The crew of the 100-foot Ultime trimaran Maxi Edmond De Rothschild celebrate Multihull Line Honours and setting a new race at the 48th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race. Image: Paul Wyeth/Rolex Fastnet Race

The 48th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, which set sail from the Isle of Wight on 3 August, is sure to go down in the event’s history thanks to the incredible way the yachts Gitana and Macif concluded the race.

For their second fleet competition at the helm of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, the Franck Cammas – Charles Caudrelier pairing and its four crew (David Boileau, Erwan Israël, Morgan Lagravière and Yann Riou) just pipped François Gabart and his men at the post. In so doing, the giant fitted out by Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild won the legendary Fastnet Race with a lead of just 59 seconds over the second boat.

However, beyond this fantastic finish, the two crews enjoyed a thrilling duel, racing within sight of one another throughout the 600-mile course. With this first victory, the men on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild punched both right and left since their time of 1 day 4 hours 2 minutes and 26 seconds was some 4 hours 45 minutes and 34 seconds faster than the event’s previous multihull record, which had been held since 2011 by Loïck Peyron and the crew of Banque Populaire V.

Launched a little more than two years ago, on 17 July 2017, the latest in the line of Gitanas secured her first victory here. Second in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2017, the 32-metre giant was forced to retire from the Route du Rhum following damage to her starboard float and has been angling for an opportunity to show just what she’s made of in competition.

1 – Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Charles Caudrelier / Franck Cammas)
2 – Macif (François Gabart)
3 – Sobebo Ultim 3 (Thomas Coville)
4 – Actual Leader (Yves Le Blevec)

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