RORC Caribbean 600

Update February 22nd, 2016

A record fleet of 70 yachts will be competing in the 8th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 starting from Antigua on Monday 22 February. This year’s race will see the most spectacular line-up of high performance boats racing anywhere in the world.

The crew list reads like the ‘Who’s Who’ of elite international sailors with hundreds of round the world, Olympic and Volvo Ocean Race professionals rubbing shoulders with passionate corinthian sailors on the same 600 nmile race course around 11 Caribbean islands.

Interviews with organisers and crews, pre-start party atmosphere and on board training footage with some of the owners and crews as they prepare for this epic race.

Three further broadcast quality videos will be available: Start (available Monday 22 Feb), early finishers and a wrap-up report.

Update February 19th, 2016

An unprecedented fleet featuring the world’s most spectacular yachts and crews are gathering in Antigua for the start of the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600. The race starts on Monday 22 February.

To keep up with all the news and to follow the fleet, please see full details below.

RECORD FLEET – WORLD’S MOST SPECTACULAR RACING YACHTS
The Race Team from the Royal Ocean Racing Club, based at Antigua Yacht Club is busy 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.

The quality of the fleet is second-to-none. Some of the world’s fastest racing machines with sailors who have flown in from all parts of the world to secure the silverware and the prestigious RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy, will be on the same race course as corinthian sailors in a diverse fleet with crews from over 30 different countries.

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

THE START: MONDAY 22 FEBRUARY
1050 (First warning signal)
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.

Spectators are in for a treat. The 8th edition of the race will showcase an astounding fleet of yachts: from record-breaking high performance racers to a magnificent 213ft (65m) three-masted schooner, elegant classic and fast production yachts.

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 THE START, HOW TO FOLLOW THE RACE

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:
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

RACE MINISITE:

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.

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:

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.

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:

A WORD FROM THE RORC RACING MANAGER:

“The support of the members of the Antigua Yacht Club plays a vital part in the success of the RORC Caribbean 600. The fact that we see so many familiar faces and new volunteers helping us each year, with their vast experience of the local area and conditions, gives the RORC the confidence to be able to organise this demanding offshore race with a small RORC team from the UK,” says RORC Racing Manager, Nick Elliott.

“We are very pleased that ABSAR, the Antigua Barbuda Search and Rescue team will be on hand to help with the many aspects of safety and fleet management required to run an offshore race. ABSAR’s highly trained team and safety network throughout the islands on the Caribbean 600 course, is vital to the safe running of the race. ABSAR will also be on hand to help identify any boats finishing in the hours of darkness,” continues Elliott.

For more information visit the RORC Caribbean 600 mini-site: www.caribbean600.rorc.org

Start: Antigua, West Indies – Monday 22 February 2016
Course: Approx. 600nm non-stop around 11 Caribbean Islands

Update February 17th 2016

Hundreds of spectators on land and sea will be watching the start of the 8th RORC Caribbean 600 and following the progress via the race fleet tracker

Olympic, America’s Cup and round the world sailors will be rubbing shoulders with passionate corinthian sailors at this year’s spectacular RORC Caribbean 600 starting from Antigua on Monday 22 February. A record entry of around 70 yachts is anticipated for the 8th edition of the offshore race around 11 Caribbean islands.

Featuring the most magnificent collection of racing yachts ever seen in the Caribbean, an incredibly varied fleet will be racing under the IRC, CSA and MOCRA rating systems, as well as Class40s racing under class rules. Comanche, Phaedo3 and Concise 10 will be gunning for course records but the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy will be won by the yacht with the best corrected time under IRC.

Monohull Record: 2011 George David, Rambler 100 – 40 hours 20 mins 02 secs.

The crew list on Jim Clark & Kristy Hinze Clark’s American Maxi reads like a who’s who of stars from the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race. Stan Honey and Kelvin Harrap form the afterguard for skipper Ken Read, who has gone on record to say that subject to the right conditions, Comanche can break the course record. “Technically, Comanche is 10 years newer than Rambler 100 and not wishing to sound over the top, we should have a bit of an edge in every condition, but tell me what the weather conditions will be and I will give you our finish time,” commented Ken Read.

