Inaugurated in 2009, the RORC Caribbean 600 is a relatively recent addition to the calendar of 600-mile offshore yacht races, adding to the list of established bluewater classics like the Rolex Fastnet and Sydney Hobart races. Its route, around 11 of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, is one of the most navigationally challenging of the 600-milers.

Starting and finishing in Antigua, the race’s 12-leg, figure-eight type route stretches from St Martin in the north to Guadeloupe in the south, weaving a Caribbean course that is as stunning as it is demanding.

The consistent north-easterly tradewinds and the looping nature of the course will exercise every sail in the wardrobe, and rewards boats set up for performance on all points of sail. There is far more fetching and reaching in this race than in a typical Fastnet or Sydney Hobart, for example. The sheer number of legs and sail changes are also a great challenge for crews and navigators alike.

The Caribbean 600 Route

Caribbean 600 start

The starting line is off Fort Charlotte on the rugged coast of Antigua at the eastern entrance to English Harbour, above the Pillars of Hercules and below Shirley Heights. The first part of the race is an eight-mile beat to Green Island, the easternmost point of Antigua. While the Caribbean 600 doesn’t usually attract as many entries as a race like the Rolex Fastnet, this first leg can still be very hectic, as boats battle for the convergence on the left under cliffs and headlands. There are a couple of rocks to look out for here, a particularly noteworthy one at Standfast Point, although this is well charted.

Comanche at the start of the RORC Caribbean 600 in 2022 – the race often attracts a mix of local, charter and visiting yachts. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC

From Green Island you can sail the rhumbline to the inflatable rounding mark off Barbuda while paying attention to the Antiguan reefs. In big seas this might not be the case, and you may want to give the lee shore some more room. Usually this leg is around 090° TWA, but it’s risky to try to set reaching sails too early on this leg as there is very little runway to leeward for the first seven miles.

Anticipate the wind dropping and lifting you as you approach Barbuda. You will likely be VMG running by the time you reach the mark and may even have to gybe.

Barbuda to Nevis

This is usually a long (50-mile) downwind VMG leg. There is a wind shadow in the lee of Antigua, which is often indicated by a long cloud street. Once through the wind shadow, the wind will likely be 10° to the right of the gradient as the breeze wraps around the island, this is a nice header on port if you time the gybe well. It will likely be the evening of day one by the time most of the 40-footers are at Nevis.

Nevis to Saba

This leg is another 50-mile leg, broad reaching behind Nevis and St Kitts. Nevis is particularly tall and there are lots of land effects as you sail in the lee of the islands and the funnelling channels between them. Once again the wind bends as you approach the shadow of Nevis and St Kitts – you will likely hang onto a spinnaker for longer than you initially expect.

Saba is also tall and there is a two-mile leg to sail up very close to its western shore. Watch out for dive buoys and be ready to be in wind-seeking mode when in the worst of the wind shadow. Getting too far from the island will be punishing as the next leg will be proper upwind VMG.

There are rocks and outlying islands to avoid when rounding
St Barths

Saba to St Barths

Rounding the north of Saba, the wind first bends right around the island – so there is a small gain by taking a hitch in to get the lift – then it becomes a header as you sail back into the gradient breeze.
Often this leg is one of the lumpier upwinds, if this is the case then a good strategy is to get to the left into more sheltered waters on the shelf in the lee of St Barths.

St Barths to St Martin

The smaller boats should benefit from doing this next leg in daylight – useful as there are plenty of rocks and outlying islands to avoid. Slower boats also need to keep a lookout for the faster boats on a reciprocal course, having already rounded the top mark.

Tom Cheney and the Sunrise team competing in the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600

The first rocks, Les Grenadiers, are steep sided, so you can get close to them. A header around Les Grenadiers often makes you feel like you won’t be able to lay Ile Toc Vers, but as you get offshore, the wind will likely lift, so don’t worry if you are initially low of the layline.

Don’t rely on the charted positioning of Roche Table (Roche Plate). It is steep sided though, and visible, so you can get very close to it once you’re confident of its position. Pay attention to Les Roches Rouges: there’s an uncharted shallow spot at 17°50’.6N, 062°50’.6W.

St Martin to Tintamarre

From the westernmost corner of St Martin you are back to upwind VMG towards Tintamarre. There is significant foul wind-driven current offshore. Before you get lifted, get back inshore, otherwise it’ll be hard to get back. There are some good gains to be had short tacking inshore, making the most of wind bends on the headlands, although there’s a risk it could be light and flukey in places.

Be aware of Spaniard Rock between Eastern Point and Tintamarre. It is possible to get inside Spaniard Rock for some sea state relief and possibly a tiny lift around Tintamarre.

A long wind shadow is found in the lee of Guadaloupe

Tintamarre to Guadeloupe

This is the longest leg of the course, 150 miles, from Tintamarre and St Barths down to Guadeloupe avoiding Montserrat.

The initial part of the leg from Ile Tintamarre to St Barths is always tighter than you think and is almost hard on the wind. The current does seem to change direction here, so keep an eye on course to steer and keep COG-ing at the mark. Try not to get low of rhumbline, sail the shortest distance and anticipate being headed around St Barths.

St Barths to Guadeloupe also ends up tighter than everyone expects, often 60°-70° TWA. There is a decision as to which side to pass of Montserrat. The shortest course is to stay to the east of it. Don’t get too close to the windward side of Montserrat, as there can be a bit of a windward bubble.

The wind shadow of Guadeloupe is often the most challenging part of this race. Time of day has a big effect on how soft the conditions are, but many boats arriving during the night get becalmed for hours. There is a high resolution WRF GRIB forecast available that models the size of the shadow well, although it can sometimes be optimistic about wind strength.

The 70ft trimaran Maserati flying into the finish – the final stage is usually upwind from Redonda to Antigua. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC

Pick a point as a target and aim for it, eg Pointe Des Peres. Getting half to one mile off the beach has been the winning option for most races. There’s no point getting a long way offshore, because all this distance will be ground to sail upwind again later. It’s also unwise to end up in a no man’s land around two miles offshore. Stay pretty close and there’s a good chance of drainage breeze through the night. If you do get stuck in no wind, just push south, as that’s the quickest route back to the breeze and to the next mark.

After the long reach to Guadeloupe you’ll head up and beat to Les Désirade, leaving Iles de Saintes to port. There are some tricky bits to this leg including a rock off Grand Ilet and an exclusion zone around Terre de Bas. There is often a large wind speed increase at the bottom of Guadeloupe.

People are normally tired by this point and it’s a hard beat. There are also lots of lobster pots. Désirade is a bit hairy and has lots of rocks, so give it a good safety margin.

Les Désirade to Barbuda

After Les Désirade there is another long reach at approx 100° TWA. It will help that you’ve already found the inflatable at Barbuda once before, particularly as it may be getting dark when you get to it the second time. This is usually a fast leg but a good one for a navigator to get some rest. It can be a little demoralising sailing past Antigua, finish in sight, but with 115 miles of race left to go.

The leg to Redonda is often a broad reach but can be downwind – if so make the final 10 miles on port layline for cleaner air. Photo: RORC/Tim Wright

Barbuda to Redonda

Likely a gybe set at the mark, the leg to Redonda should be a fairly simple broad reach. Be a little wary of getting into the wind shadow of Antigua. As before, this should be signposted by a long cloud street. If this leg is more of a downwind than a reach, it’s best to do the final 10 miles on the port layline.

Redonda to Antigua

The final 34 miles upwind to the finish should be a fairly square beat. Once again the wind shadow of Antigua comes into play and this could be a final opportunity to get some leverage by picking the correct side of the beat.
If the wind is left, then stay further offshore and sail up the south side of the clouds. If the TWD is right, then a rule of thumb is to get left to benefit from the starboard lift on the edge of the Antigua wind shadow and flatter sea state.

At the very end there are gains to be had inshore, but stay outside the reefs. There are nice lifts coming out of Curtain Bluff and another out of Rendezvous Bay, but you need to get right onto the beach to get the left-handers.

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The post How to win the RORC Caribbean 600: Expert’s guide appeared first on Yachting World.

Roy P. Disney’s Pyewacket 70 (USA) has taken Monohull Line Honours in the 2023 RORC Caribbean 600 in an elapsed time of 42 hours 45 mins 06 secs. Two generations of the Disney family have raced boats under the Pyewacket name. The latest Pyewacket 70, is a turbo-charged Volvo 70 with a taller mast, lighter hull and deeper keel than the original box-rule. Pyewacket 70 is the fastest of Disney dynasty and the first to take Monohull Line Honours in the RORC Caribbean 600.

The next monohull to finish the RORC Caribbean 600 was Volvo 70 I Love Poland (POL), skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski. Pyewacket 70 has set the bar for the overall win under IRC for the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy. The vast majority of the fleet are expected to finish the race over the next two days.

“RP [Roy Pat Disney] thank you for letting us take your toy and racing the Caribbean 600 in a successful manner. We are so disappointed you are not with us to enjoy this spectacular victory,” commented Ben Mitchell the stand-in skipper for Roy Pat Disney who was not on board due to knee surgery. “The real wow factor is that Pyewacket 70 was here for the RORC 600 and this team is so good.

Pyewacket 70 took the monhull line honours. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC

“We had a great mix of crew that know this course very well, and crew like me who experienced this wonderful race for the first time. Each leg is like a race in itself, which keeps everybody going, but on a boat like Pyewacket 70 those legs become very short. Getting any sleep is a challenge as the whole crew is up for every manoeuvre.”

“The name of the game for the navigator is to study the weather and the nuances in this race are so different. When you get out there all your expectations can be blown,” commented crew member Peter Isler. “I had pre-conceptions of what the tactics are at different points in the race and I will say at least half the time I was wrong!

“In this race you have to keep your eyes open and understand the fundamentals of weather and be ready to adjust to the changes. A great example was going through the lee of Guadeloupe; it is the big X-Factor in this race and a total nightmare for navigators. It seems so random as to where you go to get through that wind-hole and this year was unlike any other experience I have had going through the lee.”

It was a tight battle for the multihulls Zoulou and Maserati. Photo: James Tomlinson

Tight battle for multihull line honours

Earlier a titanic battle for Multihull line honours had seen MOD70 Zoulou sailed by Erik Maris (FRA) triumph by 11 Seconds over Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati Multi70 (ITA). After 30 hours of racing at speeds approaching 40 knots, it will have been a tough loss for the Maserati team who were also second last year by just two minutes from Jason Carroll’s record-breaking MOD 70 Argo.

“That was an incredible race with such a close finish,” commented Zoulou’s Erik Maris. “We were ahead until midnight on the first day but we lost Maserati when they were very fast on their foils going down to Guadeloupe.

“Maserati sailed really well on the second day but on the penultimate leg (Barbuda to Redonda), they lost themselves under a cloud, just as Zoulou had done in the RORC Transatlantic Race. We came back together and the lead changed many times on the leg to Redonda. The last leg was really tough as the wind speed and direction was very unstable, but we managed to pass them on the one that counts.

“It was as close as it gets; an incredible finish and great fun. I decided to get into the MOD70 Class to do all the RORC races, that was the plan and we intend to do the Rolex Fastnet Race later this year.”

You can follow the rest of the fleet via the Caribbean 600 fleet tracker.

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The 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 has set off at 11:00 AST on Monday 20th February. Seventy boats racing under IRC, Class40 and MOCRA Rules, with crew from 30 different countries, started the increasingly popular 600 mile race.

At the start outside Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua, unstable squally conditions, with the wind speed in the mid-teens, produced a thrilling start for all classes. The Caribbean 600 fleet have now set their sails for the spectacular 600nm race around 11 Caribbean islands.

The fastest boats in the fleet are expected to finish in less than two days, but for some it will be five days before returning to a triumphant finish in Antigua with tracking available for the full fleet.

MOCRA Class

MOD 70 Zoulou (FRA) sailed by Erik Maris got away to a superb start. Flying their port hull, Zoulou had to duck a few boats on starboard, but nailed the pin end of the line at full pace.

Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati Multi70 (ITA) took a more conventional start inshore, but was soon up to full pace, with Zoulou and Maserati both hitting over 30 knots of boat speed. Zoulou was the first to Barbuda just two hours and 43 seconds into the race, with Maserati a mere 26 seconds behind. Gunboat 68 Tosca (USA), skippered by Alex Thomson was leading the charge behind the two trimarans.

IRC Super Zero

A classic dial-up featured in the big IRC Class; Pyewacket 70 (USA) skippered by Ben Mitchell and VO65 Wind Whisper (POL) skippered by Joca Signorini locked horns inshore before the start. Both boats have Volvo Ocean Race winners on board, but bragging rights went to Wind Whisper which stayed clear ahead.

Jens Lindner’s Volvo 70 HYPR (ESP) skippered by Seamus Fitzpatrick, arced up to the line on port and got a great start at the pin end. Johannes Schwarz’s Volvo 70 Green Dragon (NED) kept clear of trouble at the pin end to get a good start, as did Volvo 70 I Love Poland (POL) skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski.

Three hours after the start Pyewacket 70 was recording over 20 knots of boat speed with I Love Poland in hot pursuit. VO65 Ambersail 2 (LTU) skippered by Przemyslaw Tarnacki was leading the chasing pack.

RORC Vice Commodore Eric de Turckheim’s NMD54 Teasing Machine (FRA). Photo: James Tomlinson

IRC Zero & Class40

With 12 high performance IRC boats and a record 13 Class40s, a thrilling start was expected and there was no disappointment. RORC Vice Commodore Eric de Turckheim’s NMD54 Teasing Machine (FRA) went straight for the pin end with a large number of Class40s for company, including Ambrogio Beccaria’s Alla Grande – Pirelli (ITA) and James McHugh’s Tquila (SUI).

However, sailing higher and faster than the Class40s, Teasing Machine got away to a fast, clean start. Meanwhile inshore the start was significantly more frantic. Marc Lepesqueux’s Curium (FRA) and IBSA (ITA) skippered by Alberto Bona engaged right under the Pillars of Hercules.

