1979 Fastnet Race

File:Fastnet Race 1979.jpg

Memorial to the 15 competitors who died in the 1979 Fastnet Race, Lissarnona, Cape Clear Island, Cork, Ireland; the 6 spectator names were added later.

The 1979 Fastnet Race was the 28th Royal Ocean Racing Club's Fastnet Race, a yachting race held generally every two years since 1925 on a Template:Convert course from Cowes direct to the Fastnet Rock and then to Plymouth via south of the Isles of Scilly. In 1979, it was the climax of the five-race Admiral's Cup competition, as it had been since 1957. Immediately, and ever since, the 1979 race has been known worldwide as the deadliest in yachting history.

A worse-than-expected European windstorm on the third day of the race wreaked havoc on the 303 yachts that started the biennial race,Template:Sfn resulting in 21 fatalities (15 yachtsmen and 6 spectators) during the early morning hours of 14 August in the Celtic Sea. Emergency services, naval forces, and civilian vessels from around the west side of the English Channel were summoned to aid what became the largest ever rescue operation in peace-time. This involved some 4,000 people, including the entire Irish Naval Service's fleet, lifeboats, commercial boats, and helicopters.Template:Sfn

Meteorological history

The 1979 race started on 11 August. The BBC Radio Shipping Forecast, broadcast at 13:55 that day, predicted "south-westerly winds, force four to five increasing to force six to seven for a time."Template:Sfn By 13 August, winds were reported at Force 6 with gusts of Force 7, and forecasters were predicting winds of Force 8. The leading boat, Kialoa, trailed closely by Condor of Bermuda, was on course to break the Fastnet record set eight years earlier.

A large depression named "low Y" formed over the Atlantic Ocean during the weekend of 11–12 August. On 13 August it began to intensify rapidly and turn northeastwards, reaching about Template:Convert southwest of Ireland. By the 14th, the low was centred over Wexford. Land-based weather stations reported gale-force winds, with the strongest winds out to sea over the race area. The UK Meteorological Office assessed the maximum winds as Force 10 on the Beaufort scale; the majority of race competitors estimated the winds to have reached or exceeded Force 11. The official inquiry reported wind speeds reaching Template:Convert with little or no advance warning, and wave heights reaching Template:Convert in conflicting directions, conditions that were especially destructive for the smaller sailboats.Template:Sfn The lowest recorded pressure was 979 hPa.Template:Sfn

Disaster and rescue mission

Over 13–14 August, of the 303 yachts that started, 24 were abandoned, of which five were lost and believed to be sunk, due to high winds and severe sea conditions.Template:Sfn The Daily Telegraph (15 August 1979, p. 1) described the situation, where "Royal Navy ships, RAF Nimrod jets, helicopters, lifeboats, a Dutch warship HNLMS Overijssel and other craft picked up 125 yachtsmen whose boats had been caught in Force 11 violent storm strength gusts midway between Land's End and Fastnet".Template:Sfn The effort also included tugs, trawlers, and tankers.

The coastguard requested support, resulting in a Nimrod aircraft from RAF Kinloss being ordered to the scene to act as the Scene of Search Coordinator. As the scale of the disaster became apparent, other rescue assets were requested and Template:HMS was ordered to the scene, taking over as the Scene of Search Coordinator on arrival at 17:30 on 14 August.Template:Sfn

Fifteen competitors died in the race; at least 75 boats capsized and five sank.Template:Sfn Adopting heaving to as a storm tactic proved to be a good preventive of capsize and turtling during the race. Lin Pardey wrote that none of the yachts which hove to were capsized or suffered any serious damage, but the official inquiry makes no such conclusion.Template:Sfn One Fastnet participant, John Rousmaniere, wrote:

If there is a fault in this debate, it is that the factions sometimes say that one tactic or piece of gear is always right, regardless of the boat and the conditions. There is nothing always about a storm at sea except its danger.

The disaster resulted in a major rethink of racing, risks and prevention. Many safety improvements followed.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Finishing yachts

The handicap winner was the yacht Tenacious, designed by Sparkman & Stephens and owned and skippered by Ted Turner. The winner of line honours was the Template:Convert SV Condor of Bermuda, skippered by Peter Blake, which gained around 90 minutes on the leader, the SV Kialoa, after rounding the Fastnet rock, by the calculated risk of setting a spinnaker sail in the high wind conditions. Jim Kilroy of the Kialoa had broken his ribs and there was damage to the yacht's runners. SV Condor of Bermuda broke the Fastnet record by nearly eight hours (71h 37m 23s).

