Plymouth to host the Rolex Fastnet yacht race in August - and to be the finish line
PLYMOUTH is to welcome yachts from all over the world later this summer, The Herald can reveal tonight.
The city has been chosen for the finish of the prestigious 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race.
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Yachts gather at the Barbican for the Fastnet Race in 2011
The biennial event was a resounding success when it was last in Plymouth in 2011, drawing huge crowds to the waterfront.
The news is a further boost to Plymouth's bid to become the UK City of Culture in 2017 - and comes just a day after the new 'Britain's Ocean City' branding was revealed.
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Plymouth Yacht Haven at Mount Batten has been selected to be the Fastnet finish line, with dozens of top racers descend on the city this August.
The spectacle will also coincide with the British Fireworks Championships, which has become one of the highlights of the city's calendar.Laura Whinney, Plymouth Yacht Haven Marina Manager said: "We're delighted that The Royal Ocean Racing Club has selected Plymouth Yacht Haven to host the finish of the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race.
"The marina is ideally suited to the major berthing requirements of the Rolex Fastnet, and we're looking forward to offering competitors and visitors a very warm welcome to what promises to be a truly great event."
The event will take place on August 13 and 14.
Plymouth Yacht Haven berthed around 90 vessels in 2011, while tourists and city people alike flocked to Sutton Harbour for an up-close glimpse at the hi-tech boats.
The entire fleet will be based at the Mount Batten marina this summer.
Plymouth's whole Mount Batten peninsula is getting involved in the event, with berthing, the main Fastnet Race Village and comprehensive facilities based at Plymouth Yacht Haven, and a 24-hour food and crew bar at the adjacent Mount Batten Watersports Centre.
Free parking for visitors on the peninsula will be available in several council car parks.
The 150-passenger Mount Batten Ferry will make the five-minute crossing to Plymouth's Barbican area throughout the day and evening, providing easy access for visitors and Fastnet competitors alike between the peninsula and the city's bars, restaurants and accommodation.
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by soultoucher
Thursday, March 07 2013, 5:19PM
“I agree with Jabba about the entrance fee of £50,000...there are 11 cities on the longlist for City of Culture, (shortlist of 4 cities announced in june) so that's £550,000 just in entrance fees.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller was heavily involved in the expenses scandal, having claimed £90,000 for the house where her parents' lived, and I'm afraid I don't trust any of them with our money which they tell us is in short supply ?
I'm a Plymothian and admit I bemoan what I see as lack of care and respect given to my city in the last 10-15 years, after a run of councillors who have made horrendous decisions in our name , the re-branding to 'ocean city' being the last one. I mean, what's that about? How much has Tudor already spent on signs?
Before we spend 50 grand on an entrance fee to a competition, can't we put it toward fixing the roads, clearing the dog poo and litter, painting the foreshore, sorting out the west end of town? I reckon every Plymothian would like these things done and c'mon, they're surely common-sense things as well aren't they? Do we have councillors with no common-sense or is that a stupid question?”
by ThePastyMan
Thursday, March 07 2013, 1:34PM
“@sssss2010. Yes, the fastnet always finishes in Plymouth, and has done since it started in 1925.
The picture even shows "Yachts gather at the Barbican for the Fastnet Race in 2011"
So much for 'The Herald can reveal...' only 88 years out of date and hardly a surprise !!!
While it's fantastic to have an international event like this finish in Plymouth (again !!!), I really wonder why The Herald gets away with this sort of drivel.
Was this written by someone who even lives in or near Plymouth ???”
by GreenGOM
Thursday, March 07 2013, 1:21PM
“Great news! More of the same needed.”
by plympaul
Thursday, March 07 2013, 12:04PM
“good news for plymouth and makes more money into the city!!”
by jannersontour
Thursday, March 07 2013, 11:54AM
“Brilliant.”
by sssss2010
Thursday, March 07 2013, 11:34AM
“Doesn't the Fastnet always finish in Plymouth???”
by Devonportboy
Thursday, March 07 2013, 8:16AM
“you didn't have to wait long frankdrake!”
by jabbathebutt
Thursday, March 07 2013, 12:08AM
“@dynamic holdings .. I hope you dont mean the usual janner greeting of "who the eff are you" and a beer glass in your girlfriends face in Union st .”
by Dynamic Holdings
Wednesday, March 06 2013, 11:45PM
“Great News, now lets work to make them feel welcome and arrange some first rate hospitality for them, enough to catch the National News Media and get the local media to cover it extensively”
by jabbathebutt
Wednesday, March 06 2013, 11:11PM
“It confirms my viewpoint that we dont need to spend over £50,000 to get a false certificate . Anyone who has an an ounce of sense already knows how good Plymouth is . The likes of Leicester etc can go and spend their hard earned council tax on it if they want . But surely ... we dont need to ?
We know what we have and this kind of crass "competition" is nothing less than a best baby contest or "face of wherever" cheap and nasty contest .
If the ones that run the city of culture thing had a real and positive motive ,they would not be requiring an entrance fee. It would be based on the facts . And the facts are that Plymouth should win it every year . But its false . Next year another one will get it and so on and so on .”