Inshore, RORC Commodore James Neville racing HH42 Ino XXX (GBR) found clean air reaching down the line and hardened up for a great start. Kate & Jim Murray’s Pac 52 Callisto (USA) and ClubSwan 50 Balthasar (BEL) sailed by Louis Balcaen also got away to an excellent start.

Unfortunately, the race is over for Arto Linnervuo’s Infiniti 52 Tulikettu (FIN) which retired and headed back to port; all well onboard.

Three hours after the start Botin 56 Black Pearl (GBR) was leading IRC Zero on the water ahead of Callisto (USA) and Niklas Zennstrom’s CF520 Rán 8 (SWE). In the Class40 Division, Axel Trehin’s Project Rescue Ocean (FRA) was in the leading pack of Class40s, including; Alla Grande – Pirelli, Tquila and IBSA.

IRC One

In the combined IRC One & IRC Two start, Laurent Courbin’s First 53 Yagiza (FRA) skippered by Philippe Falle got away to a great start inshore, as did Jon Desmond’s Mills 41 Final Final (USA). Two hours after the start, Andrew & Sam Hall’s Lombard 46 Pata Negra (GBR) was in the leading pack with Final Final and Adrian Lee’s Swan 60 Lee Overlay Partners (IRL).

J/133 Vamoose (USA) skippered by Bob Manchester got away well and played the shifts inshore to lead at Green Island on the water and extend the lead on the reach on the way up to Barbuda. Andy Middleton’s First 47.7 EH01 (GBR) was second on the water in close company with Ray Rhinelander’ J/133 Bella J (CAN).

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Over 70 teams from 16 different nations are expected for the the 2023 RORC Caribbean 600 the 14th edition of the event, which will, start on Monday 20th February.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Caribbean 600 is one of the great ‘600 mile’ ocean race challenges, along with such epics as the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

The Caribbean 600’s tropical setting might lull you into the false belief that this race t is not such a hardcore event as other offshore classics, but that would be misleading. The Caribbean 600 features a tortuous course between islands, that requires crews to work with currents, beat into tradewinds and coax their boats through wind shadows in the lee of islands on one of the most interesting offshore courses to be found anywhere in the world.

The 600nm course circumnavigates 11 Caribbean islands starting from Fort Charlotte, English Harbour, Antigua and heads north as far as St Martin and south to Guadeloupe taking in Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, Saba and St Barth’s.

Unlike previous years, the 2023 Caribbean 600 will not see any super-maxis competing. Last year we were treated to a battle between Comanche and Skorpios but with the former in Australia and the latter currently out of the water in Europe neither will be on the startline. Regular entrant, Rambler 88 is also not set to take the startline having competed in the Rolex Sydney Hobart race in Australia in late December 2022.

This means the line honours win is likely to go to one of the four Volvo 70s set to take to the startline in the IRC Zero fleet.

Maserati powering towards A Caribbean 600 finish. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC

Multihull battle

Two 70ft racing trimarans are readying for a multihull showdown; Giovanni Soldini’s foiling

 Multi70 returns having missed out in 2022 to Jason Carroll’s Argo for Multihull Line Honours by just two minutes.

Argo is in the Pacific and not taking part this year, but MOD70 Zoulou with Erik Maris at the helm will provide formidable opposition to the Italian stallion.

Six Multihulls are expected to be in action, including Gunboat 60 Tosca co-skippered by Ken Howery & Alex Thomson, as well as Christian Guyader’s ORC 50 Guyader Saveol skippered by Gwen Chapalain.

IRC Super Zero

IRC Super-Zero promises to be a thrilling six-gun shoot-out for round the world canting-keel raceboats, including four Volvo 70s: American skipper Roy P. Disney racing Pyewacket, The Polish National Foundation’s I Love Poland, HYPR Ocean Racing skippered by Seamus Fitz Patrick, and a RORC team racing Green Dragon skippered by Johannes Schwarz.

Two VO65s will also be in the IRC Super Zero mix: The Lithuanian team on Ambersail and an Austrian entry on Sisi  skippered by Gerwin Jansen.

IRC Zero and IRC One

The largest class for the RORC Caribbean 600 is IRC Zero with 13 entries. Fireworks are expected from seven carbon-fibre 50-footers in the class: Eric de Turckheim’s NMD 54 Teasing Machine, Botin 56 Black Pearl sailed by Stefan Jentsch, Niklas Zennstrom’s CF520 Rán, Henry de Bokay’s Elliott 52 Rafale, Kate & Jim Murray Pac52 Callisto, Infiniti 52 Tulikettu skippered by Arto Linnervuo and the ClubSwan 50 Balthasar sailed by Louis Balcean.

Smaller yachts capable of punching well above their weight include the HH42 Ino XXX skippered by RORC Commodore James Neville, and Frederic Puzin’s Ker 46 Daguet 3 – Corum. The largest boats expected to be racing in IRC Zero include Todd Stuart’s Swan 82 White Rhino and Marie Tabarly’s 73ft ketch Pen Duick VI.

Racing in IRC One will be local hero Bernie Evan-Wong’s RP37 Taz. Bernie has never missed a RORC Caribbean 600 and will be competing as skipper for the 14th occasion. Taz will have strong competition from fellow Caribbean entry; J/121 Whistler skippered by Peter Lewis.

Experienced British entries in IRC One include Andrew & Sam Hall’s Lombard 46 Pata Negra and Global Yacht Racing’s First 47.7 EH01, skippered by Andy Middleton. Laurent Courbin’s First 53 Yagiza will be taking part in its debut race with race-veteran Philippe Falle as skipper. Lionel Regnier’s 58ft Briand sloop L’Esprit d’Equipe is also entered. Winner of the 1985 Whitbread Round the World Race, the winning skipper Lionel Pean will be on board for the RORC Caribbean 600.

The Class 40 fleet is a hotbed of design innovation. Photo: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi

Class40

A dozen or more Class40s will be racing in the RORC Caribbean 600, including three of the latest designs skippered by Italian entries. The Class40 fleet has seen significant growth in recent years and is at the forefront of offshore shorthanded racing development.

Ambrogio Beccaria, winner of the 2022 Normandy Channel Race and second in the Route du Rhum, will be racing the Guelfi-designed Alla Grande – Pirelli. One of the latest designs from the drawing board of Sam Manuard, the Mach 40.5 IBSA, will be raced by Alberto Bona. Fellow Italian skipper Andrea Fornaro, class winner for the 2022 Round Ireland Race, will be racing the VPLP-designed Influence. The Verdier-designed Class40 BHB won the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600 and the boat returns now under skipper Paul Brandel.

Third in 2022, Olivier Delrieu returns with his Mach40 Vicitan. Another returning winning boat is the Botin-designed Tales II which won the RORC Caribbean 600 in 2016. Tales II returns under the skipper Jean-Baptiste Daramy. Axel Trehin, winner of the 2021 Normandy Channel Race will be racing his Raison-designed Project Rescue Ocean.

From the United States, two Mach40.3s will be making their RORC Caribbean 600 debuts, including Greg Leonard’s Kite, second in the 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race. Martin Roesch competed on the Mills 68 Prospector last year, but this will be his first race with his Mach40.3 Velocity.

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In a fast-paced running of the RORC Caribbean 600, the MOD70 Argo, has set a new course record and taken multihull line honours, while the ClubSwan 125, Skorpios, took monohull line honours.

The battle in the multihull fleet between the two MOD70s, Argo and Powerplay, and the modified former MOD70 (now Multi70) Maserati was expected to be a close one. And it did not disappoint.

The three trimarans stormed around the 600nm course, which circumnavigates 11 Caribbean islands, in just under 30 hours, with positions changing regularly.

The 600-mile course starts from Fort Charlotte, English Harbour, Antigua before heading north, as far as St Martin, and south to Guadeloupe taking in Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, Saba and St Barth’s.

In solid 13-18 knot north-easterly trade winds the long reaching legs allowed the trimarans to consistently post speeds of 25-knots plus, while the many corners and changes of angle as the fleet rounded each island gave opportunities for plenty of place changes.

Peter Cunningham’s PowerPlay led in the early part of the race but was overhauled by both Jason Carroll’s Argo and Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati to finish 3rd.

Argo on her way to line honours victory and a new Multihull Course Record in the Caribbean 600. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC

Argo finished in front of both teams, and set a new Multihull Race Record of 29 hours, 38 mins, 44 secs, with Maserati just 2 minutes and 13 seconds behind with these two battling all the way to the finish.

This was the first Line Honours win for Argo having come runner-up on two previous occasions.

“This race is always an emotional rollercoaster; I think we traded the lead with the other boats about five or six times and the last change was 20 minutes before the finish with Maserati. It was a boat-on-boat tacking duel. I am sorry for Maserati because they sailed a great race,” explained Carroll.

Approaching Redonda, Maserati was leading by about 3 miles, but Argo closed the gap to about half a mile on the rounding and from Redonda to the finish was almost a one-tack beat on port.

Maserati powering towards the close finish in Antigua. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC

“We knew there was about a 30-degree header coming. We waited for that instability and chose to tack away leaving Maserati with a decision, and they chose to cover us through the unstable conditions. From then on, we had a duel of about 10 tacks, more than we had done the whole race. We eked out a tiny lead and then Maserati tacked a little too close to us. Before they could build speed, we luffed them a little bit, then pulled out the win,” Carroll concluded.

Monohull battle

The highly anticipated contest for line honours victory between the ClubSwan 125 Skorpios and the VPLP/Verdier-designed 100ft Maxi Comanche was always going to be an intriguing contest.

The recently launched Skorpios is designed to push boundaries, as the biggest offshore racing monohull, likely the deepest draught non-lifting keel (7.4m) and the largest sailplan combination ever conceived.

But in Comanche, the crew would be up against a multiple record holder, which had recently won the RORC Transatlantic Race for both line honours and IRC overall on corrected time. Plus the only time these two have met before in 2021’s Rolex Middle Sea Race, it was Comanche who made it home first.

Ultimately, it was Skorpios which prevailed in the Caribbean 600 taking the line honours win with a time of 1 day, 16 hours, 39 mins, 51 secs. Although Skorpios was setting a record pace in the early stages of the race, she ultimately fell several hours short of breaking the monohull course record of 1 day 13 hours 41 minutes and 45 seconds, set by Rambler 88 in 2018.

Skorpios pulled out an early lead over Comanche to be first around Anguilla, and although Comanche was able to stay in touch with the larger Swan, even in the reaching conditions in which Comanche is famously quick, Mitch Booth’s team could not find a way past. Less than one hour separated the two monohulls, with Comanche close enough to overhaul Skorpios on handicap.

All eyes now turn to the smaller IRC fleets to see who is contention for class victories and the overall IRC prize. Thomas Kneen’s exceptional JPK 1180 Sunrise is leading overall on Day 3 of racing.

Follow the tracker at https://caribbean600.rorc.org/Tracking-Players/2022-fleet-tracking.html

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One of the final international racing events to take place before the covid 19 pandemic in 2020, the RORC Caribbean 600 was cancelled in 2021, but is back with a strong international fleet this year.

The 600nm course circumnavigates 11 Caribbean islands starting from Fort Charlotte, English Harbour, Antigua before heading north, as far as St Martin, and south to Guadeloupe taking in Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, Saba and St Barth’s.

The big battle at the front of the fleet will be between the two giant monohulls, Comanche and Skorpios – both of which were built to break ocean records and take line honours wins.

The two boats have met before in last year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race, where Comanche came out on top. Skorpios led in the early part of the race, but ultimately surrendered the lead to the smaller (only 100ft compared to Skorpios’ 125ft) maxi class yacht.

Launched in 2014, the VPLP/Verdier-designed Maxi Comanche is a well-proven yacht with many records to her name, now racing under new ownership while skippered by Mitch Booth. The team will go into the RORC Caribbean 600 after a strong start to their campaign, also winning the RORC Transatlantic Race for both line honours and IRC overall on corrected time.

Enough sail? Skorpios off the Dorset coast. The ClubSwan 125 is named after owner Rybolovlev’s famous Greek island, where Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis. Photo: Mark Lloyd / Lloyd Images

The more recently launched ClubSwan 125 Skorpios, which first hit the water just ahead of the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race is probably yet to show her true potential, with many 1000s of hours of work needed to optimise a boat of this size and complexity. The Juan K design is designed to push boundaries, as the biggest offshore racing monohull, likely the deepest draught non-lifting keel (7.4m) and the largest sailplan combination ever conceived.

The competition between these two formidable opponents at the sharp end of the fleet will be something for tracker fanatics to savour.

They are not the only 100-footers taking to the startline. A record setter in her glory days, the 100ft Maxi Leopard will join the front of the fleet. While not quite up to the performance levels of the other two, Leopard can still deliver some serious pace in the right conditions. Another 100ft-plus Swan, the 115 Shamana, will meanwhile be competing in a little more comfort.

Volvo Ocean Race fleet

Although not used in the Volvo Ocean Race (now Ocean Race) for several iterations, the Volvo 70s still prove to be impressive bits of kit and six of the offshore thoroughbred canting keelers will be on the startline for this year’s Caribbean 600. They include L4 Trifork, formerly Ericsson 4, the Juan K design that won the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, which has now been carefully modified with lateral foils.

Racing alongside these Volvo Ocean Race legacy boats will be three Volvo Ocean 65s – the one design used in the 2014-15 and 2017-18 editions of the Volvo Ocean Races and set to be used alongside crewed IMOCA 60s in the upcoming 2022-23 edition of The Ocean Race.

Multihulls

It’s becoming something of a tradition to see MOD70 trimarans fighting it out around the Caribbean 600 course, which weaves a circuitous course around a variety of Caribbean islands that can provide plenty of lead changing opportunities.

