Rolex Fastnet Race Celebrates 100th Anniversary Starting July 26, 2025
- Jul 28
- 2 min read
The Rolex Fastnet Race, which inaugurated the Royal Ocean Racing Club in 1925, has become the world's largest offshore race. The 100th anniversary edition of the race started from Cowes and is set to finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France, covering a distance of 695 nautical miles.
In this year’s race, held in 2025, a record-breaking total of 444 teams registered across six classes, surpassing the previous record of 430 boats set in 2023.
In the multihull category, SVR LAZARTIGUE (Ultim 32/23) completed the race in an impressive time of “1 day 17 hours 18 minutes and 4 seconds,” achieving the first finish. This vessel had also made headlines in 2023 by breaking the race record with a time of “1 day 8 hours 38 minutes and 27 seconds.” This year, it secured the Line Honour award, marking yet another significant achievement.
In the monohull category, Black Jack 100 triumphed, finishing first with a time of “2 days 12 hours 31 minutes and 21 seconds,” thus winning the Line Honour award as well.
For the first time in the history of the event, two Turkish boats participated in the 100th anniversary race: Alpay Marble (skippered by Onur Tok) in the IRC3 class and TurkishBank F35 Express (skippered by Yiğit Eroğlu) in the IRC4 class.
The most successful vessel of the race, in my opinion, was LEON (JPK10.50), helmed by Alexis Loison. This 10.45m boat achieved a remarkable victory, securing first place in the IRC Overall, IRC 2, and IRC Double Handed classes with a time of (3 days 22 hours 42 minutes and 15 seconds). Considering the IRC Course Record stands at 3 days 19 hours 22 minutes and 29 seconds, it is evident how close the double-handed team came to breaking the record, showcasing their exceptional performance. The achievement of this two-person crew, surpassing other crewed vessels—including notably the maxi class and the latest generation of 40-50 foot racing yachts in the IRC1 class, as well as TP52 and similar yachts competing in the Admirals Cup—marks a historic success for the race.
Writer:
Volkan Yemlihaoğlu – IOYC
Comments