The next RORC Caribbean 600 Race will start on Monday 22nd February 2010.

RORC members John Burnie and Stan Pearson are two well known characters in the yachting community in the Caribbean. They have often talked about an offshore yacht race, something that the Caribbean has never had, their plans devised over a few beers have now become a reality. The RORC Caribbean 600, in association with the Antigua Yacht Club, is now firmly established as annual event.

Mike Slade's 100ft Maxi ICAP Leopard came to Antigua with a clear target; to set a monohull record for a new offshore race, that task is completed. ICAP Leopard needed 44 hours 5 minutes 14 seconds to complete the race course for the first ever RORC Caribbean 600. 13 minutes less than they took to complete the 2007 Rolex Fastnet, a race of roughly the same length but of totally different conditions, this was a breezy race but t-shirts and shorts were the order of the day for competitors.

"A fantastic yacht race" commented ICAP Leopard's boatcaptain Chris Sherlock. "High speed sailing in warm conditions. We might have gone round a bit quicker if we hadn't snagged a fish-trap but if the breeze had been up a bit more then I reckon we could have taken a few hours off the time, let us hope we get some more wind next year."

Danilo Salsi's magnificent Swan 90 finished the RORC Caribbean 600 crossing the finish line after dusk on Wednesday night, to claim line honours for a fixed keel monohull. Skipper Andrea Casale said: "This is our first race and we are still learning how to sail the boat to its potential, all of the crew have enjoyed the experience, the race course is fantastic; always interesting. We would love to see more Italian boats here next year."

There was high tension later that evening as Adrian Lee's Cookson 50, Lee Overlay Partners, was approaching the finish. It was pitch black, just after midnight on Thursday morning. Lee Overlay Partners took the gun, in an elapsed time of 60 hours 45 minutes and 40 seconds. It was soon confirmed that the Irish canting keel Cookson, from the Royal St.George Yacht Club was leading overall, under IRC with a small possibility of being beaten by a local boat, Bernie Evan-Wong's Mumm 36, Café Americano High Tension.

"This says it all - fetching to Guadeloupe at 18 kts....All well - this can't be offshore racing, if it is so nice?!" commented Adrian Lee in his boat blog, obviously enjoying the sleigh ride, through the Caribbean. "I want to promote Irish offshore sailing that is why we race all over the world and what better way to do that than to compete at the RORC Caribbean 600."

Result 2009 RORC Caribbean 600 Monohull

ICAP Leopard/Mike Slade
Elapsed time: 44 Hours 5 minutes 14 seconds

"We have set a time for this fantastic race, so come and join us next year to try and beat it." said a chirpy but tired Mike Slade as ICAP Leopard moored up at the Antigua Yacht Club. "Make no mistake; this is a tough race, especially for the smaller boats still out there. It has taken us nearly two days and that is just about enough, hats off to the smaller boats who may not be in for some time, I am sure the crews will all be very tired but will be looking forward to a warm Antiguan welcome."

ICAP Leopard's crew

Physically exhausted, wringing wet and full of pride, John Burnie's 60ft ORMA Trimaran, Region Guadeloupe crossed the finish line under Shirley Heights, Antigua at 03:51:05 Local time (GMT-4) to set the multi-hull elapsed time for future multihulls to beat.

Result 2009 RORC Caribbean 600 Multihull Class

Region Guadeloupe/John Burnie
Elapsed time: 40 Hours 11 minutes 5 seconds

Dockside at the Antigua Yacht Club, John Burnie said: "That was an incredible ride, all credit to the crew but hats off to the yacht owner Claude Thelier who has completed an Atlantic crossing in this boat, in nine days on his own. We wanted to set a standard for others to beat, we pushed the boat really hard and we never backed off."

Besides John there were eight other crew; Claude Thelier, Iain Bradshaw, Mark Stevens, Ben Craig-Cameron, Ben Wood, Ed Danby, Stephane Squarcioni and Steve Branagh.

Looking at a snapshot of the race course on the RORC Caribbean 600 Race Tracker, 0900 on Tuesday morning (GMT+4), the 24 boats are spread out, right across the Caribbean.

In Mike Slades blog from ICAP Leopard, he describes his thoughts on the race so far. "Any ideas that this race was a holiday jaunt out of Antigua have now been binned! A cracking start into heavy seas soon dispelled any thoughts of an easy trip."...and later... "To enjoy a fabulous evening sail along the southern coast of Nevis and St Kitts. Flat water and 20 knots plus boat speed was as good as it ever gets and the reason why we were keen to support this RORC initiative, around what is undoubtedly one of the best yacht race tracks in the world."