Powerplay leading the RORC Transatlantic Race start, 8 January 2022. Photo James Mitchell

This year’s RORC Caribbean 600 race looks set to be no different with PowerPlay and Argo both set to be on the startline alongside the modified former MOD70 (now Multi70) Maserati. Expect a tight fought battle between these three.

They will all be up against the 80ft Maxi9-Multihull, Ultim’emotion 2, previously Sodebo, with a strong fleet of performance multihulls all looking to storm around the course.

IRC contenders

Although the very fastest boats will be fighting for line honours and hoping for the double whammy of first home and a victory on elapsed time, if the weather comes good for some of the smaller boats in the fleet, an overall victory is very much on the cards.

Handicap wins can be hard to predict as they are so weather dependent, but you’d be hard pushed to bet against Thomas Kneen’s JPK 1080 Sunrise, which won the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race and was 2nd in the Rolex Middle Sea Race after a controversial shortened course due to weather conditions.

Sunrise heading towards the Cherbourg finish line (and victory) in the Rolex Fastnet Race 2021

Sunrise will likely be pushed all the way by another JPK 1080, Dawn Treader, who have proved impressive and will make for stiff competition. Ross Applebey’s Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster is always competitive, having given the giant Comanche a close run for overall IRC win in the RORC Transatlantic Race earlier this year. Meanwhile the right conditions could well see a surprise win for JPK 1010, Jangada, one of only two IRC boats racing double-handed.

The faster boats in IRC Zero will be looking forward to a storming race in the Caribbean trades, and could also be in with a chance for the IRC overall if conditions go their way. The Pac52 Warrior Won was class winner in the 2021 Transpac and has a crack-crew including ocean racing legend Stu Bannatyne and will be fighting it out with another Pac52, Callisto. Direct competition for these two will come from Botin IRC 52 Tala, which took third place in the recent RORC Transatlantic Race

Another fast boat on the hunt for the win will be the ever-competitive Teasing Machine, while the Cookson 50 Privateer will be looking to add another offshore win to their long list of trophies, which includes a RORC Caribbean 600 win in 2013 (and 2nd in 2018).

You can see the full list of Caribbean 600 entire here

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The post Comanche-Skorpios showdown set for RORC Caribbean 600 appeared first on Yachting World.

These days it’s hard to predict what the world may look like in a few weeks, let alone a few months, but many in the Caribbean sailing industry are cautiously optimistic for the upcoming 2022 cruising and racing season. Although the days of spontaneous island hopping might be over (for now, at least), there is value to be found in slowing down, and being a little more intentional with your time.

The challenges presented by the fact that most islands are separate nations with individual entry protocols are not insurmountable. Tourism, both land-based and yachting, has long been a mainstay of the Caribbean’s economy. Sailing and related services have fared well compared to the traditional tourism industry, and technical and general yacht services, marinas, and nearby restaurants are largely open and fully operational.

Most islands now have well-established and easy-to-follow protocols, though there are still some quarantine requirements and restrictions on freedom of movement. These are generally greatly decreased if you are fully vaccinated (many islands require proof of vaccination for dine-in restaurant service, for example).

General safety protocols like social distancing, masks, and hand sanitising remain in place throughout, though compliance and enforcement vary. Some islands require visitors to have Covid-19 health insurance.

You can choose to see these regulations in one of two ways; as a cumbersome hindrance to the freedom to roam that may have attracted you to cruising in the first place, or as a necessary regimen to keeping both the local population and guests safe, allowing us to continue to be visitors to this glorious part of the world.

Many cruisers, especially charter guests with limited time, are opting to stay on a single island or set of islands rather than spend additional time in quarantine. This often requires some planning, research, and a willingness to go off the beaten path and visit anchorages you might normally have passed by.

A local Carriacou sloop competing at Antigua Classics. Photo: Tobias Stoerkle

It has also helped develop even closer-knit yachting communities, especially for liveaboard cruisers who have been riding out lockdowns and hurricane seasons on their boats instead of flying home. As a result, special interest groups are more popular than ever; weekly domino games, group fitness sessions, and volunteer initiatives are a great way to connect with cruising and local communities.

Most islands have a cruisers’ Facebook page where you can stay up to date on events and regulations while planning your trip, and a regular VHF morning net so you can stay in the loop once you’ve arrived.

Article continues below…

Caribbean adventure

Caribbean 600 pace notes

RORC member John Burnie explains what to expect on the course

How busy destinations are likely to be will depend on historical and current local government regulations. Martinique, for example, had been closed to non-European visitors since the beginning of the pandemic, and although they have recently re-opened, word has been slow to get out.

Many charter guests will once again be opting for the untouched beauty of St Vincent and the Grenadines, where visitors can easily spend every night of a 10- or 14-day charter in a different anchorage of shallow, turquoise water.

Idyllic anchorage in the British Virgin Islands. Photo: Patrick Bennett/Uncommon Caribbean

Many liveaboard cruisers that would otherwise have hauled out for hurricane season in Trinidad have instead stayed aboard in Grenada this year, and are now venturing north as other islands begin to ease restrictions.

Here we take a look at some of the southern Caribbean’s top cruising destinations to see what the 2022 cruising season has in store; what kind of freedom of movement to expect, and what entry protocols to prepare for.

Entry requirements and safety measures within and between islands can change at short notice. Always consult official government sources for the most up-to-date information when planning a passage.

Caribbean sailing destinations for 2022

St Maarten

Caribbean Multihull Challenge: 4-6 February – smyc.com/caribbean-multihull-challenge
Heineken Regatta: 3-6 March – heinekenregatta.com
Facebook cruisers’ group: Sint Maarten Cruisers & Boaters
Morning Net: 0730, VHF Ch10, Mon-Sat
Government Info: stmaartenehas.com
Vaccination Rate: 60%

Like Martinique, St Maarten remains a popular destination for sailors looking for a more European experience. Boat yards are busy with short-term haul outs and minor repairs for yachts getting ready for charter season.

There are some differences in Covid regulations between the French and Dutch sides of the island, but you can move freely between sides by car or on foot. As of 1 November 2021 there is no mandatory entry Covid test for anyone fully vaccinated within the last year, or if you are arriving from a low risk country. Covid-19 health insurance is required.

View over Petite Clef islet towards Etang de la Barriere, St Maarten. Photo: Lexi Fisher

Antigua & Barbuda

RORC Caribbean 600: start 22 February – caribbean600.rorc.org
Superyacht Challenge: Antigua, 9-13 March – superyachtchallengeantigua.com
Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta: 30 March-4 April – antiguaclassics.com
Antigua Sailing Week: 30 April-6 May – sailingweek.com
Facebook cruisers’ group: Antigua Cruisers
Morning Net: 0830, VHF Ch74, Mon-Sat
Government Info: visitantiguabarbuda.com/travel-advisory
Vaccination Rate: 48%

Antigua has a full regatta season planned for 2022, and will no doubt attract a lively crowd, while its sister island of Barbuda offers a serene escape. In addition to the regattas, the Salty Dawg rally is scheduled to arrive in mid-November, with most participants expected to spend a significant amount of their time cruising locally.

Having remained open since June 2020, Antigua’s yachting industry is still going strong, and there is no quarantine or arrival testing required for those who are fully vaccinated.

St Lucia

CORC Windward 500: 16-20 May – caribbean-sailing.com
ARC rallies: arriving December 2021 and January 2022 – worldcruising.com/arc/event.aspx
Facebook cruisers’ group: St. Lucia Cruisers
Morning Net: 0800, VHF Ch69, Mon, Wed, Fri
Government Info: stlucia.org/en/covid-19
Vaccination Rate: 20%

With two ARC rallies arriving in St Lucia this year bringing three times the number of boats (a combined 280) compared to last year, yacht services are up and running and looking forward to a busy season.

Yachting industry leaders are working towards a ‘bubble’ agreement with St Vincent to allow more freedom of movement for those on sailing holidays.

National parks and major attractions are open to locals and visitors alike, though on different days, regulated by a system of coloured wristbands. There is no arrival quarantine requirement for those who are fully vaccinated.

Antigua Sailing Week will be back for 2022. Photo: Paul Wyeth

Grenada

RORC Transatlantic: start 8 January – rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
Grenada Sailing Week: 30 January-4 February – grenadasailingweek.com
CORC Windward 500: 16-20 May
ARC+ rally: arriving December 2021 – worldcruising.com/arc_plus/event.aspx
Facebook cruisers’ group: Grenada Cruisers Information
Morning Net: 0730, VHF Ch66, Mon-Sat
Government Info: covid19.gov.gd
Vaccination Rate: 25%

Grenada developed entry protocols early on that allowed cruisers to spend hurricane season in Grenada, south of the hurricane belt. Despite a major Covid outbreak this summer, boat yards are currently busier than ever, and with a new leg of the ARC+ added to the roster this year, there are over 100 boats scheduled to arrive at Port Louis Marina in early December.

Non-nationals must be vaccinated to enter Grenada pending a negative PCR result. With falling infection rates the nightly curfew and restrictions on alcohol sales may soon be relaxed.

Martinique

CORC Windward 500: 16-20 May
Facebook cruisers’ group: Martinique Cruisers Information & Events
Morning Net: 0830 VHF Ch08, Mon, Wed, Fri
Government Info: martinique.gouv.fr
Vaccination Rate: 30%

International charter guests are arriving in Martinique again – a welcome return after regulations issued from mainland France meant only Europeans were allowed entry for most of the pandemic. Now fully vaccinated visitors can enter without testing or quarantine, charter businesses are fully booked.

A spike in cases over the summer saw a nightly curfew imposed, which will hopefully be reduced in the coming months.

Yacht racing in the Caribbean. Photo: Paul Wyeth

Caribbean sailing regatta circuit

This season event organisers are anticipating the return of most pre-Covid regattas and a full season of racing, with a shift of emphasis away from the shoreside parties and live music events towards on-the-water action.

Major events including St Maarten Heineken Regatta, Antigua Sailing Week and the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Caribbean 600 race are all scheduled to return. The iconic superyacht event, the St Barths Bucket, is due to be held from 17-20 March 2022. Organisers report strong early entry numbers, with 25 superyachts signed up and more pending.

Currently entry to St Barths requires vaccination and a negative PCR test, but no quarantine. The island’s glitzy multi-class regatta, Les Voiles de St Barths, is also scheduled for 17-23 April, 2022.

The British Virgin Islands’ BVI Spring Regatta is set to run from 28 March-3 April, although current entry protocols for the BVIs include a four day quarantine for partially vaccinated people.

A new format race, the Caribbean Ocean Racing Club’s CORC Windward 500, which was developed in 2021, is set for another round in May 2022. As a new ‘Covid safe’ offshore, each team starts and finishes in their own country, with courses set and results generated using GPS tracking technology – negating the need for entry protocols, quarantines, or risk of changing government regulations.

Michele Korteweg, president of the Caribbean Sailing Association, explains: “We see an increase in the confidence of boat owners to make the crossing to spend the season in the Caribbean. The Caribbean has invested in technological developments, as many processes have had to be done digitally to reduce contact. This should help with overall logistics (clearing in and out, the availability of supplies, online provisioning etc) and make it more attractive to spend time in the region.

“The Covid pandemic allowed regatta organisers to review their events and reinvent our products. I personally saw this period as a ‘forced’ reset.

“We are far more focused on sailing and want to offer world class racing. The social aspect of the events will vary throughout the Caribbean, but the overall consensus is we want to host safe and professional sailing events. Feedback from the sailing community also showed us that socials and parties aren’t expected.”

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The post Caribbean sailing 2022: the rules and where to go appeared first on Yachting World.

After Fujin capsized during the 2018 RORC Caribbean 600 race it would have been understandable if owner Greg Slyngstad had thrown in the towel and walked away. But Slyngstad resolved to refit his boat and race her again. Not only is this all-carbon, high performance, cruising catamaran an extraordinary boat, but it has an extraordinary story to match it.

In 2014, Seattle-based Slyngstad was looking to replace his J/125 with something he could cruise quickly and comfortably around the Caribbean with his family. He had previous experience of sailing only monohulls but could see the advantages of a multihull and so turned to designer Paul Bieker, a fellow Seattle sailor, for a solution.

In a matter of months, a drawing for what became the B53 was on the table. Soon after it was full steam ahead building the new boat in St Croix. With Bieker’s portfolio ranging from foiling Moths to the America’s Cup multihulls, the B53 was always destined to be an interesting boat.

Polynesian style bows hook up at the front, allowing less volume, reducing weight and windage, while still projecting the forward beam higher above the water than with a flat bow, which helps minimise the capsize risk. Photo: Mags Hudgell

Fujin was launched in 2015 and exceeded Slyngstad’s expectations. Upwind she attains speeds of 13 knots with a tacking angle of 90°, which allowed the cat to keep pace with a Volvo 70 in the Caribbean 600 earlier this year. Reaching, Fujin regularly touches 30 knots.

Fujin is an all-carbon catamaran, with Polynesian-style bows, C-foils through each hull, a rotating mast and adjustable T-foil rudders. There are six berths, comprising of three queen size berths, one in each hull and one in the saloon. All cruising kit can be removed for racing with turnaround to full racing trim possible in less than half a day.

Article continues below…

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Eventful night

In 2018, on his second attempt at the Caribbean 600 in unusually strong conditions, Slyngstad and his experienced team were caught out by a gust while rounding Saba during the first night of racing.

Slyngstad explains: “We came out of the lee of Saba, and were getting some big gusts coming down, it was very dark. There was one big stinger, we didn’t dump the sails quickly enough and went beyond the point of no return. It flipped over and laid on its side for about five seconds, then the rig broke.”

Fujin turned turtle but, fortunately, the team were all able to swim out from under the boat and no one was injured. Personal AIS devices alerted surrounding competitors and soon the message was relayed over VHF. Nicky Johnson, a fisherman from the tiny island of Saba, heard events unfolding over the radio and in the absence of any rescue services launched his own fishing boat to help the crew.

