Skorpios rising

Dmitry Rybolovlev’s ClubSwan 125 Skorpios has secured line honours in the Rolex Fastnet Race, crossing the finish line in Cherbourg at 8:15pm BST, 10 August (5:15am AEST, 11 August).

Their total elapsed time for completing the 695 nautical mile course from Cowes to Cherbourg was two days, eight hours, 35 minutes and five seconds.

Competing in its first offshore race, the recently launched Skorpios came through the first 12 hours of the race in good shape. As the breeze softened, the model extended away from her chief rivals for line honours, including previous winner George David’s Rambler 88 and the rest of the IMOCA fleet.

Having begun sailing in the last few years, this was owner Dmitry Rybolovlev’s first offshore race.

“We’re very pleased with the boat, the team was great. We want to thank the whole team for such great efforts,” he said.

“We were trying to stay conservative, especially in the high wind at the start, but we’re excited to see what the boat can do in future races. Rounding the Fastnet Rock was kind of magical, it felt like a really special moment.”

“The boat is very strong. We backed off on speed coming out of the Solent, but so was everyone else,” said Skipper Fernando Echavarri on his relief that the boat is still intact.

“We had an idea of what the boat might be able to do, but we didn’t know for sure, so we learned a lot on this race.”

“The owner is super happy, he’s a good sailor but new to offshore sailing and he enjoyed the experience a lot. I think there is a very good chance we will be back for the Rolex Fastnet Race.”

Nautor CEO Giovanni Pomati shared the excitement, “In this special moment in the history of Nautor I can’t avoid to send my thought and a great thank to the international team that contributed to the building of this racing boat!”

To follow the rest of the race as it unfolds, click here.

rolexfastnetrace.com

rorc.org