Multihull Record: 2015 Lloyd Thornburg & Brian Thompson, MOD70 Phaedo3 – 33 hours, 35 mins 30 secs.

Lloyd Thornburg’s American MOD 70 Phaedo3 is back to defend their record but will be up against stiff competition; Tony Lawson’s British MOD 70 Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield. Phaedo3 co-skipper and Jules Verne record holder, Brian Thompson is joined by Volvo Ocean Race winner, Robert Greenhalgh and Extreme 40 champion, Pete Cumming. Phaedo3 has set four phenomenal world speed records since the last RORC Caribbean 600 and a new record for the RORC Transatlantic Race, beating Concise 10 by just two and a half hours after six days of racing. In their latest encounter, Concise 10 beat Phaedo3 in the Round Barbados Race by just 12 seconds! For the RORC Caribbean 600, young British skipper Ned Collier Wakefield will be joined by the world speed record holder, Paul Larsen and Michel Desjoyeux, the only sailor to have won the Vendée Globe twice.

“Breaking the record is possible, maybe by an hour,” suggested Phaedo3’s Brian Thompson. “In 2015 we had quite light winds for the first part of the leg from St. Barths to Guadeloupe, so we were not fully wicked up, but we rounded Guadeloupe very well, which helped our elapsed time. It is going to be fantastic racing against another MOD70 on this course. We should be pushing each other for speed the whole way around, but there may be times when we change direction to cover. On the whole, I think having Concise to race against will improve our performance.”

IRC Overall for the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy

Overall winners of the previous seven editions of the race have all come from IRC Canting Keel and IRC Zero. Amongst this year’s favourites are four Maxi 72s: Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente, holder of the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy, Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou, George Sakellaris’ Proteus and Dieter Schön’s Momo.

Volvo Ocean Race veteran and Maxi 72 World Champion Steve Hayles was navigator on Niklas Zennström’s Rán IV; overall winner of the 2012 race. Hayles was also involved in the design of Proteus and Momo:

“There have been some great offshore battles in the past, but never anything like this. The difference between the performance of the Maxi 72s is very small. The reality is once you have broken the race down into the different legs it is a series of short sprints and you need to make big decisions all the time; things come at you a lot quicker. The IRC Rating of the boats could be a key factor and although the four ratings are close, I wouldn’t want to be the top rated boat in that pack, especially if it is a match race. Look out for some interesting sail choices as well as deck gear.”

Whilst the quartet of Maxi 72s are firm favourites, the stellar cast racing in IRC Canting Keel and IRC Zero includes; the ex-Rambler 90 La Bête; Irving Laidlaw’s Maxi 82 Highland Fling XI; Volvo Ocean 65 Team Brunel; skippered by Bouwe Bekking; Bryon Ehrhart’s RP63 Lucky; Jens Kellinghusen’s Ker 56 Varuna; Steve Benjamin’s TP52 Spookie; Piet Vroon’s Ker 51 Tonnerre 4 and Adrian Lee’s Cookson 50 Lee Overlay Partners, 2009 race winner.

IRC One 2015 Champion: William Coates Ker 43, Otra Vez – 66 hours 48 mins 28 secs

A huge variety of yachts will be competing for the IRC One Trophy this year: Adix will be the first three-masted schooner to take part in the race and at 213ft (65m) and 300 tonnes, the majestic schooner will be a magnificent sight. RORC Admiral, Andrew McIrvine will skipper Grand Soleil 46 Belladonna with RORC Commodore, Michael Boyd as navigator and many RORC Committee members as part of the crew. Maurice Benzaquen’s Pogo 1250 Aloha put in a fine performance to claim second overall in the 2015 RORC Transatlantic Race, whilst Eric De Turkheim’s A13 Teasing Machine placed third in class for the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race and won class for the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Having competed in every RORC Caribbean 600 to date, Bernie Evan Wong’s RP37 Taz will be proudly flying the Antiguan flag once again.