Fujin back up to speed in the 2019 Caribbean 600. Photo: Tim Wright

Nicky came out with just one crew and in a mammoth effort towed the upside down Fujin five miles back to Fort Bay Harbour in Saba. The tow was difficult. In strong headwinds they were making less than two knots; it took over ten hours.

Once in the harbour the small Saba community pulled together to help right the catamaran, hiring in a crane while local divers prepared under the water and Nicky’s wife even cooked cakes at 4am to bring down to the hungry crew.

Once Fujin was righted the next consideration was where the refit could take place. Finding a boatyard in the Caribbean with experience in this type of vessel would be hard. To head back to the US or to St Croix where Fujin was originally built would require another difficult tow across the Caribbean Sea.

After some research the team discovered NK Marine, operating from North Sound Marina in Antigua. Owner Tom Hellier had a shed that could take Fujin.

Gina McCorquodale, who was already part of the Fujin crew and had been on board during the capsize, was appointed as refit project manager and she, together with her husband Andrew, organised a somewhat easier eight-hour tow to Antigua where work could begin.

In a testament to the original build, structurally Fujin was in good shape post-capsize but every other aspect of the boat was in ruin. “The boat was a mess when it came up,” recalls Gina. “The most shocking thing was the weed. There was a high volume of it in every corner. We were scooping it out in armfuls.

“We managed to salvage the winches by stripping and removing them the second Fujin was righted, but everything else was pretty much destroyed. The deck gear was corroded, all electrics, interior furnishings and the engines needed to be replaced.”

This would not be Gina’s first major refit as project manager, but the normal challenges of co-ordinating contractors, ordering parts, and keeping on top of the work flow were made even more difficult by the extreme summer heat, the difficulties of shipping materials to Antigua (several items needed for the refit could not be transported by air).

Project manager Gina McCorquodale couldn’t resist making a signature mark during the refit where she was the only woman on site. Hidden away in the hull, two Yanmar 3YM 30s are equipped with pink-painted pulley wheels

“It was like a giant jigsaw puzzle,” says Gina. “I had to co-ordinate the jobs so each of the contractors could work in the right order and with the optimum space. It was important to plan ahead and make sure that materials arrived in time. I had a constant stream of things arriving and the paperwork was endless. If the ship was delayed or we had underestimated quantities there would be a knock-on effect for the whole project.”

On top of this Gina was working as the only woman on the job. “There were very few women in the boatyard,” she said, “One delivered the lunch and the other was a security guard. No-one had previously worked with a female project manager and I had to earn their respect, but over time we got along fine.”

Phased refit

The refit was split into four phases; first stripping down and cleaning, then a full survey, including non-destructive testing of key areas. Only then was it possible to plan how Fujin would be restored, consulting with the insurers and designer Paul Bieker.

Fujin’s T-foil rudders are mounted inside the footprint of the boat using an offset rotation pin. The rudder elevators had to be strengthened from new as the loads they experienced were higher than originally anticipated. Photo: Mags Hudgell

As far as possible, Fujin was replaced like with like, with Gina and the team only making changes that would simplify systems based on their experience of racing the boat over the previous year. Greg was happy with Fujin overall and the boat had proved itself structurally strong. But some subtle improvements were introduced, such as moving the mast rotation controls from the forward to the aft end of the deckhouse, allowing them to be adjusted without a crew needing to leave the cockpit.

Instrument displays were added and angled for better viewing from the helming position; the hydraulic system previously used for the mainsheet was removed as with the crew’s experience of sailing the boat it was deemed unnecessary (instead the sail is now controlled by rope and an electric winch).

The foot buttons, which were used to manage the hydraulic main, have also been changed to finger buttons. Windscreens were added to the two helming positions to give protection when Fujin is up to speed.

The addition of windscreens was one of the few changes made during Fujin’s refit. The helming position is constantly hosed by a huge amount of spray when the boat is sailing at speed. Photo: Mags Hudgell

Fujin was relaunched in the winter of 2018 and the team immediately started pushing her to perform. Slyngstad reports there was some initial nervousness but the crew all understood the capsize had been caused by human error and the whole team was determined to learn from the mistake and move on.

In a rewarding end to the story, Fujin raced again in the 2019 Caribbean 600, finishing as 3rd multihull across the line, only behind the two MOD 70s.

Specification

LOA: 16.33m (53ft 7in)
LWL: 16.17m (53ft 1in)
Beam overall: 8.00m (26ft 3in)
Draught: 0.40m-3.00m (1ft 4in-9ft 10in)
Mast height: 23.00m (75ft 6in)
Mainsail area: 108m²(1,162ft²)
Jib area: 46m² (495ft²)
Asymmetric sail area: 197m² (2,120ft²)
Diesel capacity: 380lt (64gal)
Water capacity: 500lt (110gal)

The post Fujin: The inside story of this carbon catamaran’s Caribbean refit appeared first on Yachting World.

A record fleet got off to a squally start from Antigua today in the RORC Caribbean 600 race. Some 84 starters, the largest number in the event’s ten-year history, crossed the line to punch their way up the first beat towards Barbuda in winds of 25-30 knots.

Strong northerly tradewinds mean that the multihull and monohull records of 39 and 40 hours respectively could be broken this year – and by diverse contenders, such as George David’s newly re-optimised Rambler 88 and the 42ft fully foiling F4 ‘missile’ catamaran being raced by America’s Cup sailor (and local) Shannon Falcone.

The course takes yachts on a tortuous 600-mile route around the islands of Barbuda, Nevis, Saba, St Barth, St Martin, Guadeloupe, Montserrat and back via Barbuda and Redonda, and features nearly every wind angle. This makes it a surprisingly tough and interesting event, something that has contributed to its steady growth, year on year.

Watch the race preview here>

The event was first suggested by former RORC marketing consultant John Burnie and Stan Pearson from Antigua Rigging and launched in 2008 after being taken up by the club’s CEO, Eddie Warden-Owen. It began with a small fleet of 24 yachts, and made a loss, but the club with it.

(“It was suggested we should run it every other year,” Warden-Owen recalls, “and I remember our treasurer saying: ‘That’s great; it will take us twice as long to go broke!’”)

Word soon got out that the Caribbean 600 was a fun but tricky event and anything but the dawdle round the islands some might have assumed. Over the last decade, it has evolved into a genuine Blue Riband event.

Today it ranks with the Rolex Middle Sea Race and even the RORC’s own Fastnet Race as a must-do offshore event, arduous in its own special way, but also sunny…and in the Caribbean…and in February.

Compared with the other major 600-milers, this race is even more international, with entries from 27 countries, most of which have sailed thousands of miles to take part.

So today the RORC Caribbean 600 is firmly established, with a fleet that spans yachts as small as 30ft – the smallest is the open Seacart 30 – through a clutch of Class 40s and chartered production racers up to supermaxis such as Ludde Ingvall’s CQS, Maxi 72 Proteus, Rambler 88 and a handful of superyachts such as Southern Wind SW102 Farfalla.

[UPDATE 2210UTC – CQS has retired following an electronic or software problem that caused the engine, which powers the hydraulic systems, to shut down.]

The crew lists glitter with top pros: America’s Cup sailors such as Brad Butterworth and Stu Bannatyne, Volvo and Vendée racers like Guillermo Altadill, US Olympic Gold medallist Jonathan McKee, plus a score of top navigators.

They enjoy it because this race can be a real challenge. Last year on Proteus, Stu Bannatyne tells me, they made “over 70 sail changes”. In a race lasting under two days, that’s a change on average every 45 minutes.

Fleet measurer Sandy Mair has done the race four times. “It’s a tough, tough race,” he tells me.

“You have legs that are 70 miles hard on the wind, brutal beats where the race can be won or lost, fast spinnaker runs, you’ve got 12 hours in the beating sun and 12 hours of darkness where, because you’re wet, you get cold. You feel really beaten up at the end,” he says, smiling as he says it.

Pro sailor and navigator Wouter Verbraak agrees. He is not sailing this year thanks to a skiing injury but recalls it as “very intense”. It is, he says, “a race all about gear changes. It’s a big job for the navigators to anticipate them. It is a really a great all-round challenge for crews, from driving to trimming to your bow team.

“It is hard because of the lack of opportunity for recovery and it’s really difficult to run a proper watch system. So you don’t get into a rhythm and it can be hard to manage the energy of your crew.

“You will have squalls in the morning and in the late afternoon, so you can end up damp and cold. It’s a bite-sized race, with bite-sized chunks of misery,” he says, laughing uproariously.

“But,” he adds, “it’s always just another 60 miles to the next point. There are a lot of corners, so there are a lot of opportunities. It’s intense but the weather is pleasant, there’s a lot of variety – and it’s scenic.”

The Caribbean 600 provides some fantastic challenges for navigators and, along with all the high-tech tools, features some good, old-fashioned Mk 1 eyeball skills and tactical challenges.

Weaving in and round squalls, and working out visually which might have wind, and on which sides, and which will be sucking out wind, is vital. So is working out how to avoid the wind shadows round some of the higher islands – and even working out where these might extend to if you arrive there in darkness.

“There are a lot of theories for day and night that you can break your head on,” says Verbraak.

All of which makes this race a special one for competitors, and for many an ideal introduction to serious offshore racing – all achievable in a week or ten days away from the office.

There is a great wrap-up video here:

There are also photos, on board videos and skipper interviews from the race on the Yachting World Facebook page.

The post RORC Caribbean 600 fleet faces record-setting pace in punchy tradewinds appeared first on Yachting World.

One of the great wonders of sailing is that, no matter how wide our experience or how long we’ve been at sea, none of us has seen it all.

Take me, for example. When asked, I generally say that an extended life on the water has put me at the helm of everything from a Firefly dinghy to a square-rigged ship and filled in most of the gaps between, but at the end of February this year, I rediscovered the schooner.

The first boat I sailed for a living was the schooner Hindu out of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Designed for the Bermuda Races, she gave me a good start.

Later I served aboard a working trader, then it was Olin Stephens’s 1930s masterpiece Brilliant under the late Captain George Moffett. Fine vessels all, but none prepared me for the impact of sailing aboard Eleonora in the RORC Caribbean 600 race.

Eleonora was launched in 2000. She is a straight replica of the 135ft, 214 ton Herreshoff schooner Westward.

Under the command of her Scottish captain, Charlie Barr, Westward swept across the Atlantic in 1910 to take 11 1sts in 11 starts against the smartest Europe could produce.

This is Eleonora’s heritage. She was born to race, but sprints around the cans mean an exhausting workout for crews handling spinnakers and gollywobblers the size of a supermarket car park; the boat is hardly into her stride before the interesting sails are dropped for the next beat.

The RORC Caribbean 600 is different. The race could have been dreamed up for schooners. Set across the north-east tradewinds among the islands around Antigua, it features reaches up to 150 miles long, a beat or two and the odd run that, with luck, shouldn’t be too extended.

Some 600 miles of glorious sailing against some of the world’s top boats, old and very new, is a proposition no sailor could turn down, so when the call came to join Eleonora I threw my winter diary out of the porthole.

I arrived three days before the start to find the yacht stern-to in Nelson’s Dockyard flying the Royal Yacht Squadron burgee of my chum David Aisher, a friend of the owner. The crew of 28 under Captain Brendan McCoy were a mix of David’s party and professionals.

Levels of competence ranged from the guests – keen, but of mixed gaff-rig experience – to the tough, fit seamen and women of the nine permanent crew, augmented by a group of pros brought in to provide reliable deck work, add tactical support to the skipper, save the amateurs from killing themselves and help train us into a team.

One thing was sure: with blocks the size of your head flying around and 12,000sq ft of sail either to drive you or to flatten you with extreme violence, there was no space for passengers.

Above all, what a 200-ton schooner needs is wind. Winter in the Caribbean more or less guarantees cracking north-east Trades, but this year the unthinkable happened: a cloud was drifting into the path of the sunshine. A long, trailing front on holiday from the North Atlantic had been threatening the Trades.

A classic duel

On start day the front was poised for action. By day two it was forecast to generate a slack low pressure system and perform tricks with the wind you’d normally only see coming out of a conjuror’s hat with the white rabbit. The outlook for the heavy classics was far from ideal.

With light winds predicted for much of the race, we couldn’t compete against today’s featherweight flyers, but we had a private contest on with Adela, the other schooner. Adela has a sexy modern rig and transcends even Eleonora’s 160ft of sparred length.

She is usually faster over the water, but the handicappers were on the case. If the wind held up and we did our boat justice we might just pip her in the final results.

Tacking a gaff schooner under full sail is a complex business, which was going to make any starting gun shenanigans best avoided. A few years back Eleonora’s two topmasts went over the side after a runner was missed; the prospect of fast-turning race boats calling starboard on us as we beat up to the line must have brought Jason Beken, our first mate, out in a cold sweat.

Adela’s sail plan is simpler than Eleonora’s, so the two skippers agreed on a start-line policy. Adela would cross the line first on the safer offshore tack with us close behind. Both giants would hang back to keep clear of smaller craft.

The plan worked and away went both schooners along the south coast of Antigua, close-hauled in a brisk breeze from the east. As we thundered along well heeled, a hissing sound from our weather quarter announced the arrival of Phaedo3 and Maserati, the two flying MOD70 trimarans that had started after us.

With a whoop of sheer delight, their crews shot past us as if they were in F1 cars seeing off a vintage Bentley and were gone from our lives. As for Adela, we’d given her a minute or so for safety, but with waterlines of around 100ft, 600 miles offered plenty of time to make it up.

Eleonora could have done with a few knots more from the wind, however, so Adela soon opened a commanding lead. We stood out to sea on one long board to avoid manoeuvres, because coming about in a traditional racing schooner involves a lot more than just tacking the headsails.

The main jackyard topsail with its massive 60ft luff spar slots across with the mainsail, but the fore gaff topsail and the fisherman staysail stand in the area between the masts. They have to be set to leeward of the triatic and topmast stays, so they must be dropped before the boat can be brought to the wind.

