Sunday, 11th August at 14:50 CEST, saw the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, England, play a host to the start of one of the world’s tactically most difficult races – Rolex Fastnet Race. For the 18-member Esimit Sailing Team with Jochen Schümann (skipper), Andrew Cape (navigator), Jordi Calafat (tactician), as well as Alberto Bolzan (helmsman) as afterguard, the main aim is to arrive as the first monohull yacht to Plymouth.
Superyacht Esimit Europa 2 at the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race - Photo credit to Esimit Europa/Ian Roman
The 18-member crew, led by skipper Jochen Schümann, performed a clean start in light wind conditions. In one hour the 30-meters maxi yacht Esimit Europa 2 left Solent Channel, heading northwest into the English Channel with average speed of 10 knots. In the late afternoon Esimit Sailing Team performed first in series of tactical tacks to catch more winds, turning north closer to the mainland. At that point the fleet of IMOCA 60 class yachts was ahead of her as they have started the race 1 hour and a half before Esimit Europa 2.
By keeping good pace and performing a few tacks the European flagged yacht managed to overhaul the entire fleet and is now leading the monohull fleet of over 340 participants. On Monday at 11:00 AM CEST Esimit Europa 2 already passed the Isles of Scily and had the advantage of about 6 nautical miles in front of the nearest competitor – British 100-feet charter yacht ICAP Leopard – which has took line honours at Rolex Fastnet Race twice before (2007, 2009).
Current yacht’s speed is 11.10 knots, while she has 388 nautical miles ahead of her to see the finish line in Plymouth. Currently, positioned 3rd, 4th and 5th are yachts Team SCA (GBR), the current monohull record holder Abu Dhabi (UAE) and sailing yacht Bella Mente (USA).
According to superyacht Esimit Europa 2’s navigator Andrew Cape, current monuhull record of 42 hours and 30 minutes is most likely safe this year due to light to medium shifting winds forecasted for the entire race.
