All the series’ big names and heavyweights will be there, forming complementary pairings, some of which are surprising and always high-performance.

The skippers of the sunk yacht OEX and rescuer Pyewacket describe the situation,

The rigorous 3,500-mile contest will attract the world’s finest solo racers sailing across the North Atlantic and will start in mid-May 2020.

The promising initial conditions caved in a few hours later as the breeze finally shifting west, but died out and leaving the fleet becalmed in the channel before even getting to the West End.

Among the Australian entries is Paddy Broughton’s famous Kialoa II, all the way from Sydney.

With 22 crews working on their boats to prepare for the Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts off Cowes on 3rd August, a lot is going on around the world in the IMOCA class, including new boats and record attempts.

Race organizers from the Transpacific YC started two multihulls first, followed 30 minutes later by the large group of monohulls, which ranged in size from 33 to 67 feet in length.

Marcus Grimes’ entry Insomnia, a JV42 from Pittwater in NSW, took the total to date to exactly 100.

Significant additions to the rules include the approval of HF radio weather facsimile units that will allow entrants to receive current and future forecast weather maps direct on-board.

Following the traditional three capes route, the race will begin with a prologue from a northern European city before taking competitors to Portugal, South Africa, New Zealand, and Brazil.

Seventy-eight boats are preparing to take on the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 384-nautical-mile challenge, starting on Saturday 27 July.

Three waves, totalling 90 entries, will set off in the biennial 2225-mile race from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Everyone is looking forward to seeing the competitors sailing on boats that have just come out of the yards, including Alex Thomson's new Hugo Boss.

IDEC SPORT will have a quiet summer now. Francis and his crew will get some rest after the long Mediterranean voyage and then gradually prepare for the major events that lie ahead, in particular the new record–breaking programme in Asia this autumn.

This retro race reopens once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for ordinary sailors and adventurous yacht owners to race around the world in stages.