Fastnet Report

- 15 August - 0800 - An excellent nights run has left Incognito with just over 40 miles to run to the Fastnet Rock. With the wind in the North they are just about laying the Rock on their current course. Conditions remain testing and Incog is hard on the wind in 25-30kts. The wind is backing to the NW and remain at F5-7 but decreasing later. A significant back will mean they will have to beat up to the Rock. The heel on the boat is causing problems with engine running for battery charging as air is being drawn into the engine, as such they are conserving battery power as best they can. Once round the rock they can begin the downwind to Land's End. Overnight the crew have made good gains on Jeba and Playing Around with Philosphie IV ahead.
11 August 1600 - The start has been delayed by 25 hours due to expected poor weather in the Irish Sea on Tuesday. RORC took the decision this afternoon to delay the start of the 2007 Fastnet by 25 hours.
12 August 1530 - Incognito made an excellent start off the Squadron line at 1200 today heading west towards Hurst and the out into the English Channel. Weather at the start was 17 knots gusting 22 from the SW. With a fair tide the beat up the western Solent was quick, position in the fleet was excellent and well in touch with the other 40.7s.
12 August 1715 - Now clear of the Solent, Incognito is making excellent progress. The wind strength has reduced and is now around 15kts from the SW.
12 August 1800 - Incognito is now west of Portland Bill, having cleared the Bill 3 miles south.

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14 August 1400 - Incognito has now turned NW, starting the 160nm passage across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock. At 1400 she was 4 miles west of Land's End. With around a third of the fleet having retired overnight with gale force winds and heavy seas Incognito is making excellent progress and is well among the leading 40.7s.

Welcome to the 2007 Fastnet Race news page

Incognito has now finished the 2007 Fastnet. The following is a log of the race.

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2007 Fastnet

12 August 2030 - now midway across Lyme Bay as the crew starts to settle into the watch system. The wind is expected to veer to the South overnight and possibly ease slightly before increasing tomorrow morning but staying in the south for much of the day.

14 August 0025 - the wind is currently 22kts from the South and Incognito is making fast progress fetching across Lyme Bay with full main and #3. Racing has been close with Playing Around and Philosopie IV close together up to Portland Bill.
14 August 0830 - as forecast weather conditions deteriorated over night with wind speeds reaching 40kts from the South. Its been a very difficult night for the crew dealing with the conditions. The decision was taken in the early hours to drop the main and proceed under #3 alone - a testing job at night in gale force winds. However the wind has now dropped and gone round to the SW providing a small window of relief for the crew and a chance to have some hot food. Overnight over 100 boats have retired in the face of the conditions. Incognito has now travelled over 150nm since leaving Cowes and is approaching the Lizard.

15 August 1100 - The wind has now eased down to 15kts and the heavy #1 is back up as the crew now beats to the Fastnet Rock, 23 miles away WNW. They have also managed to start the engine to charge the batteries. At the moment they are not laying the Rock and will have beat their way as the wind clocks round to the NW. Philosphie IV has taken a little advantage overnight but Incog has consolidated her lead over Jeba and Playing Around. The wind is expect to gradually back to the West over the next 24-36 hours and potentially easy to a F4 so the passage back to Land's End will be important tactically.
15 August 1600 - Incognito has rounded the Fastnet Rock , the wind remains 20-25kts and the sun is out as the crew begin the return across the Celtic Sea. Last night again saw gusts to 30kts but after the previous night's 40kt gusts the crew was better prepared with less sail and weathered the conditions much better with no need to further reduce sail. The crew was also able to take advantage of a shift in the wind overnight which helped position them better in the fleet for their approach to the Rock as the wind went round to the N and NW.
15 August 1630 - The crew is in good spirits and starting the downwind leg home. The decision now is whether to reduce sail for the overnight leg or to keep pressing on to consolidate position in the fleet. The sea state remains lumpy with around a 3.5m wave height in the Irish Sea. Overnight the wind is expected to remain around 20-25kts and gradually ease and back to the west.

14 August 1800 - The crew have now settled down for the night crossing to the Fastnet rock. Philosphie IV, Jeba, Playing Around and Incognito are all close together as they cross the Celtic Sea. Based on current speed they should reach the Fastnet Rock mid morning tomorrow, 15 August. The wind is expected to stay in the SW until the early hours when a veer to the NW is expected.

Updated: 27/01/2010 20:28 Contact: info@team-incognito.com

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16 August 0229 - Incognito has crossed the finish line off the breakwater in Plymouth Sound and is now motoring to Queen Anne's Battery Marina. In a race which saw 75% of the fleet retired due to the weather conditions, on which gale force conditions were faced two nights in a row it was a very challenging race. Overall she was 5th in class and the 3rd 40.7 and currently ranks 26th overall. Total elapsed time was 3 days 14hrs 29 minutes to cover the 603 nautical mile course. A stunning performance by Dave Re, Sian, Emma, Mark W, Dave Be, Nick, Dan, Phil, Mark G, Dave Ra, Tony and Paul... enjoy the beer (maybe a jug of Pimms for Sian and Emma!!!).....

16 August 1700 - Incognito has gybed offshore looking for more breeze as she approaches the Lizard. The aim to is hopefully take an advantage over Jeba as they race for the finish with a fresher breeze and a slightly tighter angle on the wind for the final approach to the finish.
16 August 1800 - The crew has now gybed west of the Lizard onto port for, hopefully, the final reach to the finish. Even after 500 miles of racing, at times in gale force winds, there are four 40.7s within 10 miles of each other with plenty to play for before the finish. With only 60 miles to run the crew can probably already smell that first beer!

16 August 0330 - Incognito is approximately half way across the Celtic Sea between the Fastnet Rock and the Bishops' Rock.
16 August 0800 - the crew has 40 miles to run to the Bishop's Rock Lighthouse.
16 August 1400 - Incog has rounded Bishop's Rock. The passage back from the Fastnet was fast with steady 20-25kt winds, which have now eased slightly but expected to remain 15-20 kts from the WNW. Most of the night was spent with the #3 poled out and a single reef in the main. However Jeba made significant gains overnight and this promoted the crew to pop up a kite and keep the advantage. The very confused sea made this hard work and it was dropped after an hour. Helming was also difficult in the lumpy sea and strong winds. With daylight the decision was taken to re-hoist the kite and she is now sailing with full main and kite up.
16 August 1500 - The crew are all well and up on deck pushing the boat hard chasing Jeba and Philosphie IV ahead in some welcome sunshine and dry conditions. Expected finish time will be between 0100-0300 tomorrow morning with plenty of racing still to be done. So far 204 boats have retired, 22 have finished and 45 are still racing. The wind is still around 15-20kts.

15 August 1800 - Incognito is now 12 miles SW of the Fastnet Rock making 9 kts over the ground. Distance travelled so far is 370 nautical miles with around 240 still to run to Plymouth. Based on average speeds so far she could be crossing the finish line in Plymouth late Thursday or the early hours of Friday. Philosphie IV is currently around 11 miles just South of East of Incog's current position taking a more northerly track to the Bishop's Rock. Playing Around is around 11 miles NNE.
15 August 2000 - The crew has put a reef in the main for the night, the wind remains at around 25kts from the NW with a lot of helm work to keep the boat on track in the large swell. Currently they are sailing with the #3 goose-winged in addition to the single reefed main.