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Yesterday afternoon the Solent shoreline was packed deep with spectators braving the conditions to witness the greatest assortment of offshore yacht racing hardware ever assembled. The special 50th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race set sail with 430 yachts - up from the previous record of 388 that took the last pre-COVID race in 2019.



While pundits were comparing the wind this afternoon to that of the last Rolex Fastnet Race in 2021, in fact it was gustier and conditions were otherwise quite different with a densely overcast sky, drizzle that built to rain, and enough mist to obscure the mainland. What was consistent was the heinous washing machine seastate that competitors encountered at the western exit of the Solent at Hurst Narrows, as they passed the Isle of Wight’s most famous landmark, the Needles and beyond. As usual this built increasingly with the ebb tide, especially affecting the smaller yachts.

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