Sailing World on Water July 21.23 ROLEXFastnet, AC Barcelona, NYYC AC40 capsize, Marit/Mat ILCA Gold

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Highlights of what happened globally in the sport of sailing in the last 7 days.
The historic 50th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race will set sail, with the first start at 1300 British Summer Time this Saturday (22 July), from Cowes Isle of Wight, bound for Cherbourg-en-Cotentin France, via the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland.
With more than 450 entries, this special anniversary race will have a record-sized fleet, up from the previous record of 388 set in pre-pandemic 2019. The Rolex Fastnet Race is by far the world’s largest offshore yacht race in terms of participants.

In ILCA 6, the gold was set before the medal race. The fabulous Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands took the lead on Tuesday, and never looked back, winning gold with 44 points, 19 ahead of long-time adversary Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark. Meanwhile in the ILCA 7’s Olympic champion Matt Wearn of Australia, snatched gold from under the nose of Brit, Micky Beckett in a dramatic medal race at the Paris 2024 Test Event in Marseille. Wearn dominated the Ilca 7 medal race to overhaul a nine-point deficit, and relegated Beckett to silver at the last gasp.

Held in 1925, the first Fastnet Race (known at the time as the ‘Ocean Race’), helped establish the sport of offshore racing in the U K and Europe. In 1957 the Fastnet Race became part of a bigger event, the Admiral’s Cup, one of grand prix sailing’s pinnacle events during the 1970’s-90’s. The line-up ranges in size from the world’s fastest offshore race boats, the French 32 meter long flying Ultim trimarans, likely to cover the 695 mile course in a little over a day, down to 30ft cruiser-racers, and classics, such as the Australian 9 meter long 1932 classic, Maluka, which could take six days.

Alan Roua, At the helm of a new boat, ex-Macif, ex-Votre Nom autour du Monde, and ex-Brit Air, surrounded by an enlarged team, and enjoying a durable financial situation, the young skipper who is only 31, embraced his new status, proving he was a candidate that should be watched. Commanding a tested and reliable vessel, which he continued to optimise season after season, and encouraged by growing confidence, Roura tackled his second Vondée Globe in the best conditions, and with the strong desire to express his full potential, and the means to play in the forefront.

Teams New York Yacht Club American Magic, and Alinghi Red Bull Racing, started to try out new starboard foils for their boats. For the New York Yacht Club boat it was an unhappy test as they capsized their AC 40. With the first regatta coming up in Italy, it does not bode well for their secondary Women and youth teams, Meanwhile Emirates Team New Zealand have been getting good on water results from Day 3 in Barcelona.

Following a very successful 2022 season, celebrating 10 years since the world’s leading grand prix monohull circuit started in Barcelona in 2012, the 52 SUPER SERIES, again followed the preferences of its passionate, committed owners in 2023, with an itinerary which is a mix of popular proven locations which offer a good variety of racing conditions, plus one exciting new venue which, though well known, has never hosted the 52 SUPER SERIES before.