Records tumbled in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race, this year's event living up to its reputation as the most gruelling and tactically challenging of the classic offshore races.

This is your chance to discuss how the race went with other compeitors and analyse the course itself.

Venue: Wednesday, 31st August at 1900 in the Clubhouse, 20 St James's Place.

Tickets are free for members and £10 for non-members.

A two course buffet will be available at £15 per person.

To book, please call Emma Sherborne on 0207 493 2248 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Banqueting House, London
19th November 2011 at 1830

Following the success of last year's event, this year's Annual Dinner & Prize Giving will once again be held in the prestigious Banqueting House.

The event promises to be a fantastic evening for members, crew and guests alike; come and join us in celebrating the season's racing, including the Rolex Fastnet Race, or simply catch up with friends and enjoy a fabulous evening in the beautiful surroundings of this historical venue.

Records tumbled in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race, this year's event living up to its reputation as the most gruelling and tactically challenging of the classic offshore races. As usual the 608 mile long course took the boats from the start line off Cowes, Isles of Wight towards the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland, back around the outside of the Scilly Isles off southwest England to the finish line in Plymouth.

On Sunday 14 August, 314 boats set sail - the largest ever Rolex Fastnet Race fleet - up from the previous record of 303. This was due to a new initiative from race's organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, to invite 'professional' offshore classes, able to compete under their own class rules, over and above the IRC fleet, that was capped at a maximum of 300 entries. The result was the most diverse selection of yachts ever assembled in a single offshore yacht race with the new initiative attracting many high-profile international racing teams. Thus in the same race some of the world's fastest multihulls such as the 140-foot long trimaran, Maxi Banque Populaire were lining up with Contessa 32s and pilot cutters with the complete pantheon of racing yachts in between.

A coup for the event was the participation of three Volvo Open 70s, the only occasion these boats would race together prior to this autumn's start of the fully crewed round the world race. The 'pro' classes also saw the race debut of the two Multi One Design 70 foot trimarans, and attracted six IMOCA 60s, best known for competing in the singlehanded non-stop round the world race, the Vendee Globe, plus an impressive fleet of 20 of their smaller cousins, the Class 40.

Leading the charge in the IRC fleet were the two 100 foot maxis Rambler 100 and ICAP Leopard, followed by the Farr 80 Beau Geste and Mini Maxis such as the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race winner, Niklas Zennstrom's JV72, Rán, and Andres Soriano's Mills 68, Alegre, but the bulk of the record-sized fleet were more regular yachts with amateur crews from a total of 20 nations. For many, participation in the Rolex Fastnet Race was the highlight of their sailing seasons, for others the pinnacle of their sailing careers.

Off the Royal Yacht Squadron platform, the fleet starts began with the multihulls and culminating with the canting keel monohulls and VO70s, the boats enduring a stiff beat out of the Solent and into the English Channel in the best Rolex Fastnet Race tradition. With winds gusting to 30 knots at the exit to the Solent at Hurst Narrows, there were the first dramas of the race with the Class 40, Eutourist Serv-System and the trimaran, Strontium Dog (GBR) dismasting, plus two collisions.

The RORC fleet set off west under spinnaker for the start of the 122 mile race. Harry Heijst's Winsome, got probably the best start of the entire fleet hugging the island shore in the best of the early tide. Despite the fickle breeze the 98 yachts in the fleet made relatively good speed past Hurst Castle. However in the vicinity of the Bridge Light Buoy the wind faded away causing the fleet to compress. The high performance yachts watched their chance of overall victory evaporate; time was most definitely not on their side.

The leg to St Catherine's was painful and as the new breeze filled in from the South West it was those who were offshore that benefitted. There were several retirements but those that stuck it out were rewarded with some excellent sailing in a moderate breeze once they got to Bembridge Ledge.

The shy reach east to Saltdean Light Buoy (off Brighton) favoured the yachts carrying asymmetric spinnakers and by the time the fleet finished back in the Solent it was a glorious day with fair winds for a wonderful finale to the race.

Saturday, July 30 First warning signal 0850

Flexi Course designed to last 24-36 hours starting and finishing in the Solent.

Sunburn rather than windburn could well be a factor for this weekend's RORC Channel Race, Ninety eight yachts are entered and no doubt valuable experience will be on offer prior to the biggest race of the RORC Season.

This Saturday morning sees the start of the last RORC offshore race prior to the Rolex Fastnet Race in August. It is the last RORC race for competitors to tune themselves, their equipment and their yachts prior to this year's big event. However, this is more than just a dress rehearsal. The Channel Challenge Cup is the overall prize as are vital points scored for the RORC Season's Points Championship. Even at this late stage in the series, many classes still hang very much in the balance. It could be a tricky weekend with light airs racing a very high probability.

