Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Four preview - the pinnacle of grass roots sailing
by Rupert Holmes / RORC 14 Jul 19:36 UTC
26 July 2025
The Rolex Fastnet Race - A long-held dream for the all-Turkish team on the First 35 Express © Paul Wyeth
The very largest yachts, including the 100ft Ultim foiling trimarans and 60ft IMOCAs are an essential part of the spectacle of the Rolex Fastnet Race, however a critical element in the race's enduring appeal is that this is predominately a grass roots event.
IRC Four, representing the smallest and lowest-rated boats in the race, is the most numerous this year, with 97 entries. They vary from enormously experienced and competitive teams with the potential to lift the Fastnet Challenge Cup, the main IRC Overall prize, to those chasing a bucket list experience.
Nevertheless, many of the latter will inevitably get hooked on the race and join the legions of sailors who compete time after time and notch up a dozen or more editions.
This year the class includes 16 Sun Fast 3200s, among them oceanographer Pierrick Penven's Zephyrin. He will be competing in his first Rolex Fastnet Race, racing double-handed with sailmaker Fanch Le Guern as co-skipper. This will also be their first offshore race together, but Penven's enviable track record suggests they have every chance of posting a stellar result: He won both legs in the single-handed division of the 2014 Transquadra race, from France to Martinique via Madeira, before spending months cruising in the Caribbean and sailing home with his young family. He subsequently took a decisive victory in the 2019 AZAB (Azores and Back) race, finishing with a winning margin of more than 12 hours after 2,500 miles at sea.
However, by far the most successful Sun Fast 3200 on the RORC circuit to date is Cora, sailed doublehanded by Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews. They have chalked up numerous race wins in their class since 2018 and were IRC class winners in the RORC Seasons Points Championship in 2021, 2023 and 2024. They have also won the UK Double Handed Series on four occasions and were Double Handed National Champions in 2023.
This year's race will be Tim's ninth Rolex Fastnet Race and his fifth doublehanded. Cora will be looking for a strong finish: "Our objective is to win IRC Four and IRC Two-Handed. We were very close to a class win in 2023, but let it slip in the final 5% of the race, so to finish stronger in 2025 is a key aim," he says. "The final day has become a real challenge. You have to deal with the huge tides at Cherbourg and there are very few options to escape a foul tide. You could sail a blinder but be out of phase with the final tide and really suffer!"
Maori III is a Sun Fast 3200 based in Le Havre and owned by 77-year-old Jacques Loup, with Davi Vasconcellos skippering for the Rolex Fastnet Race. Their aim is "to fulfil a meaningful personal achievement and experience, while sharing it with a great crew of friends." They say the most challenging part "will be maintaining a focused racing mindset and optimal boat configuration over five days, especially with a crew of senior sailors," and are looking forward to "the opportunity to compete alongside some of the most professional skippers and advanced boats in the world, and to experience the atmosphere of a truly professional offshore race."
Yann Yallu from La Trinité-sur-Mer in Brittany, who will be racing his Archambault A35 Selenite, says the Rolex Fastnet Race is "the race to be in. It is something I have been dreaming about for many years now. This is my first time, so my expectations are very simple: finish the race and learn more about offshore racing."
While he often races doublehanded, Jallu has sailed with a full crew this year, some of whom have completed the Rolex Fastnet Race before on other boats. "I am really looking forward to the start of the race," he says, "it will be really impressive. I am also looking forward to rounding the Fastnet Rock."
An impressive 18 J/109s are entered this year, the largest number of any single design in the race. Among them is Just So, which has been hugely successful in offshore racing in the 18 years the McGough family has owned her, gaining a slew of trophies. However, success in the Rolex Fastnet Race has always proved elusive and Just So had to retire in both the 2019 and 2021 editions. The ambition this year is modest but heartfelt: "Our main goal is to finish!" says skipper William McGough.
Lesley Brooman is the third owner of her J/109 Jumunu and has previously taken part in six Rolex Fastnet Races, two in her own boat, plus two RORC Caribbean 600s and one Rolex Middle Sea Race, as well as the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. She says their hope is "to finish, preferably in the top half" and for "better weather!"
There are also 16 JPK 1010s competing this year, several of which have potential to be very successful. In 2013, for instance, father and son team Pascal and Alexis Loison became the first ever doublehanded crew to take overall victory, racing the JPK 1010 Night and Day.
Jetpack, skippered by Mark Brown, who is competing in this seventh Fastnet, is currently leading IRC Four in the RORC Season's Points. His mainly young crew from Generation JOG are wholly Corinthian and are all friends and acquaintances who have bonded over their mutual love for the sport. "We have all sailed together for two years, and some up to eight years together," says Brown. Everyone on board has a solid dinghy background, "so all the crew can trim and helm - there are no passengers!" he adds. Their key aim this year will be to complete the race, unlike the last edition, when they ripped a sail in the first 5 hours, but ideally they will be looking for a podium position in this class.
RORC Honorary Treasurer Richard Palmer and his daughter Sophie herald from Cowes are competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race together for the second time on the well travelled JPK1010 Jangada in which Richard won the 2019 RORC Transatlantic and 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland races. He was also overall winner of the RORC Season's Points Championship in 2022. Racing with Sophie, he was third overall in the 2019 AZAB race. This will be Richard's 11th Fastnet Race and Sophie's second. "We will be hoping for light winds and calm seas," says Richard. "A clean start and exit from the Solent with all the other boats is key to settling in well," he adds. "It always takes 24 hours to then settle into the rhythm."
The Turkish team on the First 35 Express is hugely enthusiastic and gaining a lot of media coverage at home. It marks the realisation of a long-held dream for this Bodrum-based team:
"It is a great honour and responsibility for us to participate in the 100th anniversary of the Fastnet Race, with a team made up entirely of Turkish sailors," says skipper Yigit Eroglu. "We've dreamed of this race for years - it's a true test of character, perseverance, and belief. Through this experience, we hope to inspire young sailors in Turkey to believe in what's possible [and] open the door for more Turkish teams to step onto the international sailing scene."
Fever, a Dutch-flagged J/35 of 1984 vintage will be sailed by a group of friends from the Jachtclub Scheveningen, including Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup veteran Simeon Tienpont. The plan is to "sail a neat race from start to finish and have a good time," says Tienpont. "The most challenging thing will be the luck of timing and good tactical decisions at the finish, considering the strong currents in France."
IRC Four also includes numerous classic yachts, many of which have been meticulously restored, with updated systems for efficient sailing. Among them this year are a Farr 1104 from the mid-1970s, several Contessa yachts and Astrid, a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Swan 44 built in 1972, a design originally created for the Admiral's Cup. Her skipper Patrick Moriarty will be racing with a crew made up entirely of recent university graduates, including his brother, Thomas.
"Our main aim is to complete the race safely," says Moriarty. "If we can do well in our class, that would be brilliant." The team is particularly excited about the milestone moment of rounding Fastnet Rock - a challenge that continues to inspire new generations of offshore sailors, as it has done for the last 100 years.
For further information, please go to the race website: rolexfastnetrace.com
IRC Four entries here