Loki 3rd overall in Rolex Fastnet Race

by Peter Campbell on 16 Aug 2007
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia entry Loki is provisionally third IRC overall in the Britain’s ocean classic, the Rolex Fastnet Race, after finishing at Plymouth early today, Sydney time.

Owned by Stephen Ainsworth and skippered by Cameron Miles, Loki crossed the line in 11th in the fleet, about 43 minutes astern of the canting keel Cookson 50 Chieftain, the Irish yacht which placed fourth overall in the 2005 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Chieftain, owned by Gerald O’Rourke, is provisionally first overall on IRC ahead of the George David’s US entry, Rambler, the Reichel/Pugh 90 which, as Alfa Romeo, took line honours in the 2002 Rolex Sydney Hobart, and Loki.

Rambler is provisionally first in the IRC SZ class, with Loki in second place, with 11 boats finished early today, Sydney time.

Retirement figures have varied over the past days, but the Royal Ocean Racing Club says 69 boats are still racing, with 193 boats have pulled out of the 608 nautical mile race.

At this stage the weather over the course has moderated, currently northwesterly at 20 knots, with 25 knots towards the Fastnet Rock.

Record-breaking Line honours winner, ICAP Leopard, Michael Slade’s newly launched Farr-designed 100-footer, will be shipped to Australia in September in preparation for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Before then the boat will undergo some modifications to lighten her – she was built as a charter boat capable of racing competitively. Leopard currently weighs 40 tonnes, considerably heavier than a straight-out racing boat such as Alfa Romeo at 28 tonnes.

ICAP Leopard’s elapsed time of 1 day 20 hours 18 minutes chopped just under nine hours off the record set by Ross Field in the 80-footer RF Yachting in the 1999 Fastnet. Rambler was only 10 miles astern when Leopard crossed the line and also finished well within the record.

Dockside at Plymouth, Slade was presented with a Rolex Yachtmaster timepiece in steel and platinum and the Erroll Bruce Cup for his line honours victory.

Slade recounted the first day match-racing out of the Solent and along with English south coast with Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo in 25-30 knots of wind (with Alfa Romeo later retiring from the race). 'The race against Neville would have been a heck of a struggle, even though the conditions and point of sail favoured us,' he said. 'But to have his old boat (Rambler is the former Shockwave/Alfa Romeo) come and pip us would have been hard to forgive.'

Rambler actually led ICAP Leopard around the Fastet Rock by just three seconds. - RegattaNews/Peter Campbell