In IRC Zero, Derek Saunders' CM 60, Venomous, was the class winner for the Channel Race last year and a good result this weekend should see the team move to first in class for this season. However, Venomous has some highly accomplished opposition. Andres Soriano's Mills 68, Alegre, and Johnny Vincent's TP52, Pace, have been campaigning at prestigious events in the Mediterranean all year and will be very much up to speed. Jens Kuehne's RP 48, Sjambok, may well enjoy being the lowest rated boat in the class. Alex Thompson's IMOCA 60, Hugo Boss, is joining the big boat class and will also be racing in the Two-Handed Class.

Safety Alert - Faulty safety equipment - 2kg and 5kg aluminium CO2 fire extinguishers manufactured between 2006 and April 2011.

Click here for the full Safety Alert

The Crew Management System has now been up and running for a few months. In that time, more than 6,500 thousand contacts have been registered in RCMS, some of which are duplicates. The duplicates are being generated by a feature, the manual crew entry, that was designed to aid the switchover from the old paper-based crew list form. Crew lists for the Rolex Fastnet Race cannot use the manual option as there is a requirement to sign a disclaimer and media waiver and for a percentage of the crew to upload training and first aid certificates.

Through working with the system we have discovered that the manual entry crew list has created increased complication for skippers, entrants and the RORC due to the duplication of contacts or the required verification of certificates and eligibility.

We have now disabled the manual crew list. However, if you have already created manual contacts within your crew list it is possible for us to convert them for you. This will keep emergency contact details, certificates and other related information and will make them available to the crew member for review and correction, if necessary. The entrant's address book will be updated as well. Please let us know by Email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you wish to have your crew list updated.

With eight bullets in eight races, Peter Rutter and the crew of the Grand Soleil 43, Quokka 8, comfortably secured the 2011 IRC National Championship title as well as victory within IRC 2.

"I am incredibly proud - my crew have really worked their hearts off," said Rutter. "I have never been able to win this regatta before and I said to them 'we have to nail it this time' and they have worked their cotton socks off. So I am very very pleased and it is nice to have got this one finally put away. The boat is going well, the sails are good and the crew work has been stunning."

Matters were made no easier for the crew after Quokka 8's skipper unwisely chose light and moderate weather kites for this regatta, which has typically seen the wind rarely drop below 20 knots. Rutter paid his respects to the RORC race committee for laying on a good series, also admitted that being one of the fastest boats in Class 2 also helped. "It was the place to be, in winds of this strength - it helped you get clear wind. But keeping the boat under the rig was the important thing in this regatta!"

One of the favourites in IRC1, Jonathan Goring's new Ker 40, Keronimo, put this to the test today when on the final run of the second and final race, she was nailed by a squall, causing her to re-enact the famous pitchpole of Silk II (as captured on camera by Beken of Cowes). Tactician Simon Shaw recounted what occurred: "A big black cloud was chasing us down the run and we'd just changed on to the no4 and gybed to come into the mark when the front of the gust hit and the wind went from 26 to pretty much 40 knots...

With a slow moving front passing across the Solent today, so the fleet competing at the RORC's IRC Nationals were subjected to one of the windiest days they have seen so far this season.

Three races were held on the central Solent and with the wind gusting into the 30s for today's final encounter there were a multitude of DNSes and DNFes. While there were at least two dismastings on the Solent, fortunately the carnage in the IRC Nationals fleet was limited principally to sails and fittings, while those that did last the course were to be commended for their prudence, the majority for example choosing not to hoist the kites in the blustery final race.

Former Volvo Ocean Race skipper Bouwe Bekking, competing on board Willem Wester's Grand Soleil 46, Antilope, in IRC 1, said the most wind they saw was 32 knots. "That's fun and it is good that they keep us racing in that, because it brings seamanship back to everyone." Bekking said that they continued to use their spinnaker today but the lighter weight asymmetric boats, able to hoist large genoas on the reaches, were able to sail four or five knots faster than they were. For the most part today Antilope came away unscathed, although they suffered a small rip in their mainsail.

Antilope was one of only five boats in IRC 1 to complete the final race. Crucially one of the DNFs was Jonathan Goring's overnight leader, Keronimo, so the lead in the highly competitive IRC 1 has now passed to Anthony O'Leary and his Irish Rolex Commodores' Cup winning crew aboard the Ker 39, Antix.

Of course loving today's brisk conditions was Dutch salty seadog Piet Vroon, skipper of Tonnerre de Breskens 3, who's 3-1-1 scoreline was the most consistent of the day. His blue hulled Ker 46 now holds second place in IRC 1 two points astern of Antix and two ahead of Keronimo.