Handicap results (first three in each class)

Class	Position	Yacht	Designer/Type/LOA (yacht type)	Owner (sailed by)	Corrected time hh:mm:ss
0	1	Tenacious	SS 61	Ted Turner	93:44:19
0	2	Condor of Bermuda	Sp 77	R. Bell	97:57:24
0	3	Kialoa		J. B. Kilroy	98:03:40
1	1	Red Rock IV	Fr	E. Mandelbaum	98:35:05
1	2	Acadia	Fr	B. Keenan	99:17:53
1	3	Gregal		M. Peche	99:52:39
2	1	Eclipse	PtR39	J. C. Rogers	97:05:27
2	2	Jubile VI	Pt 42	H. Hamon	97:40:15
2	3	Impetuous	Hd	G. Lambert and J. Crisp	97:53:53
3	1	Revolution	Fn 37	J. L. Fabry	97:42:53
3	2	Blue Bird	NI 34	A. Gerard	110:48:52
3	3	Ceil III	MW 40	W. Turnbull	116:33:18
4	1	Black Arrow	UFO 34	Royal Air Force S.A.	110:35:10
4	2	Samsara	Fr 33	Madame O. Trans-Van-Dom	110:44:19
4	2	Lorelei	SSH36	M. Catherineau
4	3	Mahuri	UFO 34	G. M. Lowson	122:03:38
5	1	Assent	Contessa 32	W. and A. Ker	116:58:55

Notes Template:Reflist

Yachts that did not finish

Of the 303 starters, only 86 finished. There were 194 retirements and 24 abandonments (five of which were "lost believed sunk").Template:Sfn

Early press reports were often confused. The Daily Telegraph (16 August 1979, p. 3) reported that 69 yachts did not finish. Template:Div col

• Accanito of France, broken rudder. Towed.
• Allamader. Abandoned.
• Alpha II
• Amanda Kulu
• Andiano Robin
• Angustura
• Animal
• Ariadne. Abandoned. *
• Arkadina
• Asteries
• Autonomy. Towed to Dunmore East.
• Ballydonna
• Battle Cry
• Billy Bones. Abandoned.
• Blue Dolphin
• Bonaventure of Britain. Abandoned.
• Cabadah Ocean Wave Option
• Callirhaex 3. Abandoned.
• Camargue of Britain. Abandoned.
• Casse Tete
• Charioteer of Britain. Sunk.
• Combat II. Retired to Cork.
• Corker
• Crazy Horse
• Détente
• Double O Two
• Enia
• Evergreen
• Farthing
• Fiestina Tertia. Abandoned. *
• Finndabar. Abandoned.
• Gan. Abandoned.
• Gekko
• Golden Apple of Ireland, disabled. Abandoned. Crew rescued by RAF Lynx helicopter.
• Golden Leigh
• Good in Tension A High Tension 36. Two knockdowns. Retired from race. Sailed to Crosshaven, Cork. Towed within the harbour by fishing vessel Mona Lisa.
• Griffin Abandoned – crew rescued from liferaft by Lorelei
• Grimalkin. Abandoned and subsequently recovered.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
• Gringo. Reported as 'believed sunk'.
• Gunslinger. Broken rudder stock.
• Hestral. Abandoned. Crew of 6 rescued by Royal Navy helicopter.
• Hoodlum
• Impetuous
• Innovation
• Jan Pott of Flensburg, Germany. Broken mast.
• Juggernaut
• Kamisado, a UFO 34. Apart from two knockdowns Kamisado coped effectively with the storm and retired to Plymouth.
• Kestel. Abandoned.
• Korsar
• La Barbarelle
• Little Ella
• Magic of Britain. Sunk.
• Maligawa III. Abandoned.
• Marionette VII
• Mexxanini
• Mordicus Belgique, won 1981
• Morning Glory
• Mulligatawny
• Mutine
• Pachena
• Pegasus
• Ocean Wave
• Option2 of France, Granville
• Pepsi of Scotland. Broken rudder stock. Retired, no steerage. Several knockdowns. No communications. After 24 hrs towed by a French trawler into Kinsale.
• Pepsi of Holland
• Pinball Wizard
• Polar Bear of Britain. Sunk. Crew rescued.
• Polyhymnia. Retired and made her own way back to Plymouth.
• Regardless of Cork, broken rudder. Assisted by . Towed by Barnett-class_lifeboat .
• Samurai II
• Sandettie, a UFO 34 which was rolled, dismasted and swamped. However, Sandettie's crew were able to jury rig emergency rigging and sail to Land's End, whence they were towed to Penzance.
• Scaldis
• Scaramouche. Retired and made her own way back to Plymouth. Steve Cross remarked: "Although we hadn't the satisfaction of being one of the 88 which rounded 'the rock' we were content in knowing that we had brought the boat and ourselves back in one piece."
• Schuttevaer of Holland
• Silver Apple of Howth: lost steering, assisted by , made a jury steering rig, retired to Courtmacsherry under her own power.
• Sinndkabar
• Skat
• Sophia
• Sophie B
• Tam O'Shanter
• Tarantula of France
• Thunderer RAOC
• Trophy. Abandoned.
• Trumpeter. Retired after two knockdowns.
• Tiderace IV. Abandoned.
• Wild Goose of Singapore
• Yachtman of Spain
• Zap