IRC Two Champion: Ross Applebey Oyster 48, Scarlet Oyster 3 – 81 hours 41 mins 54 secs

Ross Applebey’s Scarlet Oyster will be vying for a fourth win in IRC Two, which could be described as the ‘battle of the race charter boats’. Global Yacht Racing’s Grand Soleil 43 Quokka, skippered by Christian Reynolds, is the fastest boat on paper. Andy Middleton’s First 47.7 EH01, also from the Global Yacht Racing stable, pushed Scarlet Oyster all the way last year. Three First 40s will enjoy a close battle on the water; Sailing Logic’s Team Vancouver and Arthur Logic will be plying their skills with Performance Yacht Charters Southern Child, skippered by Lucy Jones. Swan 51 Northern Child will also be racing, having come third last year by just under a minute on the water.

Short-Handed Challengers

J/11S Sleeper, skippered by Jonty Layfield is teaming up with James Box who normally skippers the 127ft schooner Gloria with 28 racing crew. Chris Frost and Elin Haf Davis will be back in action with J/120 Nunatak after their successful RORC Transatlantic Race. A number of young talented Figaro teams are expected from Guadeloupe and five Class 40s will be competing under their class rules including Thibault Hector’s Creno Moustache Solidaire which won class in both the Route du Rhum and Transat Jacques Vabre. Gonzalo Botin’s Spanish Class40 Tales II will be attempting to win the class for the third year in succession and is also rumoured to have a line honours bet with Adix, the 213ft (65m) schooner sailed by his uncle!

Over 800 sailors are anticipated to take part from 24 different countries; all the yachts are fitted with trackers and you can follow the race on http://caribbean600.rorc.org/Tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html; thousands more will compete in the Virtual Regatta game online: http://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4559

For more information go to the race minisite
For more information visit the official RORC Caribbean 600 web site

Website link
Twitter Hashtag : #rorcrc600
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Update February 4th 2016

Nikata’s Mike Broughton walks the RORC Caribbean 600 course.

Start: Antigua, West Indies Monday 22 February 2016
Organised by: The Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with Antigua Yacht Club
Course: Approx. 600nm non-stop around 11 Caribbean Islands.

“The RORC Caribbean 600 is attracting some of the world’s best yachts. Top professionals who have done the race before have often found it a tougher race than they had anticipated,” comments Mike Broughton, navigator for the 8th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 on the brand new Baltic 115, Nikata. “With tropical heat and humidity, combining with tradewinds and unremitting waves, the conditions are physically demanding and there are a lot of sail changes, especially in the first 24 hours.”

Mike has competed in 16 Fastnets, 10 Sydney Hobarts and 8 Middle Sea Races. Mike will be taking part in his sixth RORC Caribbean 600 and gives a detailed account of the course for the RORC Caribbean 600.
(Note: Description assumes a normal Trade Wind direction of 080º – 120º)

Fort Charlotte to Green Island (approx. 7nm)
You are straight into the action right from the start just outside English Harbour with a beat up to Green Island. With land on the left bending the wind, it makes a lot of sense to stay close to the cliffs; there is also less adverse current inshore.

Green Island to Barbuda (approx. 29nm)
With about a 125º true wind angle, the leg to Barbuda is fast with reaching sails. There are two banks to watch out for; Three and Four Fathom Bank, which are just to the left of the rhumb line which is generally the best place to be to anticipate the wind freeing as the wind bends around the southern side of Barbuda, about four miles prior to the mark. Barbuda is the only island we race round that is flat, so you won’t see it until about six miles off.

Barbuda to Nevis (approx. 50nm)
After gybing at the Barbuda mark, it should be a broad reach to the bottom of Nevis. This year the trades have tended to be a bit lighter and are usually lighter still around sunset and sunrise. The approach to Nevis can be close to the south, but care must be taken not to get into the wind shadow on the leeward side. Nevis is an even shaped cone rising to over 1000 metres. I have seen a 50 footer wallowing in no breeze in the wind shadow for about 20 mins, whilst other boats flew past 400 meters further out doing over 10 knots.

