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The Fastnet Race rightly has the reputation for being one of the toughest yacht races in the world. It can be the ultimate sailing challenge for those who want to stretch themselves to the limit. The 608 nautical mile course starts at Cowes then off westward to the Fastnet Rock off of southern Ireland before heading back to Plymouth.
The race started in 1925 with just 7 yachts and today some two hundred and fifty boats cross the starting line in Cowes, crewed by nearly two thousand people, young and old, male and female, all of whom are setting out on their personal adventure
Windward Sailing has had many years of experience in organizing crews for not only the Fastnet Race but also transatlantic races and specializes in high performance racing yachts.
We are extremely pleased to be able to offer a unique opportunity to race in the Fastnet Race on this truly competitive yacht. Forget the concept of "just taking part" and join a team dedicated to racing hard. We do not require any previous experience but we need enthusiasm, commitment and fitness.
A crew berth fee for the Rolex Fastnet Race 2013 on board Venomous is £3,250.00 inc VAT where applicable.
This fee includes:
We are once again offering a staged payment plan, which will be 20% on booking, and then the balance spread out over 6 months from 1 February to 1 July.
If you would like to participate in additional races then these can be added onto the campaign costs at the time of booking. You can pay by several means – cheque made out to Windward Sailing, credit / debit card or bank transfer.
We hope that you have found this of some interest and if you would like more in-depth information please do not hesitate to contact by telephone, fax, email or letter. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Once we have received your booking form and deposit we can confirm your place with us on our Fastnet campaign.
All dates and events are provisional until December 2012 when the confirmed race programme will be published by the Royal ocean Racing Club.
Click here to download the Windward Sailing Fastnet 2013 campaign brochure and booking form.
The training weekend will be based in and around the Solent. The weekend will be used for sorting out crew positions and generally getting to know each other. During the weekend everyone will get a chance to have a go at all aspects of sailing the yachts and to find out whether offshore racing is for them. It is essential for all members of the crew to familiarise themselves with as much of the yachts sails and equipment as possible. If after this training weekend you decide that the boat is not suited to your expectations you will have the option to change boats or have your payments refunded (minus the cost of the training weekend), with no questions asked.
This ISAF / RORC sea survival course is a 1 day course. The morning is spent in the classroom, then after lunch it’s off to the pool to experience practical use of life rafts and life saving techniques etc. so please remember to bring your Speedos and a towel!
There will be several dates available for this course.
The first RORC offshore race of the season breaks us in gently with an early Saturday morning start at Cowes heading east to Rustington before heading south to Le Havre The course of some 120 miles should see if you are built for offshore racing. In Le Havre you will have time to recharge your batteries and sample the great French hospitality before a cruise home late Sunday arriving back in the Solent for Monday lunchtime. On the trip back we will go over race tactics and practice more manoeuvres such as spinnaker handling and navigation.
An early morning start to this race sees the fleet head west out of the Solent as directly as they can to the Eddystone Lighthouse rounding to Port before heading back to the Solent and the Finish. A longer race the usual RORC weekend course and should show how a good watch system works. An additional 20% points bonus is up for grabs so this race will be a key to our overall championship place
The course for this race will be decided on the day the illustration gives you an idea of what will probably be involved. The race starts early Saturday morning and is designed to be a duration race of 24 hours with lots of marks to round during this time it will be a ‘full on’ race testing boat handling skills with little time for sleep, teamwork and skills already learnt will come into their own on this Channel race.
A Friday lunchtime start to this race, one of RORC's most popular destinations. The course is approximately 164 miles. We start westward of the Solent then across the channel leaving the Casquets, Les Hanois buoy, and St Peter Port to port before heading into the bay to the walled city of St Malo. Depending on locking times will mean arriving back in the UK late Sunday early Monday morning, but a race well worth going for, plenty of time for extra training tips on the return trip.
This is the race that all season you have been training for. The race will start Sunday afternoon off the squadron line at Cowes; this is quite a spectacular sight as the whole fleet of yachts races down the Solent towards the Needles. This is where all your hard work and new found skills will be at their most important, and for about the next 3 to 4 days you will need to muster all your stamina to stay in race mode. We will be there to win and, with Venomous this is very much achievable - it's all up to you.
Windward Sailing Racing Skipper & crew
The skipper of Venomous - Derek Saunders is one of the partners of Windward Sailing and has skippered 11 Fastnets and has under his belt over 250,000 offshore miles including 5 transatlantic races, non stop Round Britain and Ireland and has for the last 4 seasons skippered exclusively on board Venomous. He will be supported by 2 other professional crew handpicked again for their sailing ability, knowledge of this extreme race machine and their training skills.
Crew experience
The crew will be made up with people such as yourselves who are enthusiastic about sailing racing and winning. Full training in racing and sailing techniques come with the package and our aim come the end of the campaign is that any one of the crew members will have the ability and confidence to step on to any race yacht and become a key member of any team.
It is important for all potential crew to attend the training weekend if the date given does not fit into your calendar than there will be several other dates available.
We do not require any previous racing experience as crew will be trained and coached in all aspects of racing a high performance yacht. Whilst we do not ask for previous racing experience it is important that any one intending to race on Venomous has a reasonable level of fitness. Some of the tasks involved are physically demanding and after the first training weekend some of you may find that you need to go to the gym a little more often!
However that should not deter you because we will be working together as a team covering all aspects of sailing:-