The Fastnet Race in 2025 will be the a special 100th anniversary of the event and is set to be the largest offshore yacht race in the world, with over 450 entries.

The Rolex Fastnet Race is one of the most famous ocean yacht races in the world, and completing it widely regarded as one of sailing’s crowning achievements.

Begun as a challenge between a handful of competing yachts in 1925, the Fastnet Race is run every two years by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC).

The original 605-nautical mile course traditionally ran from Ryde on the Isle of Wight, east out of the Solent, before heading west to the Fastnet Rock lighthouse off the south-west corner of Ireland and returning to finish off Plymouth.

Apart from moving the start to Cowes and a west-bound exit from the Solent for the second running of the Fastnet, the race course remained largely unchanged until 2021 when the finish line moved to Cherbourg, France instead of Plymouth. This new course added a further 90 miles to the race – much of it a tricky tidal section – making it an even bigger challenge.

The race is well known as a challenge just to complete and the 1979 Fastnet Race disaster remains at the forefront of the minds of many of those who compete. The Fastnet disaster led to huge improvements in yacht and safety gear design, and the race now has stringent entry requirements and fulsome preparation guidelines.

When is the Fastnet Race 2025?

The 100th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race starts on Saturday 26 July 2025 with the first start at 1120 BST.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will officially start the race for the 1200 gun. The Red Arrows will also flypast at noon.

Steve Cole Race Director reminded everyone in the competitor’s briefing, “When they do fly over, please make sure at least one person in the boat is looking forward and not up!”

What time does the Fastnet Race 2025 start?

For those wishing to follow the action from the start, there will be a livestream shown on the various RORC channels.

The live broadcast will begin at 1100, hosted by presenter Holly Hamilton with commentators Dee Caffari, Hannah Diamond, Nikki Henderson and Lisa McDonald joining the RORC’s Louay Habib, Andy Rice, James Boyd.

Live coverage of the start begins at 1100 with the first class start following 20 minutes later.

The first start will be for the multihull fleet (including the four giant Ultimes) and is followed by the IMOCA 60s starting just 10 minutes later.

Start sequence continues with the IRC Zero and Super Zero heading off at 1150, the Admiral’s Cup fleet at 1200, and so on in decreasing yacht size until the IRC 4 class start at 1320 BST.

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Watch the Rolex Fastnet Race start

Race website: https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/en
RORC YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/rorcracing
RORC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalOceanRacingClub

Where to watch the Fastnet Race 2025

The best vantage points of the start on the Isle of Wight will be along Cowes Green and Egypt Esplanade. As the fleet funnels west out of the Solent there will be lots of chances to see the yachts from Yarmouth as well.

From the mainland you can view the yachts on their outbound leg; the best places to watch are from Hurst Castle, Anvil Point, St Alban’s Head and Portland Bill.

Windy start to the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race. Photo: Martin Allen/pwpictures.com

Track the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet

All yachts competing in the Fastnet Race are fitted with a YB Tracker so you can follow an individual boat, a class or the whole fleet.

The newly updated race tracker is linked to via the official race site https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com or direct at https://cf.yb.tl/fastnet2023

The tracker lets you watch the full fleet, separate classes or follow individual yachts.

Yachting World will also bring you all the latest news and views in the build up to the race and will be reporting throughout at our dedicated Fastnet Race homepage. We will also have several of the team on the ground and will be reporting both online and via video on our Yachting World Youtube channel and on Facebook and Instagram.

A list of competitors can be found at the RORC website.

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