Nevis to Saba (approx. 50nm)
There are two wind shadow effects passing to the leeward of St.Kitts and a further one passing Sint Eustatius. A safer track is to go further west, but you will be sailing more distance, so getting that balance right is the key. Sint Eustatius has a lot of lights around it from oil tankers as it has a large transhipping depot there. Once you get to Saba, the wind shadow is probably the most significant of the early part of the race; get too close at your peril, but don’t give up too much windward gauge. Plan to pass close to Diamond Rock.

Saba to St. Barths (approx. 31nm)
This can be a tough beat. Generally speaking it works to go north of track to get out of the worst of the current and sea state in the lee of St Barts. There are plenty of rocks around St. Barts to avoid, especially on the southern and eastern coast. Be aware of faster boats on the course who will be heading south, which can be hard to see with background lights from St. Martin. Many of them will also be flying A-Sails making it difficult for them to see you fine on their starboard bow. Prudent sailing is required as pass close to a lee shore and it is worth using the AIS to help locate converging boats on this tricky bit of the course. Beware going too close to the cliffs as the wind is very light as it detaches from the surface.

Ile Toc Vers to Tintamarre (approx. 55nm)
As you bare away around Ile Toc Vers, you must leave all the rocks of St. Barths to Port. Along the leeward side of St. Martin, the wind shadow can have an effect but it should be a fast broad reach up to Long Bay. You don’t want to go too far offshore as you will be hardening up rounding Long Bay into the Anguilla Channel. Also be aware that the chart depth is not totally accurate as you enter the Anguilla Channel and there is also a rock off Baie aux Prunes. After dousing your spinnaker at Long Bay, be aware of the strong westerly going current. The north shore of St. Martin often pays before you finally bare away at Tintamarre and aim for St Barths once again.

Tintamarre to Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe (approx. 160nm)
The first 20 miles to St. Barths is a tight angle, so it is not a huge bare away but there you will crack off at St. Barths and go south for long 140-mile reach. Montserrat is en route but going west of it is quite risky. This route does give you a better angle coming into Iles des Saintes, but you have to sail more miles and risk the big wind shadow and also beware of the prohibited area, particularly on its south west side. As you approach Guadeloupe, you tend to get lifted at first, then you have the battle of the Guadeloupe wind shadows as the wind converges round the north and south sides, and also comes from on high over the top of the high island. It’s worth looking at a contour map to understand how the wind shadow plays out on this crucial part of the course. There can be wind close to the shore at night, but certainly not always. The one thing you can say though is that there is always a wind shadow!

Iles des Saintes to La Desirade (approx. 47nm)
This beat is one of the toughest parts of the course with headwinds curving around the north of Marie Galante and the south east of Guadeloupe. Rounding La Desirade you will probably experience the strongest current of the whole race. It is always nice to bear away and head north here.

La Desirade to Barbuda (approx. 90nm)
With about 135º True Wind Angle, this should be an open ocean spinnaker leg, a feel good leg after the beat with the boat picking up speed, eventually getting ready for the gybe at Barbuda with the same issues as last time.

Barbuda to Redonda (approx. 45nm)
A spinnaker run to Redonda, there can be some big wind variations as you pass Antigua. There can be a little bit of a wind shadow at Redonda. As you round Redonda at beat for the finish, the chart shows Pinnacle Rock, just to the south east but I have never seen it.

Redonda to Antigua (approx. 35nm)
The last leg is usually a dead beat and generally speaking, north of the rhumb line gives flatter water and lifting pressure coming from the north of Antigua. Watch out for the shallows off the west coast, especially Cades Reef, but quite often the shore works for this last leg. Antigua is in sight for much of this leg but it always seems to take a bit longer than you think, so there are still gains to be made on the final leg to finish.

Thousands of spectators will gather at Shirley Heights to watch the impressive 66-boat fleet begin the 8th RORC Caribbean 600. Hundreds of thousands more will watch the race unfold via video, photographs, race reports and blogs from the boats. All of the competing yachts will be fitted with YB Trackers.

For more information visit the official RORC Caribbean 600 web site: http://caribbean600.rorc.org