The following are some extracts from from the RORC Rolex Fastnet Race entry requirements for 2009.
APPENDIX A - EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT:
The Rolex Fastnet Race is not a race for novices. Every crew member must have experience of sailing a yacht offshore, and be prepared to encounter heavy weather. Competitors may be required to provide evidence of offshore experience.
The Person in Charge with at least half the crew must have completed, in the yacht in which they will race the Rolex Fastnet Race, in the 12 months preceding the start:-
300 miles of RORC offshore racing, see or
If the yacht is normally kept in a place without reasonable access to RORC racing:-
one RORC offshore race plus offshore racing* or a non-stop passage, to be proposed to and agreed by RORC, making a total of at least 300 miles, or
other qualifications similar to (2) above to be proposed to and agreed by RORC.
To qualify as "offshore racing" a race must be of at least 75 miles duration and include at least one night at sea.
Notes
1. When plans to qualify as above cannot be completed (e.g. a race becalmed) or in exceptional circumstances, alternative proposals must be made to RORC as soon as possible.
2. A service yacht may qualify as above or submit written authority from her service establishment.
3.The acceptance by RORC of any experience qualification does not warrant suitability for the Rolex Fastnet Race.
APPENDIX D - TRAINING REQUIREMENT:
It is the Person in Charge's responsibility to ensure that the following criteria are met and that copies of Certificates or Letters of Attendance are submitted to RORC.
At least 30% of the crew including the Person in Charge must have completed training to Section 6 of the ISAF Offshore Special Regulations. (Sea Survival)
In the Two-Handed class both crewmembers must have received training.
In addition at least one member of the crew shall hold a current Senior First Aid Certificate or equivalent (in accordance with OSR 6.05.2) and should be familiar with the management of medical emergencies that may occur at sea including Hypothermia, and radio communications operations for obtaining medical advice by radio.
The training must have taken place after 1st January 2004.
Copies of these Certificates/Letters of Attendance must be lodged with the RORC no later than Thursday 23rd July 2009. It is the skipper's responsibilty to ensure that the following criteria are met and that copies of Certificates or Letters of Attendance are submitted to RORC.