With a record-breaking fleet of 430 yachts, the celebratory 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race presented a stirring sight as it got underway off Cowes.

However, a strong south-westerly wind combined with an outgoing tide to deliver a tough, early test in this demanding 695nm offshore race, which finishes in Cherbourg, France.

With winds gusting up to 46mph, heavy rain and challenging seas of 4m, RNLI crews from Yarmouth, Poole, Swanage and Weymouth responded to multiple taskings by HM Coastguard throughout the opening few hours of the race, which saw more than a quarter of entrants retiring by the end of the end of Sunday.

As the racing fleet departed the Solent facing the full force of the weather, RNLI lifeboats were tasked to a multitude of incidents. A yacht with two people onboard issued a distress call after it had begun taking on water. The Yarmouth all-weather lifeboat arrived on scene locating a liferaft with two people in it after their yacht had sunk. They were taken onboard the Yarmouth lifeboat where they were generally well but shaken.

Of the boat which sank, the Rolex Fastnet Race race committee said: “The Sun Fast 3600 Vari began to take on water southwest of the Needles. Thanks to the swift response of the emergency services both crew members were evacuated to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight and are safe and well. The boat is believed to have sunk although the exact reasons are not yet confirmed.”

Image: Carlo Borlenghi

In another serious incident, Swanage all-weather lifeboat was tasked to a yacht with a sailor onboard suffering a head injury and requiring immediate evacuation. Two lifeboat crew were placed onboard in rough conditions to carry out casualty care. Once in the calmer waters of Studland Bay the casualty was evacuated by lifeboat and handed over to the care of the ambulance.

RNLI lifeboats were tasked to many other incidents throughout the blustery afternoon ranging from dismasted yachts, a number of accidental emergency positioning radio beacon alerts, a yacht with steering failure and a hand injury.

Yarmouth RNLI Coxswain, Howard Lester said: “This weekend’s Fastnet race was the busiest one for Yarmouth lifeboat, responding to six incidents in some very challenging conditions in the western Solent and beyond. We were very fortunate that all our call outs were to crews with means of calling for help and were equipped with either lifejackets or had life rafts accessible onboard.”

SVR Lazartigue went on to round the Fastnet Rock first, in an elapsed time of 19 hours 4 minutes 31 seconds. This was outside of the multihull record time to the Rock set in 2019 by Maxi Edmond de Rothschild with an elapsed time of 18 hours 3 minutes 38 seconds.

After a tough first 24 hours in the race, conditions abated in the English Channel and Celtic Sea. However there were further retirements resulting in 112 from 430 starters.

The 32m Ultim Trimaran SVR Lazartigue, skippered by François Gabart, took Multihull Line Honours. The elapsed time of 1 day 8 hours 38 minutes and 27 seconds, bettered the outright Multihull Race Record, set by skippers Charles Caudrelier and Franck Cammas of Maxi Edmond de Rothschild in 2021, by 36 minutes and 27 seconds.

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