Fastnet Race finish to move from Plymouth to Cherbourg
In a radical change to one of the oldest offshore races, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has confirmed that the next two editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race will finish in the French port of Cherbourg instead of Plymouth.
This is the first time since its inception in 1925 that the course of the biennial 608-mile offshore from Cowes to Plymouth has changed. The new route adds around 90 miles to the distance.
A statement from RORC says the new format will offer: ‘increased berthing, enhanced shoreside facilities, competitor functions and events in an exciting development for the race.’
The move has attracted vociferous objections: a Facebook group called ‘Save the Fastnet Race’ gave voice to those who wanted to keep the race in Plymouth. Many argue that the RORC had no right to change the race, which was instrumental in founding the club.
“This is not a decision that’s been taken suddenly,” Eddie Warden-owen, CEO of RORC, told Yachting World.
“We’ve thought very carefully about how we do this, and agonised about taking the race away from Plymouth.”
A key factor in changing the finish is the larger number of marina berths in Cherbourg. Limited berths in Plymouth have restricted entry numbers. For the past two editions entries sold out within five minutes online, and many of the 150 boats on the waiting list that did not get a place in 2019 were French teams (since RORC members get priority entry).
Many of the largest multihulls, Super Zero yachts and foiling IMOCAS had also been unable to stay long in Plymouth due to lack of suitable marina space.
“The fact that we only accommodate them by saying: ‘Sorry guys, you can come and do the race but then you need to disappear,’ that for me doesn’t work,” explained Warden-owen.
However, it’s unlikely waiting lists will be immediately removed for the 2021 race. “We want to control the expansion
‘We’ve thought very carefully about how we do this, and agonised about taking the race away from Plymouth’
of the race,” he explained.
“[An additional 150 boats] would be a completely different ball game. I’m sure with the French interest we’ll get more IMOCAS, more Class 40s, more multihulls. We need to control the expansion, and we’ll do it slowly.”
Warden-owen says that the club gave Plymouth the opportunity “to try and beat what’s available to us. And it’s pretty hard. When we go to Cherbourg we’re right in the centre of the city.”
We asked Warden-owen if the two cities were invited to bid to host the event? “To be honest we didn’t do this as a bargaining chip. It was just, what can you do for us, and [Cherbourg] came in at every level. That really blew us away.
“There’s a difference as the marinas are city owned in Cherbourg, while they’re privately owned in Plymouth, so Plymouth’s hands are tied in many respects.”
This is not the first major event to leave Plymouth; the start of the 2018 Golden Globe Race was moved to Les Sables d’olonne and the Transat, once known as the OSTAR and to French offshore racers as the ‘Transat Anglais’, will next year start in Brest.
However, if the logistical issues can be overcome, Warden-owen confirmed that RORC is open to the idea of returning to Plymouth for the 2025 race, which would be the centenary edition of the race.
“We also needed to think about what is the experience for competitors, and at French events it’s a very different experience,” explained Warden-owen.
“This is not denigrating Plymouth. It is just a fact of life that Britain is not as enthusiastic about offshore racing as the passion they have for it in France. And that is part of it. It is, shall we say, the unmentionable part of the contract. It’s very hard to reproduce that.”