The incredible allure of the Rolex Fastnet races has been known to attract numerous sailors from around the world to try their hands at this eminent racing competition. From the shores of France to the docks of England and even from the icy blue waters of Canada, teams return year after year to claim the title of the best team in this popular offshore regatta. Navigating through the fierce currents off the shore of Cowes in England they head along the English Channel before rounding off at the Fastnet Rock and finally finish the race at Plymouth in England. Charting a total distance of 608 nautical miles the sailors representing the best teams from around the globe, face off against tremendous challenges including the ferocity of the waves and the gale force winds.
Sailors representing varied countries from around the globe come together to wager their chances at wining the challenging Rolex Fastnet Regatta. Held every two years, the scope of competition at the Rolex Fastnet Races is tremendous as it offers a fleet of competent and skilled sailors. The GPS tracking devices that are fitted on to each and every competing boat allow fans as well as ground teams to constantly monitor the progress of the boast while charting their way across the ocean in the Rolex race. Actual photos and text from the boats will be uploaded on the official website for the Fastnet Challenge and allow passionate followers from around the world to closely follow the race in an interactive way.

Retuning to the prestigious regatta this year is large number of boats from France and Great Britain. The total number of spectacular and diverse boats that are coming to compete in the Rolex Fastnet races equal to about 300. Veteran Dutch skipper, Piet Vroon onboard his new Ker 46, christened the Tonnerre de Breskens has appeared in a total of about 21 races. The most interesting aspect of the Rolex Fastnet Races is that every single year this offshore competition comes around it offers the competing sailors a whole new array of challenges to combat with. Staving off the blast of the tidal currents and the strong winds the determined sailors have to put in almost every skill and technique to work if they want to clinch the top spot at the toughest offshore regatta challenges in the world.

Star sailors along with their illustrious crew members like Mike Slade on his ICAP Leopard, Tony Harwood onboard his Nicholson 38 Volante, Karl Kwok onboard the Beau Geste comprise some of the formidable racers at this event. From Honk Kong, to Chile, Denmark and Italy the sailors set off from their countries heading towards the shores of Cowes to compete in probably the most grueling and endurance-testing offshore regatta challenges of this world.
The tremendously diverse fleet that dots the harbor at Cowes every year clearly indicates that the scope of the Fastnet Races goes way beyond the shores of England.  The Rolex races appear to be a festivity that brings together an assortment of individuals to celebrate the significance of the sport of sailing and the aspect of dedicated action.

Tags: Mike Slade, Piet Vroon, rolex, Rolex Fastnet, Tony Harwood

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Rolex Events, Rolex Watches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.