No race involving sailboats is really for the feint of heart. I remember my mother and step dad during a race back from the Channel Islands and had a bolt of lightning take out their mast. So close to shore...yet so far away from immediate help.
I've got a book on that Fastnet called Godforsaken Sea. It was a 'perfect storm' and tho a lot of people were blamed I tend to think it was just a bad conflux of events.
The volunteer lifeboat service did heroic work that day. Not to mention the naval (3 countries) & civilian ships, helicopters & aircraft that contributed to the rescues.
BTW, none of the 3rd party rescues (or TV coverage) could start until the storm died down.
Anytime I hear the term 'all weather capability' I just think 'what hubris!'
Thanks for writing, I'm glad I could spark something in a reader, even if it's a bad memory.
And, sorry to bring up a painful topic, but it's hard to forget the 1979 Fastnet race. I haven't thought about that in a decade or more, but crickey. I am not a sailor, but having watched the Fastnet disaster on TV, when I was living in the UK, it really gave me a certain view as to what sailing and racing can become.
Commenting by HaloScan