A new exciting offshore race is born, the inaugural RORC Caribbean 600 kicked off at 1100 local time. Solid breeze from the east nudging 20 knots rising to over 25 knots in the squalls was the order of the day but the big factor was the sea state; long rollers some as high as four metres tested the driving skills to the maximum.

First away were all of the monohulls bar the IRC Super Zero Class. David Aisher's Rogers 46, Yeoman XXXII, got a great start, choosing to take the island shore they looked to be lifted and within seconds they were in clear air ahead of the fleet.

Next away was the big boat fleet, IRC Super Zero, Mike Slade's 100ft Maxi, ICAP Leopard, was on starboard but was shy of the line as Danilo Salsi's Swan 90, DSK Pioneer, nailed the start. ICAP Leopard was not behind for long, blasting through the waves like an express train to pass the Swan 90.

The Caribbean is due to serve up some sublime sailing conditions for the inaugural RORC Caribbean 600, the competitors are expecting to blast around the course in big breeze, warm seas and ocean swell.

At the Skipper's briefing held at Antigua Yacht Club, RORC Racing Manager, Ian Loffhagen, fine tuned the racing instructions to a highly experienced audience including sailors from the Olympics, America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race. Afterwards, a reception was held on the lawn to sample some of the local fayre. The Hon. Harold Lovell, Minister for Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda, gave a warm welcome to all of the guests and Antigua Yacht Club Commodore, Elizabeth Jordan, announced that all of the facilities at the yacht club would be open 24 hours a day during the race, not surprisingly this got a loud roar of approval!

The race course around the Caribbean is the ultimate sailor's playground, apart from two short beats, the fleet will enjoy fast downwind conditions. By day the yachts will criss-cross between the tropical islands and by night they will sail under a carpet of stars. RORC Commodore; Andrew McIrvine is racing on David Aisher's Rogers 46, Yeoman XXXII commented; "We went out for a shakeout today and had a ball; 20 to 25 knots of breeze and some big waves, we were trucking along, touching 18 knots with very little canvas up; a reef in the main and a No. 4. These are the conditions we came here for and we are relishing the prospect of some fantastic racing come Monday."

Start: Antigua 23^rd February 2009

On the 23rd February, the inaugural RORC Caribbean 600 will start from English Harbour in Antigua, West Indies. Offering perhaps some of the best sailing in the world, the 605 nautical mile yacht race zigzags north as far as St Marten and as far south as Guadeloupe. It will be a tough test for the yachts, the navigators and the crews.

Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Antigua Yacht Club, the race has attracted a fleet of close to 30 boats, including some of the world's most prestigious yachts.

The biggest yacht is Peter Harrison's 115ft Farr designed, Sojana, skippered by Marc Fitzgerald. Mike Slade's 100ft Maxi, ICAP Leopard, will be looking to set a course record for a monohull and add to the 11 records the boat currently holds. The fastest boat around the track is most likely to be the ORMA 60 chartered by John Burnie, Region Guadeloupe, which should fly around the course in less than 35 hours! However, the Gunboat 48, Cream, will be tough to beat. This state-of-the-art carbon fibre catamaran is skippered by Cam Lewis, a past winner of the America's Cup and the Jules Verne Trophy. The smallest yacht in the race is Bernard Evan-Wong's Mumm 36, High Tension. Evan-Wong runs a busy dental practice in Antigua but has also competed in over 20 Antigua Sailing weeks. With that sort of knowledge, he will certainly know his way around the course.

Swan's make up the biggest class: From Italy the new Swan 90, DSK, owned by Danilo Salsi is definitely not here to cruise the course and will be pushed to the limit by a top Italian race team. Wijnand Van den Boogard's Swan 51, Star Chaser, is the smallest Swan of a majestic fleet.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club's inaugural RORC Caribbean 600 looks set to stage the first battle between the two 100ft super maxi's Leopard and Speedboat.

Chris Sherlock, boat Captain of Mike Slade's Leopard announced recently: "It is likely that we will be racing against each other for the first time in the RORC Caribbean 600 which starts in Antigua on 23^rd February 2009."

As the event mini-site went live and Pre-Notice of Race became available on-line, interest in the race has been flooding in since the announcement earlier this year by the RORC and Antigua Yacht Club to hold the first ever offshore race to circumnavigate the Caribbean Islands.

The race has attracted great interest from all over the world: George David's maxi yacht Rambler, which won the 2007 Rolex Middle Sea Race, is joining the battle with Leopard and Speedboat. Peter Harrison's 115ft super yacht Sojana is a definite entry and classic yachts such as the 155ft schooner Windrose and J Class Velsheda also intend to join the race scheduled to fit snugly between other major events in the busy Caribbean racing calendar.