Following her refit at Fox’s Marina & Boatyard during April/May this year, the state-of-the-art Ker 51 race boat, renamed Oystercatcher XXXIII, completed the Rolex Fastnet Race in August. This was the 23rd Fastnet for her skipper, Richard Matthews, who was presented with the RORC Dennis Doyle memorial trophy for the skipper with the greatest number of Fastnet races sailed.
Sailing in the East Anglian Offshore series, Oystercatcher was also Class I and overall champion for 2019 with no less than six overall wins in the series. In the final race of the season, the EAORA Buckley Goblets Race from West Mersea to Ostende, Oystercatcher covered the 90-mile course in 6 hrs 9 minutes, a new course record, at an average speed of 14.5 knots.
The yacht has now been sold to American owner John Raymont and will shortly be shipped, along with her 25m carbon mast, to Newport Beach, California. Renamed Fast Exit II, she is expected to take part in a future Transpacific ocean race. Before shipping, the yacht returned to the Fox’s workshops for further work, including a complete deck and cockpit respray, her new owner taking advantage of the top-quality workmanship and excellent value available at the Fox’s facility.
Read more on Oystercatcher XXXIII Refit
Watch the video of Oystercatcher XXXIII on sail trials off the East Coast
