When veteran French skipper Gery Trentesaux’s JPK 11.80 Courrier Recommande crossed the Rolex Fastnet Race finish line in Plymouth at 11.22 BST this morning and corrected into fifth place overall a clear 2 hours and 16 minutes behind Peter & Dave Askew’s all-conquering Volvo 70 Wizard, it was put beyond all doubt that the Charlie Enwright-skippered former Volvo round the world racer was unbeatable on the day as she added the Fastnet trophies to her victory in July on the Transatlantic Race writes W M Nixon.

Courrier Recommande had been in with a chance. And she did manage to sail an impressive 257 miles in the final 24 hours of her race. But the steam was going out of the southwest wind as the morning drew on, and the chance – always a fairly remote one - slipped inexorably away. So the race was Wizard’s for the taking, and the Askew/Enright crew thoroughly deserve their success.

Former overall winner Gery Trentesaux’s JPK 1180 Courrier Recommande was in with a chance of another overall victory

On the outward leg getting through the very sticky patch between Start Point and the Lizard, Wizard was so tactically brilliant in calling her shots that we assumed Ian Moore must be on board. Not so. In fact, the great navigator/tactician sat out this particularly intriguing Fastnet Race, which is everyone’s loss as his insights from direct experience would have added greatly to our understanding of its complexities.

These continue for many boats at sea as they sail through improving conditions while knowing that by this weekend, seriously bad weather may well be sprung upon us all. By that time everyone will be long finished even though it will be of concern to anyone bringing a boat home to Ireland. But for now we see the final acts of the big race being played out knowing that the core of the drama has been resolved.

Or has it? Not at every level, it hasn’t. That’s the attraction of races like the Fastnet and the Round Ireland. The bigger the fleet, the more likely you are to find private duels developing which continue to the finish line regardless of where the duellers may be in the overall placings.

Thus this morning at around 0720, two well-used Jeanneau Sun Fast 37s came past The Rock with Sherkin 2 leading Desert Star by upwards of a couple of miles. Both these boats are with Irish Offshore Sailing of Dun Laoghaire which is in the forefront of introducing Irish people – and people from elsewhere too – to the world of proper sea sailing.

It was quite something that Sherkin 2 was leading Desert Star, as Sherkin is skippered by Daniel Smith, while Desert Star is under the command of school principal Ron O Siochru. On the long reach down to the Isles of Scilly, they’ve taken slightly different lines, but Sherkin 2 is still shown as ahead. And it may well matter a lot when they get to Plymouth tomorrow, as both are in contention for the Roger Justice Trophy for the best-placed sailing school vessel. 

In the huge Fastnet fleet, private inter-boat races can maintain the interest to the very end regardless of overall placings. Photo: Rolex
Well ahead of them, just to the south of the Lizard, is Figaro star Tom Dolan racing two-handed with Janusz Madej of Poland in the much newer Sun Fast 3600 One Way. They’re making 9 knots and should be in Plymouth before dark, and meanwhile, they’re fifth in IRC 3A, and fifth in the two-handed division. 

Well finished already is the Ker 50 Keronimo with Kenneth Rumball and Barry Hurley aboard. They maintained their fifth in IRC 1A, but with the rush of boats from astern, they slipped to 32nd overall in IRC – still in the top 10 per cent.

Far at sea and still with many miles to sail though with the Fastnet now astern is Conor Dillon of Foynes with the little Dehler 34 Big Deal, racing in the two-handed division and sticking at it despite being very far down the rankings. Meanwhile up at the front of the fleet the battle of the three new Figaro 3s has been resolved as to winner with Charmy Laurent’s Les Drus finishing in impressive style well ahead, having got such value out of his foils in the big winds that he moved up to third in IRC1 B, while Conor Fogerty in Raw is at some distance astern, he has just passed the Lizard neck and neck with sister-ship Ethical Power (Jack Tigger).

The four 100ft Ultime trimarans were in their own Fastnet world, but they carried it off with such style that everyone was with them. Photo: Rolex

Inevitably, there have been retirals. Michael O’Donnell’s new J/121 Darkwoood, overall winner of the RORC Chanel Race a fortnight ago, had to pull out at an early stage, and today in the final approaches to the Fastnet Rock, Keith Miller’s Yamaha 36 Andante from Kilmore Quay had to call it a day, and she’s headed home at 6 knots.

It will take some time before the final pieces are in place, and the eventual destination of the Roger Justice Trophy will be of special interest. The world meanwhile moves on. The word is that Wizard may be aiming to do the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race on October 19th, which is just about as different from the Fastnet experience as can be imagined, though it does leave them handily enough placed for the Sydney-Hobart on December 26th. But perhaps even as we think of it, the organisers of the Middle Sea Race out of Malta on October 19th – the 40th edition – are working on getting Wizard in their lineup. There’s a certain logic to it.

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