Fastnet 1979: storm lessons 40 years on – what has changed and could we be heading for another disaster, asks Cowes Week commentator
- Disaster sparked the largest peacetime rescue in UK history and changed sailing forever
This week marks 40 years since the infamous 1979 Fastnet sailing race, when a fierce storm hit the fleet as they made their way from the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England to the Fastnet lighthouse off the south coast of Ireland. The storm was larger than anyone predicted, chaos ensued and 19 people died.
The British and Irish coastguards banded together for the largest ever peacetime rescue mission, including 4,000 people, naval fleets, lifeboats, commercial boats and helicopters.
The race still goes on to this day, and is a part of yachting’s famous Cowes Week.
Sailing has changed a great deal since then, but there are still lessons we should heed. Peter ‘Stokey’ Woodall, a renowned weather router with International Ocean Services and a commentator for Cowes Week, was sailing in the Bay of Biscay the day the storm hit. Here he gives his advice alongside his observations about changes since the fateful storm.
Complacency is a killer