Fastnet 2021, here we come!

In March, relaxations were finally announced allowing sailors under the age of 25 to train as a team again. This gave ROST II the go-ahead to start sailing again. Since then, the boat has been in Scheveningen, where it has been sailing for quite a few weekends. Step by step, our key event, the Rolex Fastnet 2021, is getting closer.

photo by Twirre Bogaard

The first training sessions after the extra long winter maintenance, we were immediately shaken awake by coach Gerd-Jan Poortman, to see if the level was at the same level as last October during the last training before the winter. During the first training sessions, short up-down laps were therefore sailed, so that various maneuvers could be practiced at high speed. Soon the team was running like a well-oiled machine again; luckily we didn't forget. Because a number of sailors were still injured, former ROST I sailors Floris van Hemert and Hans van Dam sailed along to help on the foredeck or with steering. To promote grooming knowledge, professional sailor Frans Hinfelaar stepped on board during one of the training days. After each training there is a digital discussion via Teams, in which the navigator Stan Schouten has processed all numbers and data in clear graphs. In this way, everyone can learn to deal with the boat's performance data, while new information about how it sails emerges. This debriefing came in handy for the training with Frans Hinfelaar. Because of his focus on the trim of the sails, after that training it could be clearly seen in the measurement data what does and does not help to get the boat speed up.

After miraculously fast recovery of the injured, thanks to the Maas network, the first offshore training sessions have been sailed. Because competitions such as the North Sea Regatta have been canceled this year due to Covid-19, the team has planned two offshore training weekends for this. The training sessions concern two rounds of approximately 150 NM around the wind farms off the coast of Scheveningen. If there is a bit of wind, the van Uden Ker46 can easily fly around it within 24 hours. This makes it a good offshore training course. In this way you can practice with a waiting system, bringing food and drinks for 14 people, and different sails are used than during an inshore. Due to the watch system, the crew changes positions more often, so that everyone tries different positions than their 'fixed' position. The first of these two training sessions had an average of 11 knots of wind, with a maximum of 15 knots. The boat started on Tuesday evening, May 11 at 19:00, after which the boat was back in the harbor of Scheveningen on Wednesday around 13:00. Sails were changed several times, positions were changed and the team was able to experience again what it is like to sail in the dark. The second practice started the following Friday afternoon, with a start at 12:00. During the second round there was unfortunately little wind, so that the engine was started at about eleven on Saturday morning, so that the boat was back in the Scheveningen harbor at 13:00. This second lap was good training to keep trying to get the boat going at maximum speed, even though the water is as flat as a transom.

In addition to training on the water, the team is also preparing for the Rolex Fastnet in August in other ways. For example, 10 crew members jointly followed the Offshore Personal Safety training in March. During this training they practiced with extinguishing fires, the operation of a safety raft and giving first aid. In addition, online meetings about safety, the competition rules and the Fastnet track are followed. The team continues to try new things at the moment, in terms of power, trim and even sail drop systems. This acquired knowledge and experiments can be tested extensively before we start on the Rolex Fastnet in August. There are a number of other offshore training courses planned. While Coach Gerd-Jan Poortman and Tactician Lars van Stekelenborg sail with The Ocean Race Europe in team Childhood I (including former ROST I sailors Max Deckers and Laura van Veen), the van Uden Ker46 is being brought back into top condition. On the weekend of June 18, an offshore training will be done under the direction of Frans Hinfelaar, after which the boat will sail to England at the end of June for training in Cowes, the Round The Island competition and Cowes – St. Malo. After this, the event that has been worked towards for two years will then be sailed: the Rolex Fastnet 2021. The aim of the event is to sail this as well as possible and to show everything we have learned over the past two years. Do you want to follow us on the way to the Fastnet? Follow us on instagram/facebook/LinkedIn!

photo by Twirre Bogaard