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Race of Nations |
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Friday, 27 January 2012 11:40 |
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With less than one month to go to the fourth edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, the Royal Ocean Racing Club's 2012 programme kicks off with a sensational cast in Antigua.
The RORC Caribbean 600 is a truly international affair, with well over 500 hundred competitors from at least 24 different nations taking part. More than 30 impressive yachts are expected to take part in a high-speed, action-packed yacht race around 11 Caribbean islands. There can be few sporting events that can boast such a worldwide appeal with sailors taking part from all over the world including:
Antigua, Australia, Austria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey and the United States of America.
This astounding diversity of nationalities is matched only by the astonishing array of yachts and personalities. The largest yacht competing this year is the magnificent Hetairos with a waterline length of 200'. Hetairos is the world's largest carbon composite sailing yacht. The 29 crew on board is composed of many Volvo Ocean Race, America's Cup and Jules Verne around the world veterans. Hetairos is among the favourites to take line honours, but there are several other yachts more than capable of finishing in front.
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Read more... [Race of Nations]
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David vs Goliath Battle set for RORC Caribbean 600 |
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Tuesday, 13 December 2011 16:43 |
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The 4th RORC Caribbean 600 Race looks set to stage a David versus Goliath battle in just over two months with a number of superyachts keen to do battle with each other whilst circumnavigating 11 Caribbean Islands, starting and finishing in Antigua.
Those superyachts entered so far range from 35m (114ft) to 66m (216ft) and will make an impressive sight as they line up for the start of the RORC Caribbean 600 on Monday 20th February 2012. As well as racing against comparable boats, they will also have to vie with a formidable fleet of much smaller, but highly competitive racing yachts in this challenging and tactical race including the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race winner Rán, the 2010 Rolex Middle Sea Race winner Lucky and Privateer, the winner of the 2009 Montego Bay Race. |
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Read more... [David vs Goliath Battle set for RORC Caribbean 600]
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Entries coming in for the 2012 RORC Caribbean 600 |
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Wednesday, 12 October 2011 11:28 |
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Entries have now started coming in for the 2012 edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 after the entry system opened last week. All entries and expressions of interest can be seen by clicking on the "Entries & Interest" tab. The RORC will be hosting a RORC Caribbean 600 evening at the Clubhouse, 20 St James's Place, London, on Tuesday 18th October starting at 1900. Please come along to chat to members of the race team and competitors who have competed in the race before. There will be information on the race as well as companies offering whole boats or crew places for charter. |
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Advance Notice of the 2012 RORC Caribbean 600 Race |
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Thursday, 06 October 2011 10:21 |
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 The Advance Notice of Race for the 2012 edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 Race has been published.
Start: Monday 20th February 2012
First Warning Signal: 1050
(all times are in local time)
Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Antigua Yacht Club
 Advance Notice of Race 132 Kb 06/10/2011
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Online Entry now open for the 2012 RORC Caribbean 600 |
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Wednesday, 05 October 2011 13:28 |
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Antigua: Monday February 20th 2012
Online entry for the 4th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Caribbean 600 is now open.
Offshore in the Caribbean
The RORC Caribbean 600, run by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with Antigua Yacht Club, is the only offshore race of the Caribbean series and since its conception in 2009, has become a firm favourite with offshore racers seeking a tactical challenge in warm Caribbean conditions. The 2012 edition will witness an impressive line-up of yachts starting from Antigua on Monday 20th February.
The fleet will battle the 600nm course which circumnavigates 11 Caribbean Islands starting from Fort Charlotte, English Harbour, Antigua and heading north as far as St Martin and south to Guadeloupe taking in Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, Saba and St Barth's. Perfect racing in perfect conditions.
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Read more... [Online Entry now open for the 2012 RORC Caribbean 600]
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RORC Caribbean 600 - A Race Comes of Age |
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Wednesday, 09 March 2011 11:33 |
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Now in its third year, the RORC Caribbean 600 has attracted competitors from all over the world and has established itself as one of the 'must do' offshore yacht races of the international racing calendar. A record entry for the race included yachts representing; Antigua; Australia; Belgium; Canada; Cayman Islands; France; Germany; Great Britain; Ireland; Italy; Lithuania; Netherlands; South Africa; Spain and the United States.
One of the main reasons for its popularity is the fantastic sailing conditions and this year the central Caribbean served up conditions that dreams are made of. Big breeze and swell provided fast surfing conditions on the intricate course, weaving through 11 Caribbean islands. The RORC Caribbean 600 is a new style of offshore yacht race, designed to test speed, agility and guile: more like a Formula One race track than a traditional windward leeward course.
