Just ahead of the IRC One leader, there was another nail-biting finish between the Class40s, with the first six crossing the line within the space of an hour after a compression occurred as the wind turned patchy just short of the line. The competition between the massive 35-strong Class40 fleet was intense and featured several lead changes over the course the race.
Axel Trehin’s Max 40 Project Rescue Ocean was the early Class40 leader, having dived furthest south outbound to the Casquet TSS on the first night and then eeking out a small but significant lead playing the shifts and tide between Start Point and the Lizard. However after looking in good shape passing the Lizard, Project Rescue Ocean dismasted in Mounts Bay. This is believed to have been due to their J1 hook breaking after the intense slamming from sailing upwind.
Their retirement enabled Luke Berry’s Lamotte - Module Création to lead up the east side of the Land’s End TSS followed, surprisingly due to his boat’s age, by Italian Andrea Fornaro on the Botin-designed Tales 2. At the Fastnet Rock Lamotte - Module Création held a 20 minute lead but with sheets cracked on the reach back to Bishop Rock the more powerful new scow designs ate this up and en route to Bishop Rock Berry was overtaken by London-based Frenchman Antoine Magre’s Mach 40.4 Palanad 3.
From here Palanad 3 held on to the lead despite a compression to the south of Alderney which could have seen any of the top trio of Class40s edge ahead, followed the wind further shutting down in the early hours north of the Cotentin peninsula. “The toughest part was approaching Alderney,” recounted Magre. “There was five knots of tide, and because we were earlier than we thought, this tide was still negative for a couple of hours. We could see Luke [Berry] coming back - he was just 200 metres away and we were in for a close finish.”
In the pitch back they had found the small back eddy to the south of Alderney.
“We played that nicely as the other boats were spinning around in circles,” recounted Palanad 3’s British navigator Will Harris. “But then we ran out of that and watched the whole fleet catch up with us. Then we got lucky, picked up the wind first and that was it – we just had to hold on.”
The pain continued for defending Rolex Fastnet Race Class40 champion Luke Berry as he was pipped at the post by Valentin Gautier and Simon Koster’s Banque Du Leman. Earlier in the race, the Swiss Class40 had lost out going west at the Land’s End TSS and had then spent the subsequent Celtic Sea crossings attempting to catch up
“South of Alderney, anyone could have won,” explained Koster. “For the first two boats, there was no wind. With the scow light wind is a challenge, but we have BIG sails for it, like a masthead Code Zero to just get it going. But the gain is so big on the reaching legs – then you are a couple of knots faster than the pointy boats.”
Berry was resigned to his fate aboard his Sam Manuard-designed Mach 40.3, but acknowledging that he is due to get a new boat next year which will make him competitive against the 40.4s.
“Ours is very good downwind but as soon as it is a bit tight they are very fast. Still we’ve finished with two Mach 40.4s ahead and two behind.”
General ranking: Rolex Fastnet race - Class40
Source: www.rolexfastnetrace.com
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