Fastnet duo

Contessa 32 sailors Kathy Claydon and Harry Alloway recount winning the two handed division of the Rolex Fastnet Race

Kathy Claydon and Harry Alloway, sailing Kathy’s 1978 Contessa 32 Hurrying Angel, have won the Two Handed Fastnet. As one of the slowest rated boats in the 240 boat fleet, they completed the 604 mile classic in just under six days, finishing 6th in IRC Class 3, 43rd overall and 1st in the Two Handed Class.

In variable winds that ranged from Zero to Force 7, they only used the auto pilot for one hour during the whole race. The need for constant sail changes also meant that sleep was confined to one hour naps - with two and a half hours being the longest sleep either crew managed.

The achievement is all the more remarkable in that Kathy is still recovering from two broken ribs she sustained in May and their preparation for the race had therefore been cut to only the Brixham Two Handed race this season.

Kathy Claydon commented, "the secret of success was concentration, hard work and more concentration. We had obviously pre-planned the tidal gates and the rounding of all the major headlands and turning marks, but in such changeable conditions a lot of it came down to constant work on the sails - and concentration.

"It is remarkable that the Contessa 32, a design that is over 30 years old and not exactly noted for its light wind performance, proved so competitive - but it is an ideal size for Two Handed sailing. And we really came into our own in the Force 7 beat back from the Scilly Isles to Plymouth. The Contessa handled those pretty nasty sea conditions much better than most."

And the most memorable moment? "Gybing the spinnaker round the Rock and reaching for the turning mark at Pantaneus, at night, in a building breeze surrounded by other boats that should have been ahead of us. Harry got a bang on the head during the gybe – but it wasn’t bad and we knew were doing well then."