Rolex Fastnet Articles
The Campaign: Boats, Skippers & Strategy Monaco’s team sailed two boats:
Jolt 3, a TP52 skippered by Peter Harrison (competing in AC1, the larger-boat fleet), and
Jolt 6, a Carkeek 42 skippered by Pierre Casiraghi, vice‑president of YCM (racing in AC2, the smaller-boat division)
The event incorporated three key phases:
A RORC Channel Race (160 nm, coefficient ×2),
Six inshore races in the Solent, and
The Rolex Fastnet Race (695 nm, triple scoring, non‑discardable)
© Paul Wyeth
Yacht Club de Monaco triumphed in the 2025 Admiral’s Cup
05-08-2025
Leading the Rolex Admiral’s Cup fleet to the Rock was Stefan Jentzsch’s Black Pearl (NYYC). Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste (RHKYC) rounded 30 minutes and 19 seconds later, chased hard by Peter Harrison’s Jolt 3 (YCM), just seven minutes further back.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen the Rock without fog—it was pure magic,” said Jentzsch. “It’s a huge milestone, but as any climber knows, the descent can be just as tough.
01-08-2025
Rolex Fastnet Race | Admiral’s Cup Dispatch – July 2025
There’s a new name at the top—and it’s flying the Dutch tricolour. The young guns aboard ROST Van Uden (RMYC) have clawed their way into the AC1 lead on corrected time, and they’ve done it with nerve, timing, and a whole lot of boat speed. With 150nm to go, they’re three hours ahead after IRC correction and showing no sign of blinking.
01-08-2025
Its started on Saturday 26 July 2025
Veterans of the last two Rolex Fastnet Races are checking the weather with cautious optimism. After two editions that opened with 30-knot headwinds and a battering Channel slog, the long-range forecast for this centenary running looks — dare we say it — gentle.
31-07-2025
After the cannon roared, the fleet scattered like gulls in a gale. Black Pearl (YCCS), skippered by Stefan Jentzch, wasted no time — tacking straight toward the mainland shore. She sniffed out a lift and took it like a thief in the night, gaining ground fast. But out near the island side, Jolt 3 (YCM) helmed by Peter Harrison, was all business — early leader on the water and staying sticky to the fleet like barnacles on a buoy.
30-07-2025
The 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race marks 100 years of hard offshore truth — and the multihull fleet has shown up in force. A record 20 boats are racing in the MOCRA class, all gunning for the coveted Crystal Trophy, a prize that’s older than some of the hulls — and certainly a few of the crews.
25-07-2025
Its starts on Saturday 26 July 2025
Veterans of the last two Rolex Fastnet Races are checking the weather with cautious optimism. After two editions that opened with 30-knot headwinds and a battering Channel slog, the long-range forecast for this centenary running looks — dare we say it — gentle.
24-07-2025
Wouldn’t be the first time a Jean-Pierre Kelbert design came in sideways and stole the silverware. His initials are stamped on the transom — literally — and his boats have a reputation for upsetting the pecking order in offshore racing. The 34-foot JPK 1050 might just be the sharpest new weapon in a fleet of 73, and it’s already shown a flash of brilliance.
20-07-2025
Revived by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) for its centenary year and to be held biennially thereafter, the 2025 edition promises high-performance racing, intense offshore challenges, and a celebration of sailing heritage.
18-07-2025
IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it. While French round the world race legend Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (aka VDH) isn’t competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, two of his former steeds will be on the IRC Zero start line.
10-07-2025
Now 20+ years old, the Class40 has proved itself one of the most successful genre of offshore race boat ever. Since Géry Trentesaux and class co-founder, round the world sailor and journalist Patrice Carpentier entered their first Pogo 40 in the 2005 edition, the Rolex Fastnet Race has included a strong entry from this French box rule class, providing it with its own class since 2009. Today the Rolex Fastnet Race features in the Class40’s main championship.
25-06-2025
Less than two months now remain until the start of the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, this year coinciding with the Royal Ocean Racing Club's centenary. Another huge fleet has entered. While 2023’s 50th edition of the event, that back in 1925 caused the RORC to be founded, saw a record 430 boats set sail, the 2025 entry list indicates that even this figure may be exceeded when the race starts from Cowes on 26 July, bound for Cherbourg-en-Cotentin via the famous Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland.
03-06-2025
The Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the most prestigious offshore yacht races, is set to celebrate its centenary on Saturday, 26 July 2025. Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), this 695-nautical mile race will commence from Cowes on the Isle of Wight and conclude in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
25-05-2025