Safety legacy of Fastnet disaster

By Victoria Bartlett
BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight

Rescue services picked up 136 survivors hit by the severe storms

In 1979 the largest fleet of yachts to take part in the Fastnet race were caught in a vicious force-10 storm.

Despite the massive sea rescue operation, the race ended in tragedy and 15 competitors died.

Thirty years on from the disaster, what progress been made in sea safety? And what would happen if the same circumstances arose today?

Advanced technology, improved equipment and changes in race regulations have all contributed to safer sailing.

Ferocious storm

Matthew Sheahan was 17 at the time of the race and on his father's yacht - he's now racing and technical editor of Yachting World. He describes what they went through:

Yachts have changed, materials have changed, rules have changed - so you can only hope the result would be completely different today Janet Grosvenor, Royal Ocean Racing Club

"I've never seen anything like it before or since. The sea state was the real issue. Waves were incredibly steep and the size of a house and coming from all sorts of angles. We capsized many times."

Emergency services worked round-the-clock to rescue 136 people from the water. Fifteen competitors died with four other fatalities in a catamaran following the race.

Two of the six men onboard Matthew's boat died - including his father, the skipper. The body of David Sheahan was never found.

Changes in the race rules

As a result of the disaster new special regulations were introduced to Fastnet race, which now limits the number of yachts competing to 300.

It also became mandatory for all yachts taking part to be equipped with tri-sails and a VHF radio, which most did not have in 1979.

Peter Sanders, from Sanders Sails in Lymington says: "The tri-sail is a replacement for a main sail if anything happens to that. Yachts in the Fastnet also have to have another back-up sail called a storm jib.

Kate Adie's report on the 1979 Fastnet race in which 15 people lost their lives

"Competitors would previously try and avoid taking these onboard during the race because they are extra weight - but now it's a safety regulation that can't be argued with.

"These back-up sails have to be bright orange so people can see that you may be in trouble."

Qualifications for competing in the 600-mile race were also brought in. Chief executive of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), Eddie Warden-Owen says:

"Entrants have to have completed races and a certain number of hours at sea, and have the appropriate safety equipment onboard, to prepare them for their trip to the rock and back.

The stability of the boats are checked more rigorously before racing. All boats have to have a stability index number which indicates their suitability for the Fastnet race. This number is figured out using the yacht's weight, length, height and depth.

Technology

The race route takes competitors to the Fastnet rock off Ireland

Eddie Warden-Owen goes on to say:

"From a safety point of view everything's moved on - communications, navigation and weather forecasting is all so much better - it really is a different story now to what it was then."

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) help avoid difficulty at sea and plot the best route, whereas sailors would have been reliant on traditional Admirality Charts in 1979. Chart plotting is still required so sailors they can cope if computer system onboard fails.

The Met Office says that better satellite information has led to their four-day forecast being as accurate as their one-day forecast was 30 years ago - helping all off-shore sailors.

In 2007 the Fastnet race was delayed for the first time in 83 years due to the Met Office issuing an early warning of heavy rain and severe gales that were set to hit the fleet of boats near the Fastnet Rock.

No-one wanted to see the sailors go through 1979 conditions again. The race was rescheduled but 149 boats were still forced to retire due to the weather.

Yacht construction, use of materials and safety standards have also been improved over the decades. For example carbon fibre is used a lot more efficiently. It's a strong material but also lightweight, therefore improving sailing speeds.

Nick Ward - who was the last to be saved from the storm in 1979 - decided to take part in the 2009 Fastnet race. He says sailing has come on a lot since the last time he raced this course:

"When I see the safety equipment that's available now I'm so impressed. There are so many improvements when it comes to harnesses and electronic positioning for example, even life jackets have come on a lot. The general attitude of sailors has also greatly improved when it comes to safety."

The "Everest of sailing"

The Fastnet race started with good conditions in 1979, but these didn't last

Thirty years on, the race is still considered a supreme challenge for racing yachtsmen or women in British waters.

Janet Grosvenor from Royal Ocean Racing Club - who was deputy secretary of the race in 1979 says:

"It's a classic and popular race because it's a challenging course. Sailors who have achieved so much around the world still want to tick the box of doing the Fastnet.

"Enormous lessons were learnt after 1979 and there have been so many developments in sailing that - even though you can't control the weather conditions - you can hope the result would be completely different."

Eddie Warden-Owen from the RORC, says sailors will always want to take on the "Everest of sailing":

"You'll never stop people going out and enjoying dangerous adventures. Sailing is a tough and demanding environment - but that's why people do it and why this race is as popular as it's ever been."

Fastnet Race 2009 got away cleanly in a fair easterly breeze of ten knots

"We learn every time we go out on the water"

Fiona Wylie took part in one of the smallest boats, in class 5, in 1979 - the last class to cross the start-line.

Unaware of the difficulties ahead of them, they managed to complete the course. Fiona ended up getting her first sailing trophy but she couldn't celebrate due to the sadness surrounding the day. She says:

"We do the best we can to make sailing safe, just like we do with rugby, horse riding and any other dangerous sport.

"But there are still tweaks that can be done. Huge numbers of changes in regulations have been made and so much has been learnt from back then, but we continue to learn every time we go out on the water."

Listen to BBC Radio Solent's Sea Sense Day on Friday 14 August