Craft that assisted the rescue mission

Over 4,000 people aided in the rescue efforts. The Royal Navy coordinated efforts to find around 80 vessels and rescue 136 crew members. Many organizations made key contributions:

Coastguard

• Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, HMCG Land's End, UK
• MRCC Falmouth, UK
• MRCC Shannon, Ireland
• MRSC Brixham, UK
• Cross A, France

Royal Navy

• HMS Anglesey, Island class patrol vessel
• Template:HMS, frigate (Scene of Search Coordinator)
• , yacht
• Template:HMS (Leander-class frigate)
• RMAS Rollicker A502, ocean-going salvage tug
• , fast fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
• 15 Royal Navy helicopters from RNAS Culdrose and RNAS Prestwick, including
  • Westland Sea Kings, 25 sorties for 110 hrs 45 mins
  • Westland Lynxes, 10 sorties for 20 hrs 55 mins
  • Westland Wessexes, 27 sorties for 62 hrs 35 mins

Royal Netherlands Navy

• , destroyer (race guardship)

Irish Naval Service

• , Deirdre class offshore patrol vessel

United States Navy

• Template:USS, submarine tender, Holy Loch, Scotland

Lifeboats

These RNLI lifeboats spent 75 hours at sea in Template:Convert winds:Template:Sfn

• RNLB Guy and Claire Hunter (ON 926), Template:Lbs, Isles of Scilly
• RNLB The Robert (ON 955), Template:Lbs, County Cork
• RNLB Ethel Mary (ON 949), Template:Lbs, County Cork
• RNLB Helen Wycherley (ON 959), Template:Lbs, County Cork
• RNLB St Patrick (ON 1035), Template:Lbs, County Waterford
• RNLB Solomon Browne (ON 954) Template:Lbs CornwallTemplate:Sfn

Other RNLI Lifeboats called include Template:Lbs, Template:Lbs, Template:Lbs, Template:Lbs, Template:Lbs, Template:Lbs and Template:Lbs.

Royal Air Force

• Three helicopters
• Four Nimrods from RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall, and one from RAF Kinloss in Scotland

Irish Air Corps

• Beechcraft Kingair maritime patrol
• Alouette helicopter

Royal Ocean Racing Club

• Morningtown, Rodney Hill's Oyster 39 acted as the RORC escort and radio relay boat and was responsible for relaying the positions of the racing fleet.Template:Sfn

Fatalities and memorials

Between drowning and exposure, the storm killed 15 yachtsmen who were competing in the race, the deadliest in yachting history: Template:Div col

• Paul Baldwin
• Robin Bowyer
• SLt Russell Brown
• David Crisp
• Peter Dorey
• Peter Everson
• Frank Ferris
• William Le Fevre
• John Puxley
• Robert Robie
• David Sheahan
• SLt Charles Steavenson
• Roger Watts
• Gerrit-Jan Williahey or Willerink
• Gerald Winks

In addition, the storm killed 6 observers who were aboard two yachts shadowing the fleet to view the race:

• Olivia Davidson, John Dix, Richard Pendred, Peter Pickering (aboard Bucks Fizz)
• Denis Benson, David Moore (aboard Tempean)

The Fastnet Race Memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Cowes, Isle of Wight, was created in 2009 and lists 19 fatalities: the 15 competitors and the observers from Bucks Fizz. A similar memorial at Cape Clear Island harbour was first created in 2003, then updated in 2015 to list all 21 fatalities, including the observers from Tempean whose names were not widely publicized until then.

See also

• 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

References

Sources

• Fairchild, Tony (14 August 1979). "Kiaola heads for Fastnet record". The Daily Telegraph, p. 26
• Fairchild, Tony (15 August 1979). "Killer wind gives Condor record". The Daily Telegraph, p. 29
• Fairchild, Tony (16 August 1979). "Fastnet may be limited to fewer Yachts". The Daily Telegraph, p. 3.
• Wettern, Desmond (20 August 1979). "Fastnet race rescue operation involved 4,000 people". The Daily Telegraph, p. 2.

Further reading

• Butler, Gerald (2012). The Lightkeeper: A Memoir. The Liffey Press. Template:ISBN

External links

• Official website of the Fastnet Race
• "Fastnet 79 Archives". Yachting World, 2009
• "1979: Freak storm hits yacht race". BBC On This Day, 2008
• "The Fastnet Yacht Race Tragedy of 1979"Template:Cbignore (video). Nat Sharman, BBC, 2006 – via YouTube (Nautic TV channel)
• "Fastnet Race 1979 Yacht Grimalkin"Template:Cbignore (video). Richard Slee, LookoutMedia, 2008 – via YouTube (official channel)
• "The 1979 Fastnet Race Storm"Template:Cbignore (video). Gary Jobson, US Sailing, 2011 – via YouTube (official channel)