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August 20, 2015  |  By Dorade Team

Rolex Fastnet: August 20 Report

Image (1)
Owner/Driver Matt Brooks during the 2015 Rolex Fastnet

Dorade is enjoying some champagne sailing today, holding second place in IRC 4 as the team heads into the last 26 miles of the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race. The ideal conditions come after a rough last night where the 52-foot yawl drifted perilously close to an exclusion zone.

Dorade at Fastnet Rock (Kurt Arrigo)

RETURN TO BLUE WATER CAMPAIGN

The Rolex Fastnet Race is the final event in a series of four major ocean races in the “Return to Blue Water Campaign.” Conceived shortly after Brooks and his wife Pam Rorke Levy bought Dorade in 2010, the campaign was initially called “Matt’s Crazy Idea,” but soon after the completion of a year-long refit Dorade began winning races, both offshore and in coastal regattas in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean and on the West Coast, proving that she could once again be competitive.  The team silenced the campaign’s critics once and for all in 2013, when Dorade was the overall winner (on corrected time) in the 2013 Transpacific Yacht Race, 77 years after its first victory with the race.  That was followed by an IRC class win in the 2014 Newport Bermuda Race.  Earlier this summer, the team completed Dorade’s most significant victory, the 2015 Transatlantic Race, beating Olin and Rod’s 1931 record by 26 hours and taking second place in IRC 4.

DORADE BACKGROUND

Dorade was designed in 1929 by Olin Stephens and built under his brother Rod’s supervision the following year in City Island, New York.  Dorade’s 1931 Transatlantic victory helped the brothers launch their careers and established them as two of the sport’s most gifted innovators.  Dorade went on to win many of the world’s most demanding ocean races, including the Fastnet and the Transpacific Yacht Race, and Olin Stephens became one of the most successful yacht designers of the 20th century, responsible for six America’s Cup wins.  Brooks and Levy purchased Dorade five years ago; since then the boat has been restored to its original racing form, with the addition of modern safety and navigational equipment.  The current campaign has adopted the rigor and discipline of a modern race program, continuously searching for ways to improve performance under all conditions, and relying on the combined strengths of a skilled and passionate team.  For Dorade’s full history visit http://Dorade.org/history/

Fastnet Race
Previous StoryRolex Fastnet: August 19 Report
Next StoryDorade Finishes 2015 Fastnet

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doradesailing1929

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May 23

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Smiles across the board as the crew celebrates the Smiles across the board as the crew celebrates their historic victory in Diamond Head. In addition to owner Matt Brooks, the 2013 Transpac Dorade crew included Matt Wachowicz, Kevin Miller, Ben Galloway, Hannah Jenner, John Hays, and Eric Chowansky.

📸: Doug Gifford/ @sharon_green_ultimatesailing 

#doradeyacht #classicyacht #transpacificrace #transpac #diamondhead #hawaii @sparkman_and_stephens @transpacrace

Smiles across the board as the crew celebrates their historic victory in Diamond Head. In addition to owner Matt Brooks, the 2013 Transpac Dorade crew included Matt Wachowicz, Kevin Miller, Ben Galloway, Hannah Jenner, John Hays, and Eric Chowansky.

📸: Doug Gifford/ @sharon_green_ultimatesailing

#doradeyacht #classicyacht #transpacificrace #transpac #diamondhead #hawaii @sparkman_and_stephens @transpacrace
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May 19

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It takes work to look this good! The crew varnishe It takes work to look this good! The crew varnishes the brightwork after the 1931 Fastnet Race.

📸: Unknown

#rolexfastnetrace #doradeyacht #classicyacht #classicyachtregatta #fastnetrock #rodstephens @sparkman_and_stephens

It takes work to look this good! The crew varnishes the brightwork after the 1931 Fastnet Race.

📸: Unknown

#rolexfastnetrace #doradeyacht #classicyacht #classicyachtregatta #fastnetrock #rodstephens @sparkman_and_stephens
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May 15

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A different kind of race. Rod Stephens perches on A different kind of race. Rod Stephens perches on the headstay looking for wind during Dorade's 1931 Fastnet Race victory.

[📸: Unknown]

#rolexfastnetrace #doradeyacht #classicyacht #classicyachtregatta #fastnetrock #rodstephens @sparkman_and_stephens

A different kind of race. Rod Stephens perches on the headstay looking for wind during Dorade's 1931 Fastnet Race victory.

[📸: Unknown]

#rolexfastnetrace #doradeyacht #classicyacht #classicyachtregatta #fastnetrock #rodstephens @sparkman_and_stephens
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May 7

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The goal of Dorade's "Return to Blue Water" campai The goal of Dorade's "Return to Blue Water" campaign was to repeat all of the major ocean races the yacht had won in the 1930s, matching or bettering her original performance in the Transatlantic, Newport Bermuda, Fastnet, and TransPacific. In this photo, Matt's at the helm at the beginning of the 2013 Transpac Race.

[📸: Doug Gifford/ @sharon_green_ultimatesailing ]

#doradeyacht #classicyacht #transpacificrace #transpac @sparkman_and_stephens @transpacrace

The goal of Dorade's "Return to Blue Water" campaign was to repeat all of the major ocean races the yacht had won in the 1930s, matching or bettering her original performance in the Transatlantic, Newport Bermuda, Fastnet, and TransPacific. In this photo, Matt's at the helm at the beginning of the 2013 Transpac Race.

[📸: Doug Gifford/ @sharon_green_ultimatesailing ]

#doradeyacht #classicyacht #transpacificrace #transpac @sparkman_and_stephens @transpacrace
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