caribbean 600 yacht race

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About the RORC Carribean 600

Since 2009, the Royal Ocean Racing Club has organised the RORC Caribbean 600 in association with the Antigua Yacht Club. With the trade winds pumping the racing is challenging, but the sensation of racing in The Tropics, deep in the winter months of the Northern Hemisphere, is attractive to a huge variety of boats and sailors from all over the world.

In 2023, the RORC introduced the Nelson's Cup Series comprising two days of inshore racing, the round the Island 'Antigua 360', and the main event of the series, the RORC Caribbean 600. The Nelson Cup series provides six races in total ranging from short inshore day races to the RORC Caribbean 600. Teams can compete in all or part of the series and there are daily informal prize giving's at the Antigua Yacht Club.

The RORC Caribbean 600 is an exciting non-stop 600-mile offshore race on the bucket list of any offshore sailor. Starting and finishing in Antigua, the course weaves around eleven spectacular islands in the central Caribbean.

The overall winner is decided by the best corrected time under the IRC Rating Rule. Multihull and Monohull records are highly contested and there are individual IRC, MOCRA and other class prizes. The RORC Caribbean 600 is part of the RORC Season’s Points Championship, the largest series in the world of offshore racing.

RORC Caribbean 600 Records

Multihull Record

01 days 05 hrs 48 mins 45 secs. 

2022 - MOD70 Argo (Jason Carroll)

Monohull Record

01 days 13 hrs 41 mins 45 secs.

2018 - Rambler 88 (George David)

IRC Record 

03 days 10 hrs 09 mins 41 secs (IRC Corrected)

2022 - Warrior Won (Christopher Sheehan)

PAST WINNERS

RORC CARIBBEAN 600 TROPHY - IRC OVERALL:  ( Best corrected time under IRC)

• 2023 - Roy P. Disney, Volvo 70, Pyewacket (USA)
• 2022 - Christopher Sheehan, Warrior Won, Pac52 (USA)
• 2020 - Tilmar Hansen, Outsider, TP52 (GER)
• 2019 - David and Peter Askew, Wizard, Volvo 70 (USA)
• 2018 - George David, Rambler 88, Maxi (USA)
• 2017 - Hap Fauth, Bella Mente, JV72 (USA)
• 2016 - George Sakellaris, Maxi 72, Proteus (USA)
• 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 Royal Ocean Racing Club

Established in 1925, The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) is best known for the biennial Fastnet Race and the international team event, the Admiral's Cup. RORC organises an annual series of offshore races internationally and from its base in Cowes as well as inshore regattas in the Solent.

The RORC works with other yacht clubs to promote their offshore races and provides marketing and organisational support. With the first race in 2009, the RORC Caribbean 600, based in Antigua and the first offshore race in the Caribbean, has been an instant success. The RORC extended its organisational expertise by creating the RORC Transatlantic Race from Lanzarote to Grenada, the first of which was in November 2014. The Roschier Baltic Sea Race was established in 2022, starting and finishing in Helsinki, Finland.

The RORC has 4,000 members and a clubhouse based in St James' Place, London. Since 2014, the RORC Clubhouse Cowes provides superb facilities at the entrance to Cowes Harbour.

RORC website: www.rorc.org

The RORC has also been a leader in yacht rating systems and in co-operation with the French offshore racing club, UNCL, YCF Race Pole created the International Rating Certificate - IRC. IRC is a World Sailing recognised rating system and the principal yacht measurement system for the rating of racing yachts worldwide.

The IRC rating rule is administered jointly by the RORC Rating Office in Lymington, UK and UNCL, YCF Race Pole in Paris, France. The RORC Rating Office is the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and recognised globally as a centre of excellence for measurement.

For IRC rating information in the UK : www.rorcrating.com

For IRC rating globally www.ircrating.org

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Announcing the RORC Caribbean 600 Series

The Royal Ocean Racing Club announces the inaugural RORC Caribbean 600 Series which will be based in Antigua from 14th to 24th February 2023. The series will include three days of racing followed by the main event; the 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600. The RORC Caribbean 600 Series is open to boats racing under the IRC, CSA and MOCRA Class Rules, plus other suitable classes.

“Historically, major 600-mile offshore races are part of a series, for example the Fastnet and the Admiral’s Cup. The RORC Caribbean 600 Series will have a similar format with inshore racing, a medium length offshore and a long offshore race,” commented Turckheim. “The RORC Caribbean 600 race is one of the best offshore races in the world, but it is normally won by a big boat. The Series will give smaller boats a better chance of winning due to the variety of races. The Royal Ocean Racing Club have a long-term plan for the RORC Caribbean 600 Series; making it one of the world’s most significant regattas.”

2023 RORC Caribbean 600 Series 14th to 24th February 2023

14th February 2023 - Inshore racing in coastal waters of Antigua 15th February - Inshore racing in coastal waters of Antigua 16th February - Lay Day in Antigua 17th February - 360 Round Antigua Race 18th February - Series Prize Giving and RORC Caribbean 600 Opening Party 20 th February - Start of the 14th RORC Caribbean 600 24 th February - Prize Giving RORC Caribbean 600

“The combination of a tactically challenging Caribbean destination, sunshine and warm blue waters makes this a totally unique event,” commented Race Director Chris Stone. “The RORC will continue to work with Antigua Yacht Club and their local volunteers supporting the management of this great event. All of the races in the Series will require boats to comply with World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations Category 3. For the RORC Caribbean 600 Race, boats will require additional equipment including: Liferaft, EPIRB and AIS Transponder.”

International Race Officer Hank Stuart from Rochester New York will be the Race Officer for the RORC Caribbean 600 Series. The intention is to run multiple races over the first two days. After Lay Day, the 52-mile 360 Round Antigua Race is scheduled and three days later will be the start of the 14th RORC Caribbean 600.

For further information please contact the RORC Race Team on [email protected] or go to: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/

Caribbean Sailing Association

The Start of the 2023 RORC Caribbean 600

Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club and supported by Antigua Yacht Club, the 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 started on time at 11:00 AST on Monday 20th February. Seventy boats racing under IRC, Class40 and MOCRA Rules, with crews from 30 different countries, started the epic 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 RORC fleet has now set its 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.

Track the fleet via YB Races Player: https://caribbean600.rorc.org/Race-Information/Tracking/

To follow the race with satellite tracking and regular updates from the competitors and media team go to: www.caribbean600.rorc.org

Race Videos: RORC Caribbean 600 Playlist  HERE

Race Tracker: :   HERE

How to Follow the Race:  HERE

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RORC Caribbean 600 - How to Follow the Race

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

Its tropical setting might lead you to believe that it is not such a hardcore event as those others, but that would be misleading. The Caribbean 600 features a tortuous course between islands, working with currents, beating into tradewinds and coaxing past the lee of land in one of the most interesting offshore courses to be found anywhere in the world.

The race annually attracts a great range of yachts from the latest IRC designs to big classics and schooners, and is firmly in the calendar of the some of the world’s best racing sailors.

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