The ClubSwan 125 Skorpios, the largest yacht ever to take part in the Rolex Fastnet Race, is first monohull
\nSkorpios, Sail no: MON001, Owner: Dmitry Rybolovlev, Boat Type: Clubswan 125, Division: IRCThe monolithic Skorpios, the largest yacht ever to take part in the Rolex Fastnet Race at 42.6m\/140ft (including bowsprit!), has taken monohull line honours in the 2021 edition.
\nThe ClubSwan 125 crossed the Fastnet finish line in Cherbourg as first monohull at 2015 BST this evening, having completed the 695-mile course from Cowes to Cherbourg with an elapsed time of 2d 8h 35m 5s \u2013 and set a new benchmark time for the new course format.
\nThe winning Skorpios crew, first monohull in the Rolex Fastnet Race
\nExtraordinarily, owner Dmitry Rybolovlev was taking part in his first ever offshore race. Rybolovlev is a relative newcomer to sailing, though already a ClubSwan One Design World Championship winner, having raced his ClubSwan 50 in 2019.
\nAmong the 27-man crew on Skorpios was Rybolovlev\u2019s daughter Anna Rybolovleva, also experiencing her first ever offshore.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re very pleased with the boat,\u201d she commented after finishing. \u201cWe want to thank the whole team for such great efforts.
\n\u201cWe were trying to stay conservative, especially in the high wind at the start, but we\u2019re excited to see what the boat can do in future races. Rounding the Fastnet Rock was kind of magical, it felt like a really special moment.\u201d
\nSkorpios,MON001,Line honours in the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race
\nSkipper Fernando Echavarri confirmed that they sailed conservatively in the initially tough conditions. \u201cThe boat is very strong, we backed off on speed coming out of the Solent, but so was everyone else.\u201d
\nJust ahead of the Rolex Fastnet Race, Yachting World\u2019s Toby Hodges got aboard Skorpios for a very special sail and onboard tour<\/p>\n
Whilst the spectacular black and gold ClubSwan 125 was always favourite for first past the post prize, victory was not assured. The highly complex design, which carries a C-foil, has only recently been launched and this is its first competitive outing.
\nSurprisingly, their nearest competition was not George David\u2019s Rambler 88, which has scored the past three back to back monohull line honours victories, but the IMOCA 60 Apivia.
\nApivia, Sail no: FRA79, Owner: Charlie Dalin, Boat Type: IMOCA 60, Division: 2H IMOCA 60
\nDespite being literally half the waterline length of the giant Swan, Charlie Dalin and Paul Meilhat made a bold navigational call on Apivia, the first boat to cross the Vend\u00e9e Globe finish line, by heading as far south of Guernsey on the outbound leg.\u00a0
\nIt\u2019s a tactic that was successfully adopted by multihull line honours winner Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and also many of the French IMOCAs, but Dalin and Meilhat took the most extreme southerly line, which saw them take a huge lead over the rest of the IMOCA class when the fleet reconvened off Lands End.
\nApivia is expected into Cherbourg in the early hours of Wednesday morning, followed by Rambler 88.
\nElsewhere first home in the competitive MOCRA fleet, which takes in all the multihulls after the giant Ultims, was Jason Carroll\u2019s MOD 70 Argo, which finished at 1522 (BST) this afternoon.
\n\u201cThe start in 27 knots was spectacular, but everyone pulled off a good port tack start and was safe, which was good,\u201d recounted British multihull and ocean racer Brian Thompson, who was onboard Argo.\u00a0
\nBy contrast, Thompson says that the trimaran rounded the Rock in champagne conditions.\u00a0
\n\u201cIt was such clear skies and a pleasant 10 knot breeze. The sun was shining, it was warm: It was Mediterranean sailing on the south coast of Ireland.\u201d
\nThe 84ft racer cruiser Allegra at the 2021 Rolex Fastnet start
\nThe first of the \u2018cruising catamarans\u2019, Adrian Keller\u2019s 84ft Nigel Irens-designed Allegra is expected tomorrow. Although considerably more luxuriously appointed than the multihulls ahead, the racer-cruiser Allegra is competing hard, with Australian Paul Larsen, officially the fastest sailor on the planet, skippering.
\n\u201cIt was pretty fruity [on the first] night, but we are all good,\u201d Larsen reported. \u201cObviously, we have a bit more of an asset to manage in those rough conditions, but we chose the right side of the course. We had everything stacked in the main saloon, all the sails and all the crew which made it easier, pitching over the waves.\u201d
\nTuesday brought an entirely different story for many of the smaller boats in the IRC fleets. After a brutal, and often boat-breaking start, many were left battling dying winds and strong tides off the south coast over the second day.
\nFor Day 3 of the Rolex Fastnet Race many IRC fleets have been spread along England\u2019s south coast and into the Celtic Sea
\nBrian Skeet and Nicolas Malapert racing doublehanded on the Sigma 38 Marta passed Start Point, only to drift backwards past it and have to sail past it once again as they were drawn backwards at the mercy of the tide.
\n\u201cThere was absolutely no wind overnight \u2013 we were pretty much dead in the water,\u201d described Skeet.\u00a0
\n\u201cWhen there was some wind we were following it around. There was a lot of mist and fog that came in. It was quite hard work. There was no chance of kedging because it was too deep, so we had to keep moving.\u201d
\nTomorrow the IMOCA, IRC Zero and IRC 1 fleets are expected to begin arriving in Cherbourg.
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The ClubSwan 125 Skorpios, the largest yacht ever to take part in the Rolex Fastnet Race, is first monohull Skorpios, Sail no: MON001, Owner: Dmitry Rybolovlev, Boat Type: Clubswan 125, Division: IRCThe monolithic Skorpios, the largest yacht ever to take … <\/p>\n