As the 100th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race prepares to launch from Cowes, a legendary campaign quietly prepares for its curtain call. Among the well-over 400 entries lining up for this centenary contest is Pyewacket — the turbocharged Volvo 70 owned by Roy P. Disney. For Disney and his team, this is more than just another offshore challenge. It’s a farewell lap.
A race for the record books
With staggered starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron line, the 2025 Rolex Fastnet has drawn one of the most diverse and competitive fleets in offshore sailing history. Ultim trimarans, foiling IMOCAs, TP52s, cruising families, and Admiral’s Cup hopefuls all converge on Fastnet Rock, bound for Cherbourg via 695 miles of shifting breeze and strategy.
In IRC Super Zero, Pyewacket will face off against a muscular fleet of former Volvo Ocean Race machines — four VO70s and two VO65s. But it’s not just about the competition. For Disney, this will be his final time at the helm of a boat bearing the Pyewacket name. The yacht is up for sale and will remain in Portsmouth after the race. This marks the end of an era spanning decades of high-performance ocean racing — and one of the most successful chapters in offshore sailing.
The making of a legend
Launched in 2011 as Telefónica for the Volvo Ocean Race, the yacht immediately made her mark, winning the first three legs of that brutal round-the-world contest and finishing fourth overall. After the race, she migrated to Australia, where she was transformed under the Black Jack programme. A taller Southern Spars rig, deeper keel, extended bowsprit, and hydraulic winches turned the already-powerful VO70 into a next-generation threat.
Disney acquired the yacht in 2019 and brought her under the banner of Pyewacket — a name that had already become synonymous with offshore speed. Over 34 years, boats bearing the Pyewacket name have claimed class wins, course records, and multiple Transpac titles. The lineage even includes a partnership with Wild Oats in 2013. Few names have endured so consistently, or so successfully, across decades and designs.
A final flourish of form
Disney’s current Pyewacket has more than lived up to her name. Since her transformation, she’s chalked up an intimidating list of results:
- 2025 Antigua Sailing Week – Line Honours, Overall Winner
- 2024 Bermuda Race – Line Honours
- 2023 Caribbean 600 – Line Honours & IRC Overall
- 2022 Puerto Vallarta Race – New Course Record
- 2021 Transpac – Line Honours
- 2021 Cabo San Lucas Race – Line Honours, Overall, Course Record
All of it achieved by a professionally maintained, constantly optimised race machine — still capable of holding pace with newer designs. As the Pyewacket crew readies for Fastnet’s light and variable conditions, they do so aboard a yacht that remains among the fastest 70-footers afloat.
An emotional send off
Scott Easom, who has worked closely with the team, confirms the mood aboard is competitive but reflective. “This will be Disney’s final act with Pyewacket,” he wrote from the dock in Portsmouth. “She’s ready. They’ll race, then leave her here until she sells.”
The Fastnet, then, becomes not just a race, but a bookend. One last crack at the course for a campaign that has spanned oceans, broken records, and elevated the standards of offshore racing.
A boat with a future
Although Pyewacket’s Fastnet entry marks the end of her time under Disney’s ownership, it’s hardly the end of her potential. With her turbocharged VO70 configuration, full North Sails inventory, and race-ready systems, she remains a formidable prospect for any serious offshore campaigner.
Whether it’s another Transpac, the Sydney Hobart, or a tilt at The Ocean Race VO70 class revival, Pyewacket’s next chapter is waiting to be written. If you’d like to know more about Pyewacket, contact Paul MacDonald of McD Yachts.
But for now, all eyes turn to the Solent. As the cannon fires from Cowes and the fleet stretches westward toward the Rock, Pyewacket’s crew will race not just for results — but in honour of a legacy.
