Have you thought about the

Fastnet Yacht Race in 2005?

1. What is the Fastnet?
2. The Yacht
3. The Skipper
4. The programme
5. Costs
6. FAQ's

1. What is the Fastnet?

A non stop 606+ mile epic yacht race involving some 250 to 300 yachts and over 2000 crew the infamous and challenging bi-annual Fastnet yacht race starts on the 7th August 2005 at Cowes Isle of Wight and is without doubt one of the worlds great and classic Ocean yacht races and crowns the Royal Ocean Racing Clubs 2005 yacht racing calendar.

The staggered race start times allow for the smaller yachts first and the largest yachts last leading to an exhilarating and testing convergence part way down the Solent, before all the classes spit out into the English Channel and turn right along the south coast towards Lands End.

At Lands End the crews feel the tension and excitement as the yachts split for advantage before stretching out North West across the notorious Irish Sea to the famous Fastnet rock located off the coast of SW Ireland.

At the rock you get the first real indication about how well you have fared against the other competitors before taking rounding photographs (usually lots of photographs) and then a blast back to the Scillies where the realization that you are on the last lap spurs on even the most jaded of crews.

It's usually then a pack race to the finish at Plymouth where crews feel a mixture of satisfaction and excitement. The satisfaction is due to finishing the race and the excitement is often related to the imminent visit to the pub. In fact there is always a huge babbling party at the Yacht Club which literally goes on all night long. (There's a song there somewhere!)
 

2 The Yacht

Act of Defiance is a solid Steven Jones 35ft racing yacht based at Gosport. With 8 berths in an open plan layout she has all the go faster kit like a carbon fibre spinnaker pole, Quantum Pentex laminate sails, new Formula Spars rig and a whole host of other goodies that go towards making her a positive pleasure to sail.

All the sea berths have full length lee cloths making sure that you can't fall out mid slumber and with a fully gimbaled cooker and twin sinks a meal can be rustled up in all weathers.

AOD won her class in the Royal Ocean Racing Club race series 2000 and the non stop Around Britain and Ireland yacht race 2000. She also won her class in the 97 two handed race to Iceland and has pulled good results in many of the shorter races.
 

3 The Skipper

That's me I suppose.
I have skippered 7 Fastnets, 2 Around Britain and Ireland races, 2 handed AZAB, 2 handed Iceland race, a couple of races to Spain and literally dozens of races to France, Channel Islands, Ireland etc. All in all, including cruising I have somewhere in the region of 100k miles experience and I still have my good looks.

I am an easy going commercially endorsed yachtmaster and cruising instructor skilled in facilitation and I'm a great believer that the best way to learn is just to get on and do it.
 

4 The Programme

Sea Survival Course
This is a really good fun course where you have some tuition in the class room and then head off down to the swimming pool for a practical session with life rafts. I like everyone to do this course because not only is it a requirement that some of the Fastnet crew have the certificate but also you learn really useful hands on stuff and have great fun while you do so.
The day ends with a practical session firing off flares.
These courses run throughout the year and if possible I like everybody (self included) to go on the same weekend. However the courses run on different weekends throughout the year so if you like you can pick the weekend that's most suitable for you and I arrange it.

Training Weekends
When approaching a programme of this magnitude I think it is important to recognize that everyone, novice or experienced wants fun, excitement and to maximize their learning opportunities in a safe environment. With that in mind I consider it crucial that whatever job you are doing you have an understanding of what the other roles involve, e.g.: cockpit crew understands what the foredeck are doing when hoisting a spinnaker and can then pull on the right ropes at the right time. With this in mind I like people to have a go at everything to see what they most enjoy before naturally settling into their preferred roles.

Throughout the Fastnet programme I positively encourage questions and dialogue to engender a shared information and experience culture which everyone finds beneficial.
Thus you will find that race training is structured, facilitative, relaxed and good fun while establishing a broad base of sailing and racing knowledge or indeed extending knowledge from whatever level you are at to how far you can go.

Race training weekends preferably start on Friday evenings but at times this can be difficult to manage, so if you cannot make the Friday evening then I ask people to try and get there for 10am Saturday.

1st Training Weekend Friday 15th April 2005
This first weekend we will start off with a full introduction to the yacht, safety equipment and procedures. We will discuss crewing positions sail trim and rig tuning/balance. During the days we will put into practice positions, sail hoisting/dropping, tacking/gibing, trimming and helming techniques. If we have the time we will also cover spinnaker hoisting/dropping and trimming.

2nd Training Weekend Friday 29th April 2005
This second training weekend is in at the deep end in the form of a race from Cowes to St Vaast. This will be an opportunity to practice while undertaking a real race and we can start to take a look at offshore wind/tide strategies, watch systems and collision regs. During the night you will have plenty of opportunity to identify ship characteristics and movements.