The foremast hands gather on the downhill side as the topsail halyard and sheet are let go. Four or five grab the sail as it is lowered and sort it out for a quick rehoist on the other side.

Meanwhile, the midships team spread out along the deck under the fore boom ready to smother the fisherman as its two halyards are eased away. For readers who don’t know about fishermen, this four-cornered powerhouse is set flying.

The throat hoists to where the foremast is doubled with the topmast. The peak goes to the main topmast head. The sheet leads from the clew to a cheek block well aft on the main boom and the tack downhaul is set up at the foot of the foremast.

All sorts of expensive repair bills await mistakes, but somehow the beast is smothered and shoved under the boom for hoisting when she fills away on the new tack. With the upper sails on deck, the helm can spin the wheel.

Apart from three headsails and the size factor, the only further complication is the two sets of runners. These are intimidating in their sheer weight.

The three headsails are called by the bowman from the bowsprit end. He uses sign language because nobody shouts on Eleonora except, occasionally, the mate when the spinnaker sheet crew needs a nudge. Each sail gets a number. Jib topsail, 1; jib, 2; staysail, 3.

The bowman, known mysteriously as ‘The Nipper’, even though he is actually the mate of the schooner Elena and on loan to us for the race, holds up one finger, then signs to heave in the jib top until he is satisfied. Then it’s two fingers and so on.

He doesn’t slam the sails in hard immediately, he eases them a touch while the schooner gathers way. Once she’s making ten knots or so, she comes up slowly and his trimmers harden in until she is sailing at around 45° to the true wind.

As soon as we rounded Antigua and eased sheets for Barbuda, the fisherman gave way to the monster gollywobbler. This is basically a giant fisherman that fills the gap between the masts completely.

It overlaps the mainsail substantially and its power is fearsome. The ‘golly’ was followed by the new asymmetric spinnaker which set like a dream to the great satisfaction of the mate and especially the skipper.

The wind began playing tricks as night fell between Barbuda and Nevis. Every so often a foul-up aloft would mean one of the young men would fly up on a harness to perform unthinkable acts of daring, including that particular ‘favourite’, the walk to the extreme end of the gaff, where a topsail sheet had whipped around the spar – every gaff sailor’s nightmare, and there’s no other way of clearing it short of dropping the whole lot.

Along the coast of St Maarten.

Rounding Nevis, the wind fell away and swung into the west, bang on the nose. We beat past the brightly lit shoreline in the dark and fetched off towards Saba 50 miles to the north-west as the watch changed at 0200.

Six hours later we were reaching steadily towards St Maarten under spinnaker and golly. Up to weather the blackest of squalls was limbering up and the rain started.

The front arrived like an avalanche. We were hardly kitted up before it was hammering down in a solid wall of water.

The wind came on with real spite in a heartbeat and all hands were tackling the gollywobbler. Along with ten others, I was scrabbling at its craziness from the windward side while one of the professionals, Colin, was hammering it into submission from leeward. The punch I received through the canvas would have done justice to Mike Tyson and I sported a black eye for the rest of the trip.

After the front, the weather went completely insane with wind 180° adrift from normal. In a typical year, boats reach past the island of St Maarten then hack up to the eastern end of the Anguilla Channel.

As the rain backed off we could see the bowsprit end again and the wind kicked in outrageously from the south-west, leaving us beating up to what should have been the leeward end of St Maarten. Here, at last, we bore away and set every stitch we had.

All hands tumbled out on deck because this was what we’d all come for. As we scorched down that sound at 14 knots, 50ft race boats swam briefly into our sights and were left bobbing in our wake as we surged along, rail down, rig roaring for joy.

While it lasted it was glorious, but all things must end and by the time another star-carpeted night had wheeled by we were becalmed. We had found the hole in the pressure gradient.

A whole fleet of yachts was effectively parked up between Guadeloupe and the Saintes. The prognosis for schooners was dismal.

Modern yachts with no wind in a slop of sea can strap in the main and suffer little more than annoyance. For us, the racket from aloft was deafening as the gaffs rolled and screamed.

We took in the fisherman and bagged the spinnaker, but still the clatter went on. The jackyarder was suffering most with its huge club yard being munched by the gaff spans at every lurch of the rig yet, had we dropped it, all progress would have ceased.

A light breeze was due to show up the following afternoon, but even if we waited for it, we wouldn’t be back in time for the prizegiving. The damage the yacht was suffering was painful, so we dropped everything and called it a day. Adela retired shortly after us.

With the team spirit we’d built up, everyone on board was disappointed, but the weather is what it is, and sometimes there’s more to life than winning a race. It was enough to be at sea on a world-class piece of history with a crew whose spirit reignited our faith in the future.

The post Racing on Eleonora in the Caribbean 600 – a dream course for a giant classic schooner appeared first on Yachting World.

George Sakellaris’ Maxi72, Proteus (USA) has been declared the overall winner of the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600. Whilst several yachts are still racing, the remaining teams will be unable to better Proteus’ corrected time under IRC.

Sakellaris was awarded the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy for the best corrected time under the IRC Rating rule.

George Sakellaris receives the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy © RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

It is the second time that George Sakellaris has skippered the overall winner, having won the 2014 race with Maxi72, Shockwave. Proteus was also the winner of the highly competitive IRC Zero class featuring four Maxi72s.

Multihull record

Hurtling around the Caribbean at speeds in excess of 30 knots and topping out nearer 40, often barely a boat length apart, the epic duel between MOD70s Concise 10 and Phaedo3 came to a conclusion after 32 hours of hot racing. Lloyd Thornburg’s MOD70 Phaedo3, co-skippered by Brian Thompson crossed the finish line at Fort Charlotte in an elapsed time of 31 hours, 59 minutes, 04 seconds, breaking their own multihull race record set last year by 1 hour 34 minutes 26 seconds.
Barely out of sight of each other the entire race, Tony Lawson’s MOD70 Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield was just 9mins 52seconds behind.

Phaedo celebrating their record win. ©RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

Lloyd Thornburg’s Phaedo3 © RORC/Tim Wright

Fastest monohull

Jim Clark & Kristy Hinze Clark’s American VPLP-Verdier 100 Comanche crossed the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600 at 03.45 on Wednesday morning with an elapsed time of 40 hours 53 minutes 2 seconds, taking monohull line honours for the race and only 33 minutes outside the record time set by George David’s Rambler 100 in 2011.

Team Comanche celebrate after taking line honours in the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600. ©RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

Comanche Skipper, Ken Read: “Comanche is built to come in first to finish and when Mother Nature co-operates we have the pedigree to break records,” was Ken Read’s reaction to the wind coming from the south-east making the leg from St Marten to Guadeloupe a beat, which for previous record holder – Rambler 100, was a fast fetch. “Going around these islands is a ball; whales breaching, volcanoes smoking, it doesn’t get any better than that. We will be back, I promise you – this is a great race.”

Super-maxi Comanche,2016 RORC Caribbean 600, ©RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

Class winners:

Spirit of Tradition Class

The magnificent 213ft schooner, Adix finished the RORC Caribbean 600 at 0703 AST on Thursday 25 February in an elapsed time of 2 days 19 hours 33 minutes 5 seconds to win the Spirit of Tradition Class.

Adix sailing off Barbuda ©RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

Class 40s

Gonzalo Botin’s Class40, Tales II finished at 0336 AST, over three hours before Adix and was the winner of the Class40 division for the third year in a row. They broke their own Class40 record by 11 minutes and 23 seconds to set a new Class40 record of 2 days 16 hours 26 minutes 29 seconds.

Tales II TW Setting a new Class40 record in the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600: Gonzalo Botin’s Class40, Tales II © RORC/Tim Wright

IRC One

Eric De Turkheim’s French A13, Teasing Machine finished at 0710 AST on Thursday 25 February in an elapsed time of two days and 20 hours to provisionally win IRC One and claim third overall for the race.

In the eight editions of the RORC Caribbean 600 no other boat under 50ft has made the podium for the overall prize. As Teasing Machine moored stern to at Antigua Yacht Club, the mass of soaking wet offshore clothing on board was testament to a tough race.

Eric De Turkheim’s French A13, Teasing Machine, provisional winners of IRC One © RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

IRC Two

Currently, Ross Applebey’s Scarlet Oyster look unbeatable, though Global Yacht Racing’s First 47.7, skippered by Andy Middleton has been hot on their heels for the last beat to the finish.

Performance Yacht Charter’s First 40, Southern Child is now third after time correction.

IRC Three

Winner is yet to be confirmed. The three leaders are Conor Fogerty’s Irish Sunfast 36, German Swan 44, Best Buddies and Peter Hopps’ Sigma 38, Sam.

Retirements

Five yachts retired from the race; Jonty Layfield’s Sleeper 11, Riccardo Pavoncelli’s Rosalba, David Ballantyne’s Jings and Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling, and Hap Fauth’s American Maxi72 Bella Mente.

Bella Mente afterguard Terry Hutchinson commented: “We are not really sure what happened. We were beating up to La Desirade, tacking up the shoreline and we heard a loud ping from down below, from inside the boat. It was really rough and we didn’t think much of it because you occasionally do hear random noises from these kind of boats. We got around the corner, set the Mast Head Zero and we were off doing 26 knots with Adrian Stead on the helm, coming into Proteus who had got around us in the wind shadow of Guadeloupe. As we accelerated we could feel the fin pitching back and forth. It felt like the boat was going one way and the fin another; that is speculation but it didn’t feel right. It felt very unnatural, so we slowed down. Moose (Mike Sanderson) said: ‘Did everybody feel that?’ We tried to arc it back up again and the motion was very noticeable; it felt like the fin was going to drop out of the boat. The correct thing to do at that point was stop and high-tail it for Antigua. It’s frustrating because throughout the race we had always kept ourselves in the hunt and we always knew that if we were in the hunt at that quarter, we could finish the race well, so it is frustrating.”

PICTURE HIGHLIGHTS:

George Sakellaris’ Maxi72, Proteus (USA) has been declared the overall winner of the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600
© RORC/Tim Wright

Jethou, Maxi 72. Sailed by Sir Peter Ogden in IRC Z — in Redonda. ©RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

Nikata, the new Baltic 115 at Redonda in the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600. Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

2016 RORC Caribbean 600 ©RORC/Emma Louise Wyn Jones

SY Donnybrook Credit: RORC/ Tim Wright

Taz, Reichel Pugh 37. Skippered by Bernard Evan-wong in IRC1 Credit: RORC/ Tim Wright

2016 RORC Caribbean 600 Credir: RORC/Tim Wright

The all-girl Sirens’ Tigress; Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

Impressive start in IRC Zero and CK during the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600 © RORC/Tim Wright

TP52 Spookie participating in the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600 Credit: RORC:Tim Wright

Super-maxi Comanche ©RORC:Emma Louise Wyn Jones

Teasing Machine 2016 RORC Caribbean 600 Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

RORC Caribbean 600 2016, Antigua Yacht Club Marina Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

The post RORC Caribbean 600 2016: the highlights, who won what and all the best pictures from the race appeared first on Yachting World.

Scroll down for video:

The 8th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 started in spectacular style on Monday with the record 70 yacht fleet gathering in the starting area outside English Harbour, Antigua.

Under the Pillars of Hercules, five highly competitive starts thrilled hundreds of spectators lining the cliffs at Shirley Heights and Fort Charlotte. Not only was this a record fleet for the RORC Caribbean 600, it was undoubtedly the highest quality of participants since the inaugural race in 2009.

For more information on the race visit www.yachtingworld.com/rorc-600

Highlights from each class start below:

Hundreds of spectators watched the start of the 8th RORC Caribbean 600 from ashore and on the water Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

CSA, IRC 2 & IRC 3 Start

First to start the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600: CSA, IRC 2 and IRC 3 – Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

24 yachts participated in this class. with the all-female team Sirens’ Tigress, Scarlet Oyster and Por Favor executing text book starts. Special mention to Grand Soleil 43 yacht Jua Kali who had a great start, despite badly damaging their rig in the Atlantic en route to Antigua for the race.

IRC 1 & CLASS40

IRC 1 and Class40 fleet at the start of the 8th RORC Caribbean 600 Race – Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

17 yachts partcipating in this class. Spanish Tales II was the first Class40 to cross the line with Antiguan entry Taz also starting well. Belladonna, skippered by RORC Admiral, Andrew McIrvine had a great start controlling the favoured coastal side of the course.

IRC Zero and IRC Canting Keel

The IRC Zero and IRC Canting Keel fleet made an impression at the start of the RORC Caribbean 600 – Credit: RORC/Emma Louise Wyn

Plenty of action in this crowded start. The Lithuanian Volvo 60, Ambersail were overeager and with no room to bear away, sailed around the pin end buoy. The brand new 115ft Baltic Nikata was forced to round the wrong side of the pin after encountering severe congestion and the Irish Cookson 50, Lee Overlay Partners was adjudged OCS and had to restart.

Also in the fleet,  Jim Clark and Kristy Hinze Clark’s 100ft Maxi Comanche had a slightly conservative run-up to the line before the big winches growled in a dial-down and Comanche powered up, accelerating into the lead.

Superyacht

The magnificent three-masted schooner Adix at the start – Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

The Southernwind 102 Farfalla executed a textbook start but it was the magnificent sight of 178ft schooner Adix crossing the line under full sail that caught the crowd’s attention. Adix is the first three-masted schooner to take part in the race.

MOCRA Multihull

Phaedo3 flying two hulls past Willoughby Bay, Antigua – Credit: RORC/Tim Wright

Six Multihulls including MOD70s Phaedo3 & Concise 10 lined up for the last start of the day.

Phaedo3 and Concise 10 locked horns in the pre-start as expected, with Phaedo3 co-skippered by Lloyd Thornburg and Brian Thompson gaining a small but significant advantage at the start.

Concise 10 had to tack offshore to escape bad air and ploughed through several spectator boats that had gathered close to the exclusion zone.

The two MOD70s are incredibly competitive against each other and it’s worth keeping an eye on the Yellow Brick Tracker for their current positions.

