ESTRELLA DAMM CHALLENGES HER BARCELONA WORLD RACE COMPETITORS IN THE ROLEX FASTNET
The Rolex Fastnet Race 42nd edition will see its strongest fleet ever take the start on Monday 13th August with 300 boats on the start lines. Steeped in history, the Rolex Fastnet is ran biennially since the 1930s except for a break in the 1940s, and is a legendary 608 mile long run from Cowes, Isle of Wight to Plymouth via the mythical Fastnet rock, south of Ireland.
For the Open 60 IMOCA class, the Rolex Fastnet this year adds to the challenge by being double-handed rather than crewed and is the prologue of the Barcelona World race, double-handed round the world race that will leave Barcelona on the 11th November.
Spanish skipper Guillermo Altadill onboard Estrella Damm will be joined by American co-skipper Jonathan McKee. Both men have just won the Artemis Challenge on Wednesday and are now looking forward to race against their future competitors in the Barcelona World Race.
“The Rolex Fastnet Race is for us a formality as it is the prologue of the Barcelona World Race. It will be a good opportunity to test the boat and the systems as the boat is still very new. We must keep in mind that our goal is the Barcelona World Race and we have three months left to prepare for it. That is the main thing and we are working very hard to make sure we are in good shape on the start line in Barcelona in November with real chances of winning.” Commented Guillermo Altadill.
“I am very happy to race with Jonathan on our first double-handed race. I respect him, he is a very nice person and a very talented sailor. I can say that we have clicked and are on the same wavelength. The Rolex Fastnet will be very good for us as we need to sail and race together. My thinking is that we will find a multiplier effect, not just an add effect.” He added.
Jonathan Mc Kee has raced in the Fastnet once before and is looking forward to race the boat in double-handed configuration. He stepped onboard Estrella Damm just a few days ago and is very excited about getting started: “It will be our first opportunity to race in real conditions and against the BWR competition. I am very much looking forward to it now that we have seen the potential of the boat, we’re eager to see how she compares to the other new generation Open 60s. It will definitely be one of the most exciting ocean races ever.” Explained Jonathan.
The 16 strong IMOCA Open 60 class will be the first class to start at 11 o’clock on Monday 12th August off the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Isle of Wight.