Twenty Years Later Simon Sails Drum

Somehow I forgot to mention that the biennial Rolex Fastnet kicked off this past Sunday from Cowes on the Isle of Wight – one of the all time classic ocean races, the Fastnet’s 609-mile course has been a proving ground for the worlds most competitive and hardcore offshore sailors. Famously Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon nearly died in the 1985 while racing the Fastnet aboard the sailing yacht Drum. I wrote on this back when it was announced that Simon would, 20 years later, get back on the Fastnet horse…love or hate his band you have to give the guy some credit for giving it another go. If you don’t remember, Drum capsized off the coast of Falmouth (Great Britain) when its keel let go. Simon and his crew where trapped inside the hull for 40 minutes before being rescued. 20 members of his original crew are joining him for the 2005 edition aboard, believe it or not, the original yacht Drum. The BBC has a wrap-up of the Simon story. Here's a report from the Independent on the light air conditions at the start.