The post Video: Thrilling start to the RORC 600 as the three-masted schooner Adix takes on super-maxi Comanche appeared first on Yachting World.

Start: Antigua, West Indies – Monday 22 February 2016- 1050 local time (First warning signal)

Course: Approx. 600nm non-stop around 11 Caribbean Islands (click here to walk the course with Nikata’s navigator.)

The Race Team from the Royal Ocean Racing Club, based at Antigua Yacht Club is busy tonight preparing for the start of the 8th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 on Monday 22 February. Since 2009, the only offshore race in the Caribbean has grown in popularity and this year a record fleet of 70 yachts from around the world will compete.

Fort Charlotte, Antigua will be the starting and finishing point for this sensational 600 mile non-stop yacht race around 11 Caribbean Islands.

A myriad of 70 yachts will take the start on Monday 22 February. The First Warning Signal is at 1050, but yachts will leave the dock much earlier to make their way to the start area. The start sequence with nine different classes will take 40 minutes to complete.

Due to the size of the yachts and the sheer number competing, considerable sea room is needed to manoeuvre and a team of highly experienced volunteers will act as on-the-water marshals maintaining an Exclusion Zone to keep spectator boats at a safe distance from the yachts racing.

WATCH FROM THE SHORE:
The yachts will be starting south of Fort Charlotte on Monday 22 February. Those left on land can get a wonderful view from there, or from Shirley Heights. The starting line is formed between an orange triangle on Fort Charlotte and an orange cylindrical Outer Distance Mark approximately 0.50nm south of Fort Charlotte. The Race Committee may adjust this position with reference to the wind direction on the day of the start. Fort Charlotte is at the eastern entrance to English Harbour above the Pillars of Hercules and below Shirley Heights.

There’s also a chance to catch a glimpse of the boats leaving Falmouth Harbour from Pigeon Beach and the boats leaving English Harbour from Galleon Beach from 0930 onwards. Boats will be gathering in the start area from around 1000, so get there early to get the best view. The start sequence begins at 1050.

CLASS START TIMES: (take a read of the entry list organised by class HERE)
1100            CSA, IRC 2, IRC 3
1110            IRC 1 & Class40
1120            IRC Zero and CK
1130            Superyachts
1140            Multihulls

Note: A Warning Signal will be given 10 minutes before the Starting Signal

WATCH FROM THE WATER:

(PLEASE NOTE: EXCLUSION ZONE FOR THE START)
For those wishing to watch the race from the water, please note that there will be an Exclusion Zone around the starting area effective from 1030 to 1200 on Monday 22 February 2016.

The safety of spectator vessels and competitors is paramount and therefore Marshal Boats displaying a white flag with a red “M” will be policing the exclusion zone as per the diagram below.

VISIT THE WEBSITE:

Follow the race on the minisite: http://caribbean600.rorc.org
Keep up to date with all the news. There will be blogs from the boats themselves on the race course, images, video and daily race reports. Follow the action as it unfolds on the RORC Caribbean 600 website.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook. Follow the race on: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalOceanRacingClub
Twitter: #rorcrc600  – Follow @rorcracing

TRACK THE FLEET:
Every yacht is fitted with a race tracker and their progress can be followed on the race website: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/Tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html

One last thing…..

JOIN THE RACE- PLAY THE GAME – VIRTUAL REGATTA:
If you can’t make the race but want to compete against thousands of ‘armchair sailors’ around the world, join the RORC Caribbean 600 Virtual Regatta now. Test your skills, but beware, you will be hooked as the delights and frustrations of the course become apparent.

Join the Virtual Regatta HERE: http://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4559

The post How to follow the RORC Caribbean 600 race- an easy spectator guide appeared first on Yachting World.

See the full entry list here: RORC Caribbean 600 Entry list PDF

The RORC Caribbean 600 is a 600nm offshore race around the leeward islands, starting and finishing in Antigua. The course takes the competitorsas far north as St Martin and as far south as Guadaloupe. This challenging offshore yacht race in idyllic sailing conditions draws competitors from across the world every year. The 2015 edition saw over 60 yachts from 14 different countries compete.

On Monday 22nd February, thousands of spectators will gather at Shirley Heights to watch the impressive 66-boat fleet begin the 8th RORC Caribbean 600.

Take a look at the entry list and start hedging your bets….

Here we pick out a few highlights from each class:

Class IRC CK:

Comanche- VPLP/Verdier 100

Team Brunel- V065

Class IRC Z:

Momo- Maxi 72:

MOMO. ©Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi

Tonnerre 4- Ker 51:

TONNERRE 4, Owner / Skipper: Piet Vroon, Design: Ker 51, Class: IRC Z

Nikata- Baltic 115

Class IRC 1:

Adix- Dijkstra 178′ Schooner

Class IRC 2:

Best Buddies- Swan 441

Phaedo3

Zenyatta- Gunboat 62

Class 40’s:

See the full entry list here: RORC Caribbean 600 Entry list PDF

The post Entry list for the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600 appeared first on Yachting World.

We take a look at previous winners of the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy. It’s given to the yacht who has the best corrected time under IRC.

2015 – Hap Fauth, JV72, Bella Mente (USA)

2014 – George Sakellaris, RP72, Shockwave (USA)

2013 – Ron O’Hanley, Privateer, Cookson 50 (USA)

2012 – Niklas Zennström’s JV72, Rán (GBR)

2011 – George David, Rambler 100, JK 100 (USA)

2010 – Karl C L Kwok, Beau Geste, Farr 80 (HKG)

2009 – Adrian Lee, Lee Overlay Partners, Cookson 50 (IRL)

The post Past Winners of the RORC Caribbean 600 appeared first on Yachting World.

Hap Fauth’s American JV72, Bella Mente has been declared the overall winner of the 2015 RORC Caribbean 600. Whilst several yachts are still racing, by the morning of Friday 27th February none of the remaining teams had the ability to better Bella Mente’s corrected time under IRC. It was third time lucky for Bella Mente as the Maxi 72 has finished second overall for the past two years.

Bella Mente arrives at the dock after completing the RORC Caribbean 600, taking 1st place overall.  Courtesy Ted Martin

Bella Mente was also the winner of the highly competitive IRC Zero Class and retained the Bella Mente Trophy as the first IRC Yacht to finish that is wholly manually powered, without either variable or moveable ballast. A delighted Hap Fauth spoke about the achievement and was full of praise for both the race team and shore crew:

“Friday, before the race start, we had a structural problem with the boat and limped home from practice to assess the problem. We took the boat apart and for two days the shore team set up a temporary boat building workshop and did a great job just to get us to the start line. Throughout the race we had no problems at all and my hat goes off to our ground crew.

“This is the third go at winning this race and three is the beauty! This is the third Bella Mente since 2006 and the majority of this team have been with me for at least five years – it is an outstanding group of guys. They like each other, we have a good time together – they are all mates. Everybody puts safety first, that’s the way it should be offshore, but after that we push to the limit.

“This race is a series of sprints and every leg is different, you are trying to get out of the blocks at the start of each segment and as soon as you get going, you are looking to get to top speed without increasing the distance sailed in that quest for boat speed. We try to make a couple of minutes up at every corner – with 12 corners if you save three minutes a corner then that makes a real difference to your finish time. Everybody works together, it is our big strength; the crew did a phenomenal job.”

A very happy Bella Mente Team celebrating their win. Courtesy Ted Martin

GALLERY: View our spectacular picture highlights from this year’s race 

Bella Mente’s British navigator, Ian Moore, spoke about a crucial part of the course. Nicknamed the ‘Guadeloupe Casino’, the wind shadow of Guadeloupe can make or break a performance as the largest and tallest island on the course can be an unforgiving trap.

“We knew that the wind direction would flick to the south east just as we were arriving at Guadeloupe and,although we were looking at the current situation, we had pretty much made the decision to take our chances by going inshore. In the past, we have had some bad experiences going offshore, if you run out of wind you can get trapped for a very long time. I would give Bella Mente’s performance in the wind shadow a solid nine out of ten, we did really well but we had to fight for it and use all our skill to keep the boat going. Moose (Mike Sanderson) was driving, Terry (Hutchinson) and Ado (Adrian Stead) had their eyes out of the boat and I was just giving them the numbers and I believe that combined tactical sailing knowledge got us through.”

VIDEO: Watch the superb aerial footage of the first lef of the 2015 RORC Caribbean

Hap Fauth had left nothing to chance in his quest to win the RORC Caribbean 600 and brought a team of world class sailors to run the afterguard which included Volvo Ocean race winning skipper, New Zealand’s Mike ‘Moose’ Sanderson, current Rolex US Sailor of the Year, American Terry Hutchinson and British America’s Cup tactician, Adrian Stead, who has been on the winning team for the RORC Caribbean 600 on three occasions. Mike Sanderson spoke about Bella Mente’s victory:

“It was a great race at the end of the day and we had Maserati to race with some of the time. To be boat-on-boat with a Volvo 70 was a nice surprise. We have worked on the boat very hard since we were here last year. Hap loves this race and it was very pleasing for us sitting on the dock feeling that we didn’t leave anything on the table. This was one of our best overall performances. We have two big races this year; the RORC Caribbean 600 and the Rolex Fastnet and we have produced a sail programme that covers the range well for those races. At one point we went through the lee of Leopard, reaching with a jib-top. Leopard is a fast 100 ft canting keel boat, so we are really excited at how well Bella is going with its new mast and new sails. We have done a lot of work on the aero-package and the boat feels great and she is going quick but we are really ringing its neck. To be honest the boat is pretty cranky and very physical. It is some of the most physical keel boat sailing that we do because you are muscling a windward leeward orientated boat around a reaching course, so it is tough on the wheel and there is a lot of grinding for the big boys.”

Bella Mente has become the third Maxi 72 to win the race overall and the fifth American owner to win the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy. The RORC Caribbean 600 Prizegiving will take place on Friday 27th February at the Antigua Yacht Club.

Bella Mente Crew: Owner Hap Fauth, Thomas Allin, James Baxter, Michele Cannoni, Carlo Castellano, Sean Clarkson, Sean Couvreux, James Dagg, Federico Giovanelli, Peter Henderson, Terry Hutchinson, Keats Keeley, Brian Macinnes, Craig Monk, Ian Moore, Michael Sanderson, Matt Smith, Adrian Stead, Morgan Trubovich and Jim Turner

For a closer look at this year’s winner, take a look at this video of Bella Mente during sea trials in the US:

Main image: Overall winner of the 2015 RORC Caribbean 600, Hap Fauth’s JV72, Bella Mente

©RORC/Tim Wright/Photoaction.com

The post Bella Mente claims impressive win at the 2015 RORC Caribbean 600 appeared first on Yachting World.

These fantastic images from the RORC Caribbean 600 have landed on the Yachting World picture desk, straight from photographers Tim Wright, Ted Martin and Richard Langdon.

If you’ve missed all the updates on this year’s record-breaker, read Elaine’s blog on the incredible Phaedo3 here. Or watch Brian Thompson give us a whistle-stop tour of this green machine below.

Read Pip Hare’s blog on joining the crew of Taz, one of the smallest boats in the line up at 37ft.

If you spot a boat you know or recognise a crewmember, tweet us @yachtingworld with the image number.

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The post Gallery: Spectacular highlights from the RORC Caribbean 600 appeared first on Yachting World.

“Sailing with Michel Desjoyeaux has been an incredible experience,” says Thornburg. “When I was driving, he pushed me out of my comfort zone and then got the guys to wind on the sails even more and the speed just kept climbing and my confidence and experience with it. Surfing at over 30 knots for hours is just an incredible experience.

“A big thank you to Brian Thompson for putting this all together in such a short period of time. This is right up there; a totally amazing experience!”

Jules Verne record holder, Brian Thompson spoke dockside: “We only left France two weeks ago so this has been a whirlwind preparation for the race, but I always knew that a MOD70 would be an absolute weapon on this course and what a welcome when we arrived; the superyachts blasting their air horns and hundreds of people on the dock making a lot of noise. It was like finishing the Vendée Globe!”

Michel Desjoyeaux has never done the RORC Caribbean 600 before: “I had never heard of this race before, but it is a great course for multihulls and I hope to be back. It would be even better if there were a number of multihulls racing, that would make it really special. As we rounded Redonda, I saw some yachts heading for Guadeloupe, they were only half way to the finish and I thought about the Figaro teams who have so far to go – aaaagh! – That must be hard for them.”

 

Phaedo^3 enjoy a flying start to their record breaking race © Richard and Rachel/Team Phaedo 3

 

Meanwhile, George David’s new Juan K designed Rambler 88, with America’s Cup veteran Brad Butterworth aboard, was the next boat to finish, taking monohull line honours but approximately four hours short of the monohull race record, set in 2011 by the same owner’s Rambler 100.

George David’s Rambler 88 ©RORC/Tim Wright/Photoaction.com

 

“Rambler 88 was ahead of the monohull race record for some time, but the wind angle on the long leg to Guadeloupe was tighter than in 2012. Back then in Rambler 100, we were reaching, hitting a speed of over 20 knots, but this year that wasn’t possible due to the wind angle,” said George David.

“Rambler 88 is probably faster on every point of sail than the previous Rambler, but the weather really didn’t work for us this year. Rambler 88 is an exciting boat to race, powerful and really wet on deck. We have moved a step closer to harnessing that power and the wet conditions are easily managed with good foul weather gear! A special course and a very well organised race.”

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The Caribbean 600 yacht race will start on Monday at 11am local time under a beating Caribbean sun for 600 miles of intense and full on racing passing 11 Caribbean Islands. I will be reporting from the rail of one of the smallest boats in the fleet Taz, a Reichel Pugh 37, skippered by Bernard Evan- Wong. Bernie has competed in every RORC Caribbean 600 race since it started in 2009 and is back this year with his RP37.

This race was started in 2009 and is now well established and attracting some big hitters from the sailing world to try their luck against the naturally challenging course which will include beautiful robust trade winds, outlying reefs and rocks, wind shadows caused by volcanoes and dodging boats coming in the other direction on the tighter corners of the course.

A record 68 boats will cross the start line tomorrow. The race will start from Antigua and head North towards the bottom corner of Barbuda and round a turning mark then across to leave Nevis, St Kitts and Saba to Starboard.

Round the top of Saba the course turns to the North East and boats will sail zig zag over to St Barth’s which must be left to Port (including all of its many off lying islands and rocks which will produce tricky navigation in the dark) then switching direction to round Saint Martin to Starboard.

Once St Martin is clear the fleet will have a chance to ramp up a gear and enjoy a solid reaching trade wind over a 170-mile leg cutting between the Islands close to Monserrat and finally arriving the West of Guadeloupe.

Here the fleet will enter stealth mode on the trackers.  The west side of Guadeloupe is where previous races have been won or lost as the enormous wind shadow cast by the island can have boats parked up for hours while others find a fickle lucky breeze and carry on through.

The idea of allowing the fleet to hide during this section brings an extra element of tension to the race; you choose your own track and won’t know if it pays or not until popping out on the other side.

After continuing South to round Isles des Saintes and then La Désirade the fleet will then head back up the Eastern side of Guadeloupe, to the turning mark off Barbuda and then a final circuit out to the tiny island of Redonda to the West before finishing in Antigua.

Sounds exhausting? It will be – this course offers every challenge and condition a sailor could imagine except icebergs and snow.

See how Pip is getting on and track the fleet by visiting the race tracker

Watch Brian Thompson give Pip a tour around the super fast trimaran Phaedo 3

Photo: Tim Wright/photoaction.com

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Racing sailors like to say that if you want to win, then take a gun to a knife fight. US sailor Lloyd Thornburg has got himself an appropriate weapon in his new boat, MOD70 trimaran Phaedo3. Get a tour of this phenomenal trimaran here.

With a rock star crew of Michel Desjoyeaux, Brian Thompson, Pete Cumming and Sam Goodchild, Thornburg is aiming to blaze round the RORC Caribbean 600 race to line honours, and hopefully to set a new course record this week. The record of 40 hours 11 mins has stood since 2009, when it was set on an ORMA 60 trimaran.

To say she’s fast would be a huge understatement: the boat made the crossing from Brittany to Antigua in February in just over nine days.

In this video, Brian Thompson takes us on a tour of the new Phaedo (Thornburg’s previous regatta weapon was a Gunboat 66). Brian shows us the curved foils and explains how they work, the rotating and canting wingmast, and the hydraulic systems that depower the mainsail and are an essential safety feature on this massively powered up multihulls.

The video also shows what the accommodation looks like below – small, but with everything needed for offshore racing.

Commenting on his new project, Thornburg says:

“Brian Thompson and I have been working on getting a MOD 70 for two years and it only came to fruition in January. Phaedo 3 sailed direct from France, across the Atlantic. She was originally Foncia, skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux and Michel will be racing with us for the RORC Caribbean 600. Brian Thompson put all the crew together and from what he has told me about Michel, he is an extraordinary sailor.

“For me this race is just fantastic, once you have gone around this course fast, you just want to go faster and that is the real driving force behind the MOD70. As far as the record is concerned, the boat and the crew are capable of beating it but we will wait to see what the conditions are like for the race and we know we have to finish the course before we can start talking about record pace. Besides keeping our eye on the competition, we will be watching the clock for sure.”

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The RORC Caribbean 600 race, which begins on 23 February, will have a fleet of up to 60 yachts from brand new carbon racers to two giant schooners. The fleet hails from 13 different countries and will attract some of the world’s fastest yachts.

Among the yachts entered are George David’s brand new Rambler 88, making her racing debut after launching late last year. She will be raced by an all-star crew including America’s Cup veteran Brad Butterworth and Volvo Ocean Race winners Stu Bannatyne and Brad Jackson.

Also in contention for line honours is Australian yachting legend Syd Fischer racing Ragamuffin 100, which is being shipped to Antigua from Australia, and Mike Slade’s 100ft maxi, Leopard. Two Volvo 70s are also in the line-up: Giovani Soldini’s Maserati and Andy Budgen’s and Fred Schwyn’s Monster Project.

The fleet will include Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 50, Privateer – the American team is back for its fifth race. Hap Fauth’s American JV72, Bella Mente, has won her class before but will be setting their sights on the overall victory that has eluded the American mini maxi.

Another yacht making its debut will be the carbon Carkeek 47, Black Pearl, sailed by German sailor Stefan Jentzsch. Meanwhile well-known Dutch grandmaster Piet Vroon returns to the race on a Ker 51, Tonnerre 4.

“It is very exciting to be racing Tonnerre 4 for the first time and against different adversaries and it will probably be harder for us,” commented Vroon. “Tonnerre 4 will be much the same crew as we have had in recent years and I am looking forward to racing with them.

“I like offshore sailing and the RORC Caribbean 600 is a prime example. The route is very varied and no part of it is straight forward, with plenty of local weather effects which must also be considered during the race and the route is an interesting one, as we race around 11 islands. From a tactical and navigational point of view, this is very demanding.”

In a complete contrast to the yachts above, will be two giant schooners, the 182ft Adela and the 203ft Athos. The two had a very close contest last year and Adela’s helmsman, Stan Pearson, who was the co-founder of the RORC Caribbean 600, believes this year’s battle between the two will be even tighter.

“In the last two races, Adela has sailed the best she could and didn’t leave much on the track and this year I think it will be a right old ding dong,” commented Pearson.

“Adela is now as good as she can be and the crew work on board is fantastic, so there is not much Adela can do to improve. Athos improved enormously last year and I expect her to be even better this year. Athos is longer than Adela and assuming a regular easterly, the course has 65 per cent on eased sheets, which should be to Athos’ advantage, the course is absolutely suited for big boats such as ketches and schooners.”

On the smaller scale, there will be seven yachts of less than 40ft. Antiguan sailor Bernie Evan-Wong has participated in every edition of the race and is back with a new boat, RP 37 Taz.

British Figaro sailor Nick Cherry will be sailing on Ed Fishwick’s Sunfast 3600, Redshift and says:

“This will be my third race but the first with Redshift and we will be a crew of six. It will be a tough race for us. The bigger, faster boats will get up on the plane and we will be displacing all the way around the course. However in IRC Three, we should have a chance and with so many corners, we hope to make gains because Redshift is easy to handle.

“Looking at all the 600 mile races, this is the course I would choose to do: plenty of fast sailing, loads of corners and lots of rocks to watch out for, so there is always something going on.”

The monohull course record, set by George David’s Rambler 100, stands at 40 hours, 20 minutes and 2 seconds.

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The 214ft superyacht Hetairos skippered by Vincent Fauquenoy, crossed the finish line in Antigua on Wednesday 22nd February 2012, completing the RORC Caribbean 600 in an elapsed time of 2 days 2 hours 39 minutes and 32 seconds to claim Line Honours. The monumental ketch was well outside the record time set by Rambler 100 last year, however the international team aboard Hetairos were all smiles as they were greeted by well-wishers and a cacophony of horns from megayachts in Falmouth Harbour.

Hetairos navigator, South African Marc Lagesse modestly admitted to being somewhat taken aback with their achievement:

“I have to say, I am genuinely surprised that we were the first yacht home. I honestly thought that we wouldn’t take Line Honours before the race. Hetairos and especially her sails are not optimized for racing on a course like the ‘600. Also I thought that from a navigators point of view, I got a few calls not quite right. However, we did have a few decisions work out for us by chance and I would always say it is better to be lucky than good! For example, we went inshore behind Guadeloupe, to change a sail in flat water and by chance we got a big lift in there. Last year I did this race on a Class40 in a lot of wind, so I have experienced some big contrasts but I really enjoyed this race, an illustrious fleet with great people and a big atmosphere.”

Hetairos were pushed hard all the way by George David’s 90ft maxi, Rambler. It was not until half way through the race that Hetairos managed to pass Rambler. The all star American team put in a fantastic performance but could not match the pace of an opponent over twice their size.

George David spoke candidly shortly after the race:

“It was great to get back in the saddle for a 600-mile race after the Fastnet, and to hold out so long on that course against Hetairos required a magnificent effort. On corrected time, it was never going be easy to win. Rambler 90 was launched in 2002 and hull design and stability has improved significantly since then so it was not just the size that we were up against. However, Mick (Harvey) is a great project manager and Norm (David Petersen) is a great Boat Captain and all the guys are just so much fun to sail with.”

Niklas Zennstrom’s JV72, Rán was the next yacht home, less than an hour behind Rambler to claim the overall lead after time correction in the 2012 RORC Caribbean 600. Rán know that there can be no celebration yet, but Rán has set the bar very high indeed. As the remaining yachts battle it out on the course, Team Rán must wait until this fascinating race plays out. Several yachts are very much in contention to beat Rán’s corrected time.

Rán’s owner and principle helmsman, Niklas Zennstrom looked tired but full of joy after completing a race that he has wanted to do for some time:

“The whole of Team Rán have been looking forward to this race for a while. We have wanted to do this race since 2009. A few of the crew have done the race before, Jeremy Robinson on Leopard for example and he was able to give a lot of input before the race. But Ado (Stead) and Steve (Hayles) have not competed in the ‘600 before, so it has been somewhat new territory for us, which is always exciting. It is a complex course, more like a series of coastal races. However, I think the reason I was attracted to the race so much was that we enjoyed Antigua Sailing Week and the idea of an offshore race in the Caribbean was very appealing. Any 600-mile yacht race is hard but the fantastic conditions and beautifully weather makes this one even more satisfying. The close reach down to Guadeloupe from St.Barths was very memorable, fast reaching conditions in beautiful surroundings, some of the best sailing you can imagine.”

Just after sunset, Olivier Vigoureux’s one-off trimaran Paradox came to rest after over two days of blasting around the Caribbean. The weather-gods did not smile on the team and Region Guadeloupe’s multihull record was never really in doubt, but the crew of Paradox should be delighted to claim the winner’s trophy for the Multihull Class this year. Hopefully their exploits will encourage a bigger fleet of multihulls next year, spearing through the Caribbean at break neck speed is surely every multihull sailor’s dream.

Photos courtesy Tim Wright (www.photoaction.com)

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Peter Harrison’s magnificent 115 ketch, Sojana, has produced a powerful performance, completing the RORC Caribbean 600 course on yesterday afternoon local time. There were happy smiles on board, especially Peter Harrison who has been an admirer of the race since conception. “Due to circumstances, we couldn’t race in the first two editions but it was third time lucky and what a magnificent race this is, it is a fantastic way to see some of the beautiful islands in the Caribbean,” he explained.

Next home was Brian Benjamin’s Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir. Brian typifies the characters in this sport: “We broke a few things but that was to be expected really, this is the first time that the new boat has been fully tested. It is always better to win but I will always remember my first race with this delightful boat and the great people that were sailing on her.”

Lloyd Thornburg’s head turning Gunboat 66, Phaedo, finished the race in the early evening. The Lamborghini-orange hull has been flashing around the course, eating up the miles. Dockside Lloyd Thornburg was delighted with the race and his new boat: “Phaedo, just finished the Caribbean 600, would like to thank everyone of my team, awesome team, 5th to finish, that’s what I am taking about.”

Phaedo’s top speed was 28.7 knots. Check out the movie below, courtesy of Richard Langdon / Ocean Images.

Soon after Phaedo. Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce, crossed the finish line. Richard hails from Canada as do many of the crew. Last year, Vela Veloce were second overall to Beau Geste and it looks likely that they will be a bridesmaid again this year. That may seem tough but the crew was rightly proud of their achievement. Vela Veloce’s crew are not out and out professionals bar one; two-time Volvo Ocean Race winner, Stu Bannatyne, who is preparing for his fifth lap of the planet with Team Camper.

“We didn’t really make any big gains or losses around the course, we just kept chipping away and sailing the boat to the best of our ability, I am not just pleased with the result, I am delighted” said Stu Bannatyne dockside “Richard and all the crew showed great dedication and handled the boat well, but in fast reaching conditions, Vela Veloce was never going to get near Rambler.”

Chris Bull’s Jazz and Adrian Lee’s Lee Overlay Partners, both Cookson 50s, had a great battle on the water but it was Jazz that pulled away in the latter part of the race, to take second place in the Canting Keel Class, behind Rambler 100. Chris Bull’s crew is multi-national: British, Maltese and Australian accents were joined by the Lithuanian team from Ambersail and the crews from Oyster Catcher XXVIII and Lee Overlay Partners, who have a largely Irish contingent. There was a lively meeting of minds in the Antigua Yacht Club bar, until the small hours. One of the features of the RORC Caribbean 600, is that the Antigua Yacht Club make sure that the bar is always open, no matter what time, to welcome the crews back to Antigua.

The longest yacht competing in the RORC Caribbean 600 is the 152 ft classic schooner, Windrose of Amsterdam. Boat captain, Alex Howard was joined by RORC Commodore Andrew McIrvine and CEO Eddie Warden Owen, along with several members of the RORC and the Royal Yacht Squadron. “I am a really big fan of the race.” Commented Howard. “The event is an ideal way to enjoy sailing on Windrose and other spirit of tradition yachts. The regular crew and our guests got on very well and we have all enjoyed the experience and pushed the boat hard in lively conditions. I am pleased to say the job list for repairs is very small indeed.”

McIrvine and Warden Owen both agreed that the crew had jelled together during the race, exemplified by a difficult gybe and spinnaker drop at Redonda, which was executed with some aplomb for a crew that had only been together for a few days.

More competitors are expected to arrive in Antigua during the day. More details can be found at www.caribbean600.rorc.org.

The post Caribbean 600: pause for third appeared first on Yachting World.

By mid-morning on day two, the RORC Caribbean 600 was living up to its billing as a high-speed thrilling race. The majority of the fleet is at the top part of the course and should be around St.Maarten during the day.

