Following the staggered starting procedure, the IMOCA class started yesterday at 1:20 PM Hungarian time. The skippers of the 60-foot boats sailed with intense attention due to the significant boat traffic in the English Channel.
Hours after the start, Szabolcs Weöres sent the following short message to those who follow the boat from afar: “We started in a wind of 20-25 knots. We cruised in a strong wind in the narrow strait, which was quite serious. In addition, we had to avoid the shallower parts and the other competing boats. In the meantime, the wind was getting stronger, we had to be very careful, it was a very difficult ride. Soon a current of about 2-3 knots came along with us and this increased the wind speed further to 35-38 knots. At the moment we are sailing with 3 reefs and a J3 gale. The wind against the current brought uncomfortably short and high waves. Not the most pleasant time to sail. Now the direction of the current has started to change, making the waves longer and more sailable. But a cold front is also expected in the next few hours, which will be accompanied by strong gusts of wind. Cheer us on!”
Photo: Irina Grachera/Rolex Fastnet Race
Previously, Nándor Fa told FEOL about the competition, which for Szabolcs is a preparation for next year’s Vendée Globe: “We have been working for two years to make the most of the opportunities, and for Szabolcs to be mentally, physically, informationally, and sailing-professionally prepared and know everything. He has a very good background and great skills, but there are a lot of little things that he still needs to get to know, that he needs to learn: and here we are. I will have the opportunity to see how the rebuilt ship and Szabolcs behave together, why and how it happens, what still needs to be repaired, where more work is left, where less work remains.”
“The night produced warlike conditions in the English Channel…” said the Belgian helmsman of the ex-Spirit of Hungary in a video sent home. “It couldn’t have been more convenient for Szabi and Nándi either,” noted Irén Melczer, Nándor Fa’s wife, in her latest post. “You can see from the tracking line that they chased the restored boat well in the hard, headwind night, so that it knows what an IMOCA boat does when it goes into a race. Here in the Fastnet field, it is a special difficulty that during the hard physical positioning, constant sail movement and steering, you have to sail in water mode, without rest, alertly in the extremely dense ship environment. According to the words of co-skipper Erwann Le Mene: gusts of 35-40 knots, rough seas, poor visibility… At the beginning of the race the conditions were very tough and the worst is yet to come!”
Boats came from all over the world, from 9 to 32 meters in all shapes and sizes. Many more than in the last race before the epidemic, in 2019, when 388 participants set the previous record. Currently, i.e. at noon on Sunday, New Europe is in 32nd place out of 430 competing boats, and 23rd out of 29 boats in the IMOCA 60-foot class. The field is led by a French catamaran, Svr Lazartigue, captained by Francois Gabart. It is interesting that Nándor Fa’s previous ship, the Spirit of Hungary, also competes under the D’Ieteren Group name, a Belgian, Denis Van Weynbergh is the captain. For Nándor, who is currently 43rd and 25th among the IMOCA 60-footers, it must be a strange feeling to look at the beloved boat that he designed and built and on which he spent so many beautiful and terrible days in the 2016-17 Vendée Globe from the deck of another sailboat. “The essence has remained, but there are many changes in the details, for example, it has received new instruments and sails”, said Nándor about the ship while in Cherbourg.
Photo: Irina Grachera/Rolex Fastnet Race
Founded in 1925, the Rolex Fastnet Race is a biennial competition organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom in association with the Royal Yacht Squadron of Cowes and the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in France. Queen Victoria spent the summer months at her Isle of Wight residence, Osborne House, and enjoyed traveling aboard a steamer. The later rulers, VII. Edward and György V also followed his example, and this attracted those who could afford it to spend their time sailing. That’s how it all started.
The challenge got its name from the rock in Southern Ireland, Fastnet Rock, which the field goes around: Nándorék Fa sailed towards it along with the best of the field at noon on Sunday. The event is one of the classic big offshore races, which tests coastal and sea skills, the readiness of boats and crews. They started from the start line in Cowes, off the Isle of Wight. Leaving the Needles Channel, the field follows the southern coastline of England along the English Channel to the west before rounding Land’s End. After crossing the Celtic Sea, they sail to Fastnet Rock, off the southwest coast of Ireland. On its return, the race goes around the Isles of Scilly before finishing in Cherbourg.
The events can be followed, i.e. those who would support Szabolcs and Nándor or the ex-Spirit of Hungary with their remote support can easily monitor the current situation:
