THE ROLEX FASTNET RACE

Late July · Cowes, Isle of Wight · 695 Miles · Since 1925 · The Water

Arranged by the Court

Dates: 24 July 2027
WhereThe Royal Yacht Squadron line, Cowes
DressYachting attire
AdmissionOpen to the public
The weatherIn July Shanklin, near Cowes, reaches about 20°C by day and 14°C at night, and rain falls on about one day in four.
The tableThe Court dines afterwards at Number 3, 3 Bath Road, Cowes (number3cowes.com).
Of noteThe classes start in turn, off the Royal Yacht Squadron line.
In companyA member who means to go says so to the Secretary, and the Court seats its members together where the engagement allows.RSVP tells the Secretary that a member means to attend. Send passes the engagement’s name, its date and the address of its page to whomever the reader chooses, or, on a computer, copies the address; the Court itself sends and keeps nothing.RSVP

The Rolex Fastnet Race is the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s race of 695 miles. It starts off the Royal Yacht Squadron line at Cowes, rounds the Fastnet Rock, and finishes at Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.

Out past the Needles, round the Rock, and over to France.

The Ocean Race

The first race, then called the Ocean Race, was held in 1925, from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club at Ryde to Plymouth. Seven yachts started, and Commander E.G. Martin’s Jolie Brise, a pilot cutter built in Le Havre, won. At a dinner at the Royal Western Yacht Club in Plymouth afterwards, Martin announced the forming of the Ocean Racing Club, which received its royal warrant from King George V six years later.

The start moved to Cowes in 1926, and the race has been held every second year since 1931. In 1979, the year of the fatal storm, it had what was then a record fleet of 303 yachts. In 2021 the finish moved from Plymouth to Cherbourg, the fleet having outgrown Plymouth. The centenary race of 2025 had 421 finishers and more than 3,000 sailors from fifty nations, and Alexis Loison of Cherbourg won overall under IRC with Léon, a JPK 1050.

The Course

From the start the fleet leaves the Solent by the Needles Channel and sails west to Land’s End, rounds the Fastnet Rock, comes back round the Isles of Scilly, and crosses to Cherbourg, where it finishes at Port Chantereyne. 2027 is the fourth finish there.

The race village at Cherbourg runs from 22 to 30 July 2027. In 2025 it drew more than 130,000 visitors, with 330 free events and its pontoons open to the public; a fleet of over 400 yachts is expected in 2027.

What to Know

The 2027 race starts on Saturday 24 July, off Cowes.

The best places to watch the start are Cowes Green and Egypt Esplanade, with Yarmouth, Hurst Castle, Anvil Point, St Alban’s Head and Portland Bill further along. No ticket is needed, and the start is streamed live on RORC.TV, on YouTube.

The race publishes no dress code for spectators. The Court wears yachting attire.

Questions

When does the Rolex Fastnet Race 2027 start?

On Saturday 24 July 2027, off the Royal Yacht Squadron line at Cowes.

Where does the Fastnet Race finish?

At Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in France, at Port Chantereyne. The finish moved there from Plymouth in 2021.

How long is the Fastnet Race?

The course is 695 miles: out of the Solent by the Needles Channel, west to Land’s End, round the Fastnet Rock, back round the Isles of Scilly, then to Cherbourg.

Where is the best place to watch the Fastnet start?

Cowes Green and Egypt Esplanade, with Yarmouth, Hurst Castle, Anvil Point, St Alban’s Head and Portland Bill also given by the race. No ticket is needed.

The Court

The Rolex Fastnet Race is not the Court’s own. A place on the water for the start, and rooms at Cowes for it or at Cherbourg for the finish, are sought on a member’s behalf, and the Court arranges the whole of it: getting there, where to stay, and the table afterwards.

How one becomes a member is set out under Admission.