George David’s Maxi, Rambler 100, is setting an amazing pace and is already rounding the south of Guadeloupe, 220 miles from the finish. The canting keel speed machine is expected to cross the finish line before daylight tomorrow and is well on course to beat the monohull course record of 44 hours 5 minutes 14 seconds, set by Mike Slade’s Maxi, ICAP Leopard, in 2009.

Rambler 100 is the favourite to take line honours and is currently winning the race on corrected time. ICAP Leopard is 34 miles behind Rambler 100, sailing along at around 15 knots, on the long ride to the bottom of the course.

In IRC Zero Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce, is class leader, with 338 miles to go they have rounded St. Maarten and are heading south.

Peter Harrison’s Farr 115 Sojana is having a great race, showing the magnificent yacht’s pedigree in big breeze. Brian Benjamin’s Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir – whose crew includes Yachting World’s Matthew Sheahan – is having a fine debut.

”The boat is really optimized for the Mediterranean and the solid Trades are giving us a bit more than that,” commented the boat’s builder Britt Colombo from on board. “Last night was pretty hard work with a lot of sail manoeuvres and shifty conditions around the back of St.Kitts but this is just fantastic sailing, it is great to be out here.”

The Army Sailing Association’s A 40, British Soldier, had a first class start and they have continued to lead their class on handicap, they have taken the most northerly line of any of the yachts after Saba. (John Burnie comments on this in his commentary on the RORC Caribbean 600 website.)

Two yachts have retired from the RORC Caribbean 600. Gonzalo Botin’s Class 40, Tales, has an injured crew member (badly swollen ankle). They are returning to Jolly Harbour, Antigua to seek medical attention.

Bernie Evan-Wong’s Mumm 36, High Tension, dismasted just after dawn NW of Saba. No one was hurt in the incident and Antigua Barbuda Search and Rescue coordinated with the Martinique Co-ordination centre to offer assistance. However none was required, the rig was recovered and Bernie and his team are motoring back to Antigua.

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Just after midnight GMT, George David’s Rambler was approaching Saba, with Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard 18 miles astern in the RORC Caribbean 600.

Rambler 100 has recorded speeds of over 20 knots for much of the race and are setting a record breaking pace with 450 miles to go. They are also leading the fleet on handicap.

See below for race start highlights:

from acquafilms on Vimeo.

In IRC Zero, Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce, leads the class with Richard Matthews’ Humphreys 54, Oystercatcher XXVIII, and Brian Benjamin’s Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir (with Yachting World’s Matthew Sheahan onboard) leading the chasing pack.

In IRC One, Piet Vroon’s Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens, is the clear leader on handicap and is fifteen miles ahead of Philippe Falle’s Beneteau 50, Hydrocarbon Logic. Andy Middleton’s First 47.7, EH01, is third on handicap.

There is an intense battle in IRC Two with the entire class within just five miles of each other on the water. The Army Associations’ A 40, British Soldier, leads on handicap from Christian Reynolds, Swan 51, Northern Child, with Peter Hopps First 40.7, Coyote, in third place after corrected time.

John Burnie commented: “The interesting thing about the leg from the North Sails mark off Barbuda to Nevis is that this year it was dead downwind. This meant that there would have been some big heavy air gybing, which will have tested the fleet’s boat handling skills, as well as their tactical awareness.”

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The RORC Caribbean 600 – which is fast becoming one of the classic offshore races – starts in just over an hour in Antigua. Now in its third year, the competiton has attracted 34 boats, well up on last year’s race total of 24.

One of those 34 is the Gunboat 66 Phaedo, which has been in Antigua preparing for this – its first major ocean race. This breathtaking footage of Phaedo is courtesy of Richard Langdon/OceanImages.co.uk.

To hear Yachting World’s Matthew Sheahan’s take on the race, click here.

Plus, see our incredible in-depth footage of the Gunboat 66 on test in the Bahamas. The next issue of Yachting World (April ’11) features the extended report.

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Willy Bissainte and Benoit Reffe’s Class 40, Tradition Guadeloupe, were rightly proud as they crossed the finish line in the early hours of Sunday morning (28 February), having spent five nights at sea. A large contingent greeted the yacht – including Elizabeth Jordan, Commodore of the Antigua Yacht Club and Ian Loffhagen, RORC Racing manager.

In face, every yacht competing in the RORC Caribbean 600 was welcomed back to Antigua, regardless of the time. Jonathon Cornelius and his ABSAR team was on call day and night through out the race and piloted every yacht into Falmouth Bay.

“We were never going to retire,” said Willy Bissainte dockside. “The RORC Caribbean 600 is a big part of my training for the Route de Rhum, which I will be racing solo, later in the year. We always had at least a little wind, we kept going all of the time. It was great to have such a reception from the Antigua Yacht Club and the RORC. We will only be staying for a short while though, we must go back to work in Guadeloupe in just a few hours.”

Richard Bamford’s Swan 38 Dolfijn retired on Friday morning which meant that Karl Kwok’s Farr 80, Beau Geste, was awarded the RORC Caribbean 600 trophy for best yacht overall under IRC, the line honours trophy for monohulls and Class trophy for IRC Super Zero.

Willy Bissainte and his co-skipper Benoit Reffe picked up the Concise Trophy for the best Class 40 and the class trophy for IRC Zero. After a quick shower, the two sailors who defied the unusual weather, set sail for home. The last yacht in the 2010 RORC Caribbean 600 was finally accounted for.

To see the overall results for the RORC Caribbean 600, click here.

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As the sunset over the Caribbean, competitors in the RORC Caribbean 600 prepared for their first night at sea. At 17:00 (local time), the leading boats had rounded the North Sails mark off Barbuda and were reaching west under spinnaker.

Setting an incredible pace were John Burnie and his crew on ORMA 60 Region Guadeloupe. “We are around the North Sails mark power reaching to Nevis, the speedo has barely dropped below 22 knots since we left Barbuda,” explained navigator, Nick Lykiardopulo.

In IRC Class Super Zero, Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste is setting the pace, well clear of the North Sails mark and heading to Nevis at a cracking pace. Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce is second on handicap, but on the water the Canadian boat is having a close battle with Danilo Salsi’s Swan 90, DSK Pioneer Investments – the two yachts were literally bow-to-bow at the North Sails mark. Third on handicap is James Grundy’s Tripp 75, Bella Pita.

In IRC Class Zero, Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy’s Swan 56, Noonmark VI is the early class leader. Behind them, Ondeck’s Farr 65, Spirit of Minerva is winning the battle with two other Farr 65s. Spirit of Isis, crewed by Lloyds Yacht Club, lie in third with the BLESMA crew are not far behind.

IRC Class One has a clear leader after a cracking start by Marc Glimcher’s J 122, Catapult. Just ten miles from the North Sails mark they were well ahead of the other Class One boats and at this very early stage. They are third on handicap for the entire fleet.

Find out everything you need to know about the RORC Caribbean 600

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“We already have 11 nations represented” explained RORC Chief Executive Eddie Warden Owen about the entries so far.  ” Antigua, Canada, France, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and the United States. The inaugural race in 2009 created quite a stir in the ocean racing world and the entry list shows a number of new competitors in a diverse fleet.”

Two high performance Maxis are top contenders for line honours and mounting a strong challenge for ICAP Leopard’s mono-hull record. Genuine Risk designed by Ed Dubois is a 98ft canting keel speed machine based in Baltimore, USA. But Karl Kwok’s, Beau Geste will also be a strong contender. The Hong Kong based boat is fresh from winning the Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Cup, in a new race record of just over 9 days, the Farr 80 skippered by Gavin Brady has awesome pace off the wind.

“Ever since we first heard about the RORC Caribbean 600 it has been in our plans to compete”.  Said Karl Kwok. “The Caribbean is the perfect playground for sailing with its warm water and guaranteed trade winds. We are looking forward to pushing Beau Geste to the limit around this excellent course and enjoying the performance that the boat will achieve and was designed for.”

From Italy, the Swan 90, DSK Pioneer is back to defend their class title and will be pushing hard. Owner, Danilo Salsi has done a lot of miles since the last race and against top opposition. The highly experienced Italian team should have a close battle on the water with two other magnificent yachts, Peter Harrison’s 114ft ketch, Sojana and Alexis Howard’s 148ft classic schooner, Windrose of Amsterdam.

Adrian Lee’s Cookson 50 Lee Overlay Partners currently holds the magnificent trophy. They are joined in this year’s race by another Cookson 50 – Ron O’Hanley’s Boston based, Privateer. The two boats have had phenomenal success in recent years and are bound to go toe to toe on the water. However the race for an overall win is wide open; the high caliber fleet includes Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce who recently lossed out to Privateer by less than a minute in the Fort Lauderdale to Key West race . Jim Grundy’s Tripp 75, Bella Pita is a real threat and certainly not just making up the numbers. Despite being fully fitted out, the carbon fibre water ballast boat will fully enjoy the downwind conditions.

Heading the multihull division is John Bernie’s ORMA 60, Region Guadeloupe. John is one of the founders of the race and is delighted by the interest in the race from the USA. “I am pleased to see new boats from North America taking an interest in the race” commented John. “It is a great race course and will suit a wide variety of boats and is sure to grow in future years”

Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy’s, Noonmark VI has been racing all over the world, including the Rolex Sydney Hobart and Rolex Fastnet race. Sir Geoffrey is a long standing RORC member and Noonmark VI, is a German Frers designed Swan 56 is one of many performance cruiser racers that will be racing around 14 stunning Caribbean islands in February.

For the smaller yachts in the fleet, the Caribbean 600 is no less a test. Antiguan local, Bernie Evan Wong’s Mumm 36, Café Americana is back. Bernie will defend his class win, even after suffering a rib injury in the first race, the Antiguan dentist is chomping at the bit. “Last year was one of the all time highlights of my sailing career.” Commented Bernie. “Almost a year later, I still have flashes of great moments in the race; surfing down waves for hours on end is really hard to beat! The 2010 RORC Caribbean 600 is shaping up to be much bigger and better with a number of the world’s top race boats entering.”

Fans can follow the race live as all of the boats taking part will be fitted with RORC/OC Trackers, synchronised position reports will be available using the Race Player Application on the event web site. It starts on Monday 22 February.

Find out everything you need to know about the RORC Caribbean 600

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At 605 miles, it’s the same length as the Fastnet Race and only a shade shorter than the Sydney-Hobart Race, but conditions couldn’t be more different. The RORC Caribbean 600 starts and finishes off English Harbour, Antigua, and the fleet races past some of the most spectacular scenery in the Caribbean. The inaugural event was held in February 2009 and it looks set to become a modern classic.

The Caribbean is without doubt one of the finest places to sail in the world, the warm tradewinds providing consistent breeze and the myriad islands offering an enchanting backdrop, so it is surprising that, although the Caribbean has been popular with cruising and racing sailors for generations, there has never been any official offshore race until now.
In all, 14 islands are featured along the route – Antigua, Green Island, Barbuda, St Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St Maartin, St Barths, Tintamarre, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Les Saints, Les Desirade and Redonda. To put this race track into perspective, it covers more sailing grounds than most Caribbean veterans have seen in a lifetime.

This is the ultimate sailor’s playground and, apart from two short beats, fast downwind conditions are almost guaranteed for most of the course, day and night. The 2009 event saw an average wind speed of 17 knots gusting up to 25 knots and yachts were often surfing down 4m waves.
Mike Slade’s 100ft maxi ICAP Leopard came to Antigua with a clear target, to set a monohull record for a new offshore race. They took 44h 5m 14s to complete the course, 13 minutes less than they took to the break the Rolex Fastnet record in 2007.

“A fantastic yacht race,” commented ICAP Leopard’s boat captain Chris Sherlock. “High speed sailing in warm conditions. We will be back next year and will look to take some time off the record.”

John Burnie’s ORMA 60 trimaran, Région Guadeloupe, set the time to beat for the multihulls, winning the class in an elapsed time of 40h 11m 5s. Burnie, one of the founders of the race, said: “We knew it would be a challenge and we certainly got one. Hurtling around the Caribbean at night at over 20 knots with nothing to hang onto is not for the faint-hearted.”

Adrian Lee’s Irish Cookson 50, Lee Overlay Partners, set a cracking pace around the track, beating ICAP Leopard by over an hour on corrected time, winning IRC Class Super Zero Canting Keel and the prize of overall winner of the RORC Caribbean 600 under IRC.

Eddie Warden Owen, chief executive of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, commented: “The RORC Caribbean 600 is a demanding race, in many respects. It is an exciting race with lots of corners, marks, reefs, rocks and island wind shadows to navigate. There really isn’t another race like this, anywhere in the world. The conditions are absolutely fantastic and the sailing as good as you can get.”

The overwhelming response from the competitors was that the RORC Caribbean 600 was a great success, on and off the water. The Antigua Yacht Club did a great job, every boat got a dockside welcome and the club was open day and night for the competitors and the prizegiving was a real night to remember. Warden Owen maintained: “We are expecting at least double the number of boats next year.”

The 2010 event will start on 22 February and Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard will be back to defend her record. Also expected are Niklas Zennstrom’s JV 72 Ran, Tom Hill’s RP 75 Titan 15, Karl Kowk’s Farr 80 Beau Geste, Danilo Salsi’s Swan 90, DSK Pioneer, Patrizio Bertelli’s STP 65 Luna Rossa, Roger Sturgeon’s Rosebud, Stephen Ainsworth’s RP 63 Loki, Adrian Lee’s Lee Overlay Partners and Ronald O’Hanley’s similar-sized Privateer.

A large number of Class 40 yachts are also expected and strong participation is expected from the ARC fleet and yachts based in the Caribbean. RORC is looking into potential charter yachts in the region after a number of enquiries from would-be contestants. Swan and Oyster have indicated that they will be putting up trophies for the race.

Online entry and further details from www.rorc.org

More info on the 2009 event from http://caribbean600.rorc.org/

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