The 12th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's RORC Caribbean 600 will start on Monday 24th February 2020 from Antigua. Already the early entries are nudging towards an eclectic mix of 50 boats, with competition expected to be as red hot as ever. Previous overall and class winners are already committed to the thrilling 600-mile race around 11 Caribbean islands.
The 11th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 attracted 76 teams from 21 countries and crews from six continents. The highly diverse fleet were challenged by the tough conditions and captivated by the beauty of a stunning race course. The non-stop 600 mile race around 11 Caribbean islands is unique and very much on the bucket-list of any offshore sailor.
“All the classes had amazing competition and many finished the race just minutes apart, especially in the battle between Maserati and Argo, and the Class40s,” commented RORC CEO Eddie Warden Owen. “There were a lot of new boats and faces at this edition and the quality of the fleet and sailors continues to impress every year. The weather served up classic trade wind conditions which makes the race a challenge, but also a fast and exciting one.”
For the 2019 edition, David and Peter Askew's Wizard (USA) is the first Volvo 70 to win the race and the eighth team from the USA to lift the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy. “Awesome,” commented David Askew. “This is the first time we have done this race and to win it overall is beyond our wildest possible dreams. I really can't believe it.”
“Wizard planing at 25 knots - that is what makes this race so great and there is always something going on around these beautiful islands. This is the first time I have been to Antigua and the welcome has been phenomenal,” added Peter Askew.
The 2019 RORC Caribbean 600 Prize Giving will be held tonight, Friday 22nd February and it is a special evening celebrating a premier race in the world yacht racing calendar. Hundreds of passionate corinthian sailors and the world's top professionals will rub shoulders at Antigua Yacht Club. Victorious teams will take to the stage to receive acclaim for their efforts and to be presented with personalised souvenir decanters of English Harbour Rum!
In the early hours of Thursday 21 February, after two and a half days and nights of intense competition and over 600 miles of racing, it all came down to just a few minutes.
Maserati Multi 70 skippered by Giovanni Soldini (ITA) crossed the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600 at 20:49:00 AST on Tuesday 19 February 2019 in an elapsed time of 1 day, 06 hours 49 minutes and 00 seconds, taking Multihull Line honours and setting a new Multihull Race Record in the 11th edition of the race; beating the previous record by just over one hour.
Maserati Multi 70 crew: Giovanni Solidni (ITA), Vittorio Bissaro (IT), Guido Broggi (IT), Carlos Hernandez Robayna (ESP), Oliver Herrera Perez (ESP), Nico Malingri (IT), Matteo Soldini (IT) Claude Thélier (FRA).
The extraordinary events surrounding the battle for Multihull Line Honours will be remembered for years to come. Just 48 hours before the start of the 2019 RORC Caribbean 600, Jason Carroll's MOD 70 Argo (USA) capsized at high speed in training. It seemed impossible that Argo would be racing, but after a monumental effort by the sailing community in Antigua, Argo's crew and shore team, Argo miraculously made the impossible a reality.
David & Peter Askew (USA) racing their Volvo 70 Wizard have taken Monohull Line Honours in the RORC Caribbean 600 crossing the finish line on Wednesday 20 February at 07:08:44 AST in an elapsed time of 1d 19h 38m 44s. Wizard has set the bar for the overall win under IRC for the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy.
David and Peter Askew's American Volvo 70 Wizard has won the 2019 RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy, scoring the best corrected time under IRC. Wizard put in a near faultless performance to complete the 600 mile non-stop race in 43 hours 38 minutes and 44 seconds.
“That's awesome,” commented David Askew on receiving the news. “This is the first time we have done this race and to win it overall is beyond our wildest possible dreams. It's a race we have followed and we have always wanted to be in Antigua, but we wanted to have the right boat to do the really prestigious ocean races; the races we dreamed about when we were younger. We really didn't have any expectations, but we prepared ourselves to perform as best as we could. I am in shock, I really can't believe it.”
Magnificent start footage from the 2019 RORC Caribbean 600. Watch all the action on the water including aerial footage and spectacular shots from the start.
Multi70 Maserati (ITA) and MOD70 Argo (USA) have been ripping up the RORC Caribbean 600 race track, blasting around the course at phenomenal pace and well over 30 knots of boat speed has been recorded on the YB Race Tracker.
The 11th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 starts on Monday 18 February 1100 local time (1500 UTC).
