed team. Since 2013, Yvonne & Edith actively race PANTHER as a duo in Two-Handed races and competition. PANTHER is the only Dutch all-female Two-Handed yacht racing offshore and this Dutch team are the first two women to have completed the Rolex Fastnet Race in 2015.”   Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Kurt Arrigo   You can follow Yvonne’s and Edith’s escapades on the Facebook PANTHER Sailing team page.   For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information

The Triumphant J/105 JESTER!

(Plymouth, England)- In the court of the crimson king, this court needed its court jester! 54 teams entered the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race racing in the IRC Two-Handed Class from Belgium, France, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Monaco and the United States of America and the winner, after over four days and nights of racing, was decided by just 14 seconds, with the top 18 yachts just 5% apart after time correction.

For most of the two-handed competitors, food will have been simply fuel, and sleep will have been the ultimate luxury. Racing two-handed for 603 nautical miles non-stop, spending most of the time alone on deck is tough. To perform well requires an all-round ability where both crew need to be able to accomplish any task on board. This year's Rolex Fastnet Race proved to be a long hard marathon for the 108 sailors racing in all four of the Two-Handed Classes (IMOCA, Class 40, Figaro, IRC 2H).

The fastest yachts had taken over four days and nights to complete the course and some of the slower yachts were still out there battling against the weather and their fatigue late Thursday afternoon. Tenacity, patience and a will of iron, coupled with expert seamanship and racing prowess is what’s required to take on the Rolex Fastnet Race two-handed. Make no mistake, it is an extraordinary challenge.

The 2013 overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race was Pascal and Alexis Loison's JPK 1010 Night and Day, the first-ever two-handed overall victory in the 90-year history of the race. Night and Day was back this year to defend their title. During the race the father and son team were very much in the running for the Two-Handed Class, even the dream of the overall win. However, the French champions were defeated by the narrowest of margins by a rookie British team.  The most ultimate of ironies, in fact (the Loison’s used to race a J/105).

Racing two-handed in the Rolex Fastnet Race for the first time, Kelvin Rawlings & Stuart Childerley - campaigning the 20-year old J/105 JESTER - won by a dramatic 14 seconds after time correction from Night and Day. Antoine Croyere and Joe Lacey's A35, Hey Joe was third. JESTER was also fourth overall out of 309 yachts racing under IRC!!

Kelvin Rawlings has competed in the America's Cup, won several Admiral's Cup campaigns and taken part in over 21 Fastnet races, but never two-handed. His long-time ride has been with Mike Slade's LONGOBARDA and LEOPARD, including the record run on the 100ft Maxi in 2007. Turning 65 next year, Kelvin received a proposition from his long-time friend, Stuart Childerley, about a new challenge.

Stuart, who turns 50 next year, has represented Great Britain twice at the Olympics, coming fourth on both occasions and has also won the International Etchells 22 World Championship twice. Stuart has competed in seven Fastnets including several Admiral's Cups and big boat racing, including LEOPARD and is still a potent force in the International Etchells 22 class. A poacher turned gamekeeper, these days Stuart is an International Race Officer working for the Royal Ocean Racing Club on inshore regattas, including the IRC National Championship and the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup.  Here is their commentary after finishing the race.

Kelvin Rawlings: “We were on different sides of the world and Stuart sent me a three word text: ‘Two handed Fastnet?’ I replied – ‘Yes.’ There was absolutely no hesitation at all and everybody thought I was mad.

I thought we would do well, but I didn't think we would win it! Two-handed is just a challenge and I had done it all in the big boats. In a big team you just do your job; in my case the pit, so I wanted to get back to all-round sailing and be involved in everything from cooking, trimming, helming, navigation and tactics. We looked at chartering a modern boat, but a lot of people in the know kept talking about the J/105, so we just bought one and worked it up.

I come from a generation where there was a way forward in yachting; a structure. You learnt to sail, you found your way onto a good boat and committed yourself to a racing programme and you sailed every weekend, offshore and inshore for the ultimate goal; The Admiral's Cup, which was a stepping stone to the America's Cup.

This victory is up there with winning the first race in the Challengers' finals in the America's Cup, against Australia II, the eventual winners. It is also up there with winning the 1977 Admiral's Cup with 59 boats on the start line. I have done 10 Rolex Sydney-Hobart’s, but this is right up there!!”

Stuart Childerley spoke about the logistics of organizing the Rolex Fastnet Race:  “The level of detail from risk management, co-ordination of the services at two different locations and much, much more is huge when you are running an event like this.

People come from all over the world to do the Fastnet and they prepare for years to take part. It is one of those races that any offshore sailor wants to do. On board JESTER we have had good moments in the race and some big knocks, but we always kept fighting. We sensed we were close to victory, AIS has transformed offshore racing because you can identify who the top boats are. We didn't know the full picture but we knew that every second counts.

Down to the last 10 miles, we knew we were catching up. We had the light kite up and the wind was increasing, so we made the decision to change to the heavier kite, then the wind speed decreased and we changed back. We put in two sail changes and really nice gybes and we needed to; we could have easily lost it there, but we were absolutely delighted to win.

The intensity of those last 10 miles after four days racing was great. This has been a fantastic challenge and you can't live in the past, you can't trade that as a currency, you move on to your next challenge and we will both be looking for one!!”  Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Kurt Arrigo   For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information