Fastnet Race

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The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after the Fastnet Rock off southern Ireland, which the race course rounds. Along with Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the Newport-Bermuda Race, it is considered one of the classic big offshore races with each distance approximately 625 nautical miles (719 mi; 1,158 km), testing both inshore and offshore skills, boat and crew preparation and speed potential. From its inception, the Fastnet Race has proven highly influential in the growth of offshore racing and remains closely linked to advances in yacht design, sailing technique and safety equipment. The Fastnet Race has been sponsored by the Swiss watch manufacturing company Rolex since 2001. The Race prize is known as the Fastnet Challenge Cup. The race's main focus is on monohull handicap racing, which is presently conducted under the Royal Ocean Racing Club's own IRC Rating Rule, which is awarded the overall trophy. However, the race has recently opened to more classes, including multihulls and providing one design class starts for the Volvo Ocean Race Class, IMOCA 60 and Class40. It has also seen an increase in participation in double-handed racing.