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Read more... [RORC Caribbean 600 - A Race Comes of Age]
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Coming of age |
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Friday, 25 February 2011 18:31 |
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The RORC Caribbean 600 has been a special event for all of the competitors, last night the closest battle in any class was decided and the two remaining yachts racing, showing great fighting spirit, provided a fitting finale to racing, in the beautiful but sometimes brutal waters of the central Caribbean.
Late yesterday evening, the Army Sailing Association's A40, British Soldier, crossed the finish line. The team largely consists of British soldiers on leave from active duty in Afghanistan but not entirely. Two of the crew were from the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force and had no offshore sailing experience. The Antiguans put there hands up for the trip and were shown the ropes by some of the more experienced members of the crew. British Soldier had a blistering start to the race and sailed intelligently around the track, to claim a well deserved win in Class Two, showing dedication to duty but also allowing the soldiers a relaxing shakedown from their vital role.
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Read more... [Coming of age]
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Concise finishes |
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Thursday, 24 February 2011 18:34 |
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Tony Lawson's Class 40, Concise, completed the RORC Caribbean 600 after just under 3 days at sea. With six crew with an average age of just 22 years, they are by far the youngest team in the race. Concise retained the Concise Trophy for the third year running, much to the delight of the owner, Tony Lawson.
"Although Ned Collier Wakefield is down as the skipper, this really is a combined effort from a great bunch of very talented lads. The new boat is going well with less freeboard and a much more ergonomic cockpit and the articulated bowsprit gives the crew more options. It was important that we continued to build on our success in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland and we were very please to see that we went even faster than in the similar conditions we experienced in the 2009 RC600. We feel we have nudged the bar slightly higher." |
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Tonnerre gets out of jail |
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Thursday, 24 February 2011 18:15 |
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Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens 3 crossed the finish line just after eight in the morning, on the third day of the RORC Caribbean 600, Piet's corinthian crew were tired and a bit deflated. They had been enjoying a fantastic ride all the way to Guadeloupe, when the flashing blue hull came to a complete stop. The powerful hull form had been powering around the course but they became caught on the windless southeast corner of the course. Like a hornet in a caught in a spider's web, Tonnerre struggled to get free but remained there for seven hours.
"It was a difficult time," declared Piet Vroon. "All we could do was wait for the wind but we felt that our chance had gone. The rest of the time we had been enjoying some fantastic sailing but this is a much tougher race than we expected, it was quite rough, it was like driving down a road full of potholes. The sail across to Nevis was probably the most spectacular part of the race for us, powering along at great speed into the setting sun under spinnaker."
Despite parking up at Guadeloupe, Tonnerre's performance around the rest of the race track proved to be their savior, although the rest of the class are still racing, by the afternoon it became mathematically impossible for the rest of them to beat Tonnerre on corrected time. |
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Buzzing in Antigua |
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Thursday, 24 February 2011 13:35 |
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With the big showdown done and dusted between the Maxis. It was a full ten hours before the third yacht crossed the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600.
Peter Harrison's magnificent 115 ketch, Sojana, has produced a powerful performance, completing the course on Wednesday afternoon. 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." Commented Peter dockside.
Next home was Brian Benjamin's stunning 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." Commented Benjamin after tying up.
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. "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" said Lloyd Thornburg.
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Read more... [Buzzing in Antigua]
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Charming despite defeat |
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Wednesday, 23 February 2011 17:02 |
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George David's Rambler 100 may have defeated Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard, but Slade was his usual charming self dockside, he even quoted Shakespeare:
"Well we have to suffer the slings and arrows, Rambler is really quick, we made a valiant effort and we enjoyed ourselves, as we always do, that was just a fantastic sail. We had a few issues, which cost us but Rambler sailed impeccably and hardly put a foot wrong, the whole way around the course."
Clarke Murphy, who has joins forces with Mike Slade on ICAP Leopard for this race and the forthcoming Transatlantic Race, was racing on Leopard for the first time and despite the defeat, was wide-eyed about the experience; "Hitting those speeds hour after hour was just amazing, I couldn't have asked for a more exciting sail with a great bunch of guys who are really at the top of their game. Early on, just before Barbuda, we had a major issue with the main and although the crew managed to repair it, the sheet went again, later in the race, putting a small tear in the main, which we had to fix but we are not making any excuses, Rambler showed how quick they were and were deserving winners."
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Read more... [Charming despite defeat]
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