Fastnet race

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The Fastnet race is a yachting race in the United Kingdom. It is considered one of the classic offshore races. It happens every two years, and is a course of 608 miles. The course is unusual, as it begins off Cowes, travels to the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland, which they round, and then back to Plymouth via the south side of the Isles of Scilly. The prize is known as the Fastnet Challenge Cup.

The first Fastnet race, with seven entries, was won by Jolie Brise in 1925.

The race was part of the Admiral's Cup racing series from 1957 to 1999.

The International Offshore Rule (IOR) was introduced in 1973, and the yachts and crews began taking sponsorships.

Storms during the 1979 race resulted in the deaths of 17 competitors. This led to a major overhaul of the rules and the equipment required for the competition.

The race drew further attention from outside the sport in 1985 when the maxi-yacht Drum capsized after her experimental keel sheared off. Pop star Simon Le Bon, co-owner and crew member of Drum, was trapped under the hull with five other crew members for twenty minutes, until being rescued by the Royal Navy. The Search and Rescue Diver was Petty Officer Air Crewman (POACMN) Larry "Scouse" Slater of 771 Naval Air Squadron who appeared on This Is Your Life on 9 April 1986.

The 2005 race was sponsored by Rolex and is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club with the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth. The next race will start in August 2007.

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Year	Yacht	Owner	Designer	Nationality
1925	Jolie Brise	Lt Cdr E. G. Martin	Paumelle	United Kingdom
1926	Ilex	Royal Engineers		United Kingdom
1927	Tally Ho	Lord Stalbridge	Albert Strange	United Kingdom
1928	Nina		Starling Burgess	United States
1929	Jolie Brise	Lt Cdr E.G.Martin	Paumelle	United Kingdom
1930	Jolie Brise	Lt Cdr E.G.Martin	Paumelle	United Kingdom
1931	Dorade [1]	Stephens	Sparkman & Stephens	United States
1933	Dorade	Stephens	Sparkman & Stephens	United States
1935	Stormy Weather [2]		Sparkman & Stephens	United States
1937	Zeearend	Kees Bruynzeel	Sparkman & Stephens	Netherlands
1939	Bloodhound	Ikey Bell	Camper and Nicholson	United Kingdom
1947	Myth of Malham	Capt. J.H.Illingworth	J. Laurent Giles	United Kingdom
1949	Myth of Malham	Capt. J.H.Illingworth	J. Laurent Giles	United Kingdom
1951	Yeoman	Owen Aisher	Camper & Nicholson	United Kingdom
1953	Favona	Sir Michael Newton	Robert Clark	United Kingdom
1955	Carina^{[disambiguation needed]}	Dick Nye	Phillip Rhodes	United States
1957	Carina	Dick Nye	Phillip Rhodes	United States
1959	Anitra	Sven Hansen	Sparkman and Stephens	Sweden
1961	Zwerver II		Sparkman & Stephens	Netherlands
1963	Clarion of Wight [3]	Derek Boyer DFC	Sparkman & Stephens	United Kingdom
1965	Rabbit	Dick Carter	Dick Carter	United States
1967	Pen Duick III	Eric Tabarly	Chantier La Perrière	France
1969	Red Rooster	Dick Carter	Dick Carter	United States
1971	Ragamuffin	Syd Fisher	Sparkman & Stephens	Australia
1973	Saga	Erling Lorentsen	Sparkman & Stephens	Brazil
1975	Golden Delicious	Richard & Harvey Bagnall	Ron Holland	United Kingdom
1977	Imp	David Allen	Ron Holland	United States
1979	Tenacious [4]	Ted Turner	Sparkman & Stephens	United States
2001	Tonnerre de Breskens	Piet Vroon	Lutra Design Group	Netherlands
2003	Nokia	Charles Dunstone	Reichel & Pugh	United Kingdom
2005	Iromiguy	Jean-Yves Chateau	Ron Holland	France