Tall Ships Youth Trust has announced its participation in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, marking the event’s 100th anniversary. Two of TSYT’s iconic 72ft Challenger yachts will compete with mixed crews of young people and sponsoring adults, taking on one of the world’s most demanding offshore races.
The Rolex Fastnet Race covers approximately 695nm, starting from Cowes on 26 July, the route takes competitors through the English Channel, around Fastnet Rock off the southern coast of Ireland, and finishes in Cherbourg, France.
In 2023, TSYT’s crew of 17 to 25-year-olds competed in the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race, they tackled one of the most challenging first 24 hours of racing in recent Fastnet history and completed the 700nm course in 05d 02:18:15. It was an epic journey for all on board and a first for Tall Ships Youth Trust.
Building on this achievement, TSYT has developed an exciting new ocean racing pathway for young people, to align with its three-voyage journey of Exploration, Empowerment and Leadership. Their aim is to break down barriers in sailing through creating the ultimate challenging environment while racing on the ocean, enabling ambitious young people, who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity, to take part in one of sailing’s most prestigious global events.
From Crew Selection to Fastnet: A Gruelling Journey
The road to TSYT crew selection for the Fastnet Race has been phenomenal. Around 40 determined young people who are on their personal growth and development journey with TSYT, took part in an intense selection process in October and November 2024. Setting out to prove their stamina, determination and teamwork to earn a spot on the final race crew.
Sponsoring adults will cover the cost of their own place and fundraise for the place of one young person, while the young people have also pledged to fundraise as much as they can to help fund their place.
To kick off their efforts, the young people participated in a 24-hour fundraising challenge on 25 January, pushing their limits in a non-stop endurance event that saw teams competing in a series of tasks in 3-hour watches, to rack up 150 race miles. From deck drills to scrubbing the heads – the tougher the challenge, the more miles they’d earn.
Together, with the support of TSYT, the youngsters have raised over £15,000 towards their Fastnet 2025 places, an incredible achievement, but they aren’t stopping yet, plans are in motion for a second fundraising event – watch this space.
Eva Murphy, TSYT 2025 Fastnet youth crew member, said: “I live a long way from the sea, and to have these opportunities to go down to Portsmouth for the Fastnet crew selection and sail has been amazing. I want to follow a career in sailing, this will be an incredible base to help me in my next step. Sailing is all about the challenge, and Fastnet is going to be the biggest challenge so far for me. I’m excited to push myself and see if I can do what’s not possible for so many others”.
Intensive Training Begins
Final race crews were confirmed in February, which are made up of 16 young people and 8 sponsoring adults. The first official crew training took place in March and the high-level of competition between the two crews has been fantastic with all members in extremely good spirits.
Adult crew member Simon Haynes said during the March weekend: “I’m mostly interested in meeting the young folks who are involved in this, listening and learning more about their backgrounds, as a parent myself its fascinating to see how enthusiastic they are, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop throughout the challenge.”
The next crew training week takes place between 25 to 30 April and will further prepare the participants for the epic challenge ahead. These sessions include advanced sailing techniques, safety drills, navigation exercises, and team-building activities. TSYT will be supporting the transformation of these young sailors as they prepare for the race of a lifetime.
Alastair Floyd, CEO of Tall Ships Youth Trust, added: “We’re thrilled to be a part of the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, we have entered two mixed crews of young people and adults so that they can learn from each other and optimise their experience. Adventurous racing opportunities like Fastnet are a key part of our brand-new ocean racing programme, where we are working hard to break down barriers in sailing and help young people kickstart their racing journey”.
Supporting These Young Sailors
The journey to the Fastnet Race is both exciting and demanding, and TSYT invites supporters to help these young people achieve their goal. Donations can be made via tallships.org/appeal/ocean-racing-and-fastnet-2025/ ensuring that more young people get the chance to take part in this once in a lifetime experience.
