Morgan Rose founder and MD, Simon Rose, will be part of a crew on a 72 foot racing yacht, taking on up to 300 other crews in a race that goes from Cowes, to the infamous Fastnet Rock off Southern Ireland and back to Plymouth, often encountering some of the most demanding weather conditions.
The Fastnet Race is a famous biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom, named after the Fastnet Rock, which the race course rounds.
The Fastnet Race first took place in 1925 and, in 2019, Simon Rose is adding his name to the list of the thousands of sailors to take up the challenge of rounding the Fastnet Rock.
Simon and his fellow crew members will be competing in the Challenger 3 class and racing hard for more than 600 miles over five days and nights, setting sail from Plymouth on Saturday 3 August.
The crew expects some “hairy times” across the Irish Sea before a sprint home for a celebratory party in Plymouth.
The training started at the end of April and has involved two qualifying races and more than 300 miles of sailing. Simon has shared a selection of photos below.
Read more here about the Rolex Fastnet Race and click here to see a preview of the 2019 race.
Simon will be raising funds for Woodhouse College, a sixth form college in North Finchley. Here he explains why he is taking on the Fastnet challenge and why he has chosen to support Woodhouse College.
“The Rolex Fastnet Race is steeped in history as one of the world’s most prestigious and challenging yacht races. I’ve always enjoyed sailing and this seemed like a fantastic way of taking it up a notch – but the challenge has been immense.
“From the seasickness – our first training race was in Storm Hannah – through to having to simultaneously remember so many new skills, it has been a real learning curve. It has also reinforced the importance of having a strong leader and excellent teamwork – you need to be able to work effectively together, often in extremely uncomfortable circumstances!”
“Whilst the Fastnet Race is a personal challenge for me, I was keen to use the opportunity to raise vital funds for Woodhouse College. The quality of their academic provision is superb yet, like so many other state schools, they are facing significant budgetary pressures, with a 20% decline in student funding over the past five years.”
Please click here to make a donation to Woodhouse College.
