The Swiss watchmaker Rolex will support the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s blue riband event, the biennial 608-nautical mile Fastnet Race, for further five editions, until 2021. The highly successful collaboration started in 2001.
The magnificent Fastnet Rock captured during the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race Credit: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
“We are delighted with the continuation of our association with Rolex,” said RORC Commodore Mike Greville. “Our relationship with Rolex is a true partnership and in the past 11 years, we have seen the Rolex Fastnet grow in international stature, strength and popularity. Together with Rolex, we look forward to further developing one of the toughest challenges in offshore yacht-racing for the benefit of the participants and spectators alike.”
A Sporting Institution Since 1925
The race has been a sporting institution since it was first held in 1925 and the title sponsorship of Rolex over the past six editions has raised the race’s profile even higher. In the previous two editions, the limit of 300 boats was reached within a few weeks of the entry process opening. Coping with burgeoning demand and ensuring the interests of all competitors are properly catered for have been priorities for both the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Rolex.
Dockside in Plymouth, Sutton Harbour Marina- Photo credit: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
RORC has introduced a fully automated online entry and crew management system to simplify and speed up the formal registration in procedure. Classes such as the IMOCA 60s, VO 70’s and multihulls are treated separately from the main fleet to maximise room within the 300-place entry limit. At the finish in Plymouth, a purpose-built race village in the historic Barbican area, offers crews all the facilities required on completing a race of this nature, while helping expose the Rolex Fastnet race to a wider public audience. Satellite tracking of the entire fleet allows shore-based followers to stay informed at every stage of the race.
“Our ambition for future editions of the Rolex Fastnet is to continue to improve the experience in every way possible for competitors before and after the race, while leaving it to the weather and to chance to enhance the thrill of the competition itself,” said Commodore Greville. “We also aim to enhance reporting of the action so friends, family and the public have access to all the information they need and want, in the manner deserving of this great sporting occasion.”
The next Rolex Fastnet Race will start on Sunday, 11 August 2013 from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. Entries for the race open in January 2013.