Testing night time navigation, sail trimming/changes and land light identification before the early morning landfall are all essential skills necessary for a good Fastnet crew. After a sleep we can have a wonder around the delights of St Vaast and needless to say I know some excellent restaurants.

After dinner we will cruise back and consolidate our collective learning and again you will have plenty of opportunity to practice what you have so far learnt.

I must emphasize that this is a training weekend and the race result is largely incidental.

1st Race Friday 28th May 2005 RORC Myth of Malham Race (B/H weekend)
This first real race is overnight from Cowes to the very lovely port of St Helier, Jersey and is the first real opportunity to put into practice all that we have leaned and give it our all. My expectation would be to finish the race Saturday afternoon allowing for a pre dinner exploration. Monday is a bank holiday but we can either sail back on Sunday morning or Sunday evening depending on what the crew want to do and of course the weather.

2nd Race Friday 10th June 2005 JOG race to Le Havre
This second race takes place overnight from Cowes to Le Havre a large fishing port not surprisingly famous for its fish restaurants. Again as in all these races different circumstances and weather systems will provide a testing environment for the crew especially as by now we should be getting on the pace.

3rd Training Weekend Friday 9/10th July 2005
I have deliberately scheduled this last training weekend as a mop up to try out new techniques and cover those shady areas that people some times have. If we haven't already got there I would want to cover spinnaker peels, power management, diesel management and re visit man overboard. We can pretty well go where we like but this weekend but past experience suggests that it will be a busy session so my expectation would be to keep local.

3rd Race Friday 22nd July 2005 RORC Channel Race
This 3rd race is a pretty testing muck and bullets type of race whereby you set off from Cowes and race around marks dotted around the channel and then finish the race back at Cowes. This is a great opportunity to consolidate on the watch systems and operate as two individual watches. Trust me when I say that although this race is in the Channel around marks purely because of the duration at sea in whatever weather prevails you will be tested.

By this time you should be a slick well oiled efficient and knowledgeable crew ready for anything which when thinking about the Fastnet is just as well

RORC Fastnet Race Sunday 7th August 2005
Race starts at 1000 but without any doubt you need to be at the boat preferably by mid day on Saturday to help prepare the boat and then we can go for a beer or two and a nice meal at a restaurant or if the weather is right a cracking BBQ.

Well, this is the one that we have all been working up to. It's a 606 mile race as the crow flies and the atmosphere at the start is electrifying. The first beat to the Needles is mayhem and you can pretty well guarantee that by the time we pop out into the Channel you will be grateful for all the training. My expectation would be to beat along the South Coast keeping close to the shore before rounding Land End and then it's a weather lottery for the fastest route to the rock. Once there we have to register with the race organizers quoting our rounding time but as they are always on the light house and they regularly broadcast who has rounded at what time so by now you know how well you are doing.

Once the rock is rounded it's a blast back to the Scillies which are left to port and very often you end up racing in a pack all the way to Plymouth. Once you are in Plymouth Sound the weather often goes light and you have the choice of hugging the coast the long way but keeping the wind or going straight across the Sound to Plymouth breakwater and hoping for the best?

Once over the finish line we will blast to Queen Anne's Battery marina to claim a berth and then it's a celebration which you rightly deserve. The yacht club is full of excited and babbling people all of which have a story to tell and the atmosphere is nothing short of excellent.

After the race the RORC will send each of you a Fastnet completion certificate delivered to your home address.

The campaign in its entirety gives you some 1500 miles offshore experience and most people who race with me for a campaign reach a level whereby they are desirable by cutting edge race teams and many go on to crew on cat 1 race yachts. This programme also affords you the requisite mileage to take your Coastal exam.

Costs

I have costed this campaign out at £2500 which includes all of your on-board expenses including the sea survival weekend.
 

FAQ's

What if I can't manage all the training and qualifying races?
In a nutshell it doesn't matter. RORC specify that the skipper and at least half of the crew have raced the equivalent of 300 miles and so if you miss a race because of a wedding or something it doesn't really matter. You won't lose your weekend because providing you give me reasonable notice and I can fill your place I will slot you into something else that I am doing to make sure you receive your full allocation of weekends.

What About Personal Equipment?
This is top level sailing and the Fastnet can be a tough race. You will need the right equipment to keep you warm and dry, and while you can hire oilies etc the quality isn't really sufficient for a race of this calibre. I will advise you on this issue at an early stage.

Can I make Staged Payments?
Yes, you simply need to talk to me and we can come to an amicable arrangement.

What mix of people normally makes up a crew?
Well, in every campaign that I have so far undertaken we have had a mixed sex crew of differing ages the average being 25-45years old.

I don't know you how do I know this will be a good campaign?
I am one of the few if not the only race charter business that actively encourages people to come and look at the boat, meet me for a chat and directly contact last years crew to see if it's really as good as it sounds.