STORMVOGEL

Winds of over 30 knots greeted the 330 boats lined up for the August 2021 start of the Rolex Fastnet Race off the coast of Cowes, England. There were all the usual high-tech racing yachts from the contemporary race scene as well as a surprising number of old boats, among them the 1939 yawl AMOKURA, the oldest yacht in the fleet and attempting the race for a third time; a whole clutch of vintage Sparkman & Stephens racers; and even the great French racer Eric Tabarly’s old war horse, PEN DUICK IV, skippered by his daughter, Marie.

And then there was STORMVOGEL. Sixty years after the 74' 6" yacht took line honors in the 1961 Fastnet, she was back after a long absence and looked as formidable as ever. There was something about that understated sheer, the slightly truncated stern, and the big ketch rig that spoke of a yacht that meant business. She might not have been the most elegant boat in the race, but she was without doubt one of the most impressive.