The Fastnet crew was onboard Lutine for the 1st offshore and qualifying race of the season – the RORC Cervantes Trophy Race from the RYS start line at Cowes, with 86 boats completing the race to Le Havre.

Once the race got underway after a 30-minute delay as requested by ABP Southampton due to the exit of a large container ship, the crew focused on getting out of the Solent in light winds, being briefly becalmed with the rest of the fleet before rounding the Needles. She then had a lovely long beam reach across the channel towards Le Havre. With some hours to go, and an unexpected build in the wind, Lutine was working her way steadily through the fleet and had Scarlet Oyster and Rogan Josh in her sights for the final few miles, finishing 8th across the line.  

Lutine successfully crossed the finish line at Le Havre shortly after 1 am with a race time of 16:09:29 and corrected time of 19:20:28 (sadly). This was the first race of 2023 for the Fastnet campaign, led by Skipper James Close, and the crew of 13 really enjoyed themselves. The next qualifying race is Myth of Malham on Fri 26 – Mon 29 May 2023.