Watch, listen and join in…The Rolex Fastnet Race always starts from the famous Royal Yacht Squadron Line in front of West Cowes.
It will be a spectacular sight as the 300 yachts head west in the Solent; the narrow strip of sea between the Isle of Wight and the Hampshire Coast.
Because of the size of the fleet, the start is broken into classes starting at 1200 BST and continuing for over two hours. From the spectators’ point of view this works well because it usually means plenty of action just in front of Cowes Green and as far as Egypt Point. Probably the best view from the mainland would be at Hurst Castle, near Lymington. As the fleet leave the Solent on route to the famous Fastnet Rock off the coast of Ireland, it will be days before they finish in Plymouth.
The top broadcast team from Cowes Radio will be on air for the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race out on the water and from the Royal Yacht Squadron, the build up, the action and live commentary on the start sequence throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Bring your earpiece or tune your radio into 87.7 FM, go online at www.cowesradio.co.uk or make sure you are positioned on Cowes Green or along the Parade for the best commentary via the loud speakers.
The Rolex Fastnet is the flagship race of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and this year, the event web site has more features than ever before...watch the progress of the fleet via the RORC/OC Tracker.
There will be boat and spectator blogs updated 24 hours a day with news, views and details about the race. Fully interactive for competitors and fans, there is also a Virtual Fastnet Race, a game for the ‘armchair admirals’ to play on-line, thousands have already joined up.
Fully interactive for competitors and fans there is also a Virtual Fastnet Race for the 'armchair admirals' to play on-line, 15,000 have already joined up and many more virtual skippers are expected by the race start.
