Ripple Rider
Member
What are the positives and negatives of finishing in France?
What will the weather do?
Who will win? Line honours or handicap?
What will the weather do?
Who will win? Line honours or handicap?
Fastnet 2021
- Thread starter Ripple Rider
- Start date
Ripple Rider
Member
- Thread starter
- #3
Is the Fastnet improved by finishing in France? Time will tell but I reckon this challenging race just became more challenging. The potentially fast moving tidal currents of The Alderney Race will challenge yacht navigators and decision makers when they are tired towards the end of the race. Any thoughts?
SloopJohnB
Super Anarchist
I read somewhere that our friend COVID may change the start and finish methods;
The French leave France and sail thru the start line without landing and the English will sail thru the finish line and head back to England.
The French leave France and sail thru the start line without landing and the English will sail thru the finish line and head back to England.
Tunnel Rat
Super Anarchist
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SPORTSCAR
Super Anarchist
No problem rescuing a foreign MOB, but if that MOB is not vaccinated, you'll have to quarantine at sea for two weeks before finishing.
DtM
Super Anarchist
Are vaccination passports mandatory for the race and can you ask an MOB to see his/her passport before you rescue them? Can you throw them back? 
cms
Super Anarchist
Editorial this morning is BOLLOCKS. France is 100% open to vaccinated UK arrivals, and can even recognise the NHS QR code! It is the UK that screws things up. The amber+ category is how the UK sees France, due to fiction about high Beta variant cases (which is true of part of France - Reunion and another Indian ocean territory!!!). UK imposes quarantine on all arrivals from France, with an exemption for professional mariners, and this quarantine applies to French, British of whatever arrivals from France into UK.
Facts are useful.
Cherbourg has not taken individual bookings for boats. Who knows when each will arrive? Whole zones of the marina and port are set aside for the fleet, even going as far as to propose a "free port" zone where UK sailors could come ashore to dedicated facilities without mixing with locals, other than those specifically health approved and checked. Word is that UK authorities will not go along with this?
Facts are useful.
Cherbourg has not taken individual bookings for boats. Who knows when each will arrive? Whole zones of the marina and port are set aside for the fleet, even going as far as to propose a "free port" zone where UK sailors could come ashore to dedicated facilities without mixing with locals, other than those specifically health approved and checked. Word is that UK authorities will not go along with this?
we are being told (latest missive from RORC) that we can land... BUT UK will make us quarantine on arrival back to UK :-(
seriously disappointed that we will miss experiencing the amazing French sailing hospitality
BUT being an optimist, we have 2 weeks for UK Govt to change their mind at the last minute... not that they have any history of that
seriously disappointed that we will miss experiencing the amazing French sailing hospitality
BUT being an optimist, we have 2 weeks for UK Govt to change their mind at the last minute... not that they have any history of that
Hitchhiker
Hoopy Frood
PaulK
Super Anarchist
Because of the crush expected from the Fastnet, Cherbourg is not taking reservations for transient cruisers either. "We'll try and find you a spot." seems to be the prevalent response. Sounds like Block Island on a weekend.
Adventure Trimarans
Member
Does anyone know what time this starts on Sunday UK time?
We're hoping to be able to sail down to Hurst Point where it is very narrow and anchor to watch the fleet go by, but we can't seem to find it anywhere?
We're hoping to be able to sail down to Hurst Point where it is very narrow and anchor to watch the fleet go by, but we can't seem to find it anywhere?
Section 13 of the SIs. https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/downloads/2021_docs/rorc_fastnet_sailing_instructions_web.pdf
First start is multihulls at 1110 down to IRC0 at 1240. Boats coming through Hurst from 1130 depending on wind strength? It's only 10 miles from the RYS line, which doesn't take long at 20+ knots.
You won't see much from the anchorage at Keyhaven, better to dinghy ashore and watch from the beach.
Fiji Bitter
I love Fiji Bitter
I was gone say best viewing by far is from the top of Hurst Castle, but I vaguely remembered having read something, and indeed the nearly half a century old fort partly collapsed just this February.
It's a beautiful area, at the bottom of the New Forest.
And @Adventure Trimarans, with a shallow draft multihull you can anchor in the inside cove, then it is only a short walk to the end. And with a bit of luck you can still climb on top of the "castle".
BTW, has anyone found the race on YB tracker yet?
I doubt you would be allowed anywhere near the castle, let alone the roof, especially in its current perilous state….
Why bother with Keyhaven lagoon at all? Try parking (or gently motoring on station) as close as you dare to the shore and spit end in the much calmer current/back eddy in the small relatively deep bay close to the spit on the northern side and have all the comforts of your yacht?
Why bother with Keyhaven lagoon at all? Try parking (or gently motoring on station) as close as you dare to the shore and spit end in the much calmer current/back eddy in the small relatively deep bay close to the spit on the northern side and have all the comforts of your yacht?
Ripple Rider
Member
- Thread starter
- #18
Looks like long range wind forecasts are picking westerlies down the channel but nothing sinister at the long range stage. Of course plenty can change between now and the race start
Adventure Trimarans
Member
Thanks very much Snowden, for some reason I was struggling finding it.
We'll be on our 6m trimaran so the plan is to anchor up off the beach by the lighthouse in the narrows there and sit back on the tramps/bench seats and watch from what would be pretty close by.
I've marked the shallow area where we have anchored up previously in our sea kayak to watch various events.
Currently it is claiming W/WSW and 14-20 knots for Sunday morning so hopefully they should be shifting along quite nicely!
We'll head down to Lymington on Saturday afternoon and stay there overnight and the wind forecast on Sunday should mean we will get a lovely run back up to Calshot in the afternoon once they have scooted past.
Looking forward to it, but the weather forecasts of late have been worse than ever so we will have see what it is like closer to the time!
We'll be on our 6m trimaran so the plan is to anchor up off the beach by the lighthouse in the narrows there and sit back on the tramps/bench seats and watch from what would be pretty close by.
I've marked the shallow area where we have anchored up previously in our sea kayak to watch various events.
Currently it is claiming W/WSW and 14-20 knots for Sunday morning so hopefully they should be shifting along quite nicely!
We'll head down to Lymington on Saturday afternoon and stay there overnight and the wind forecast on Sunday should mean we will get a lovely run back up to Calshot in the afternoon once they have scooted past.
Looking forward to it, but the weather forecasts of late have been worse than ever so we will have see what it is like closer to the time!
ttc546
Member
I shall be parking up and walking to Hurst Point/Castle with my long lens camera (100-400 + 1.4 TC) to take some action shots. May even take one of a 6m trimaran anchored off ..... ;-)
