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For Europeans who wish to dine in such magnificent gilded Edwardian splendour but lack the time or money to visit the extraordinary Model Room (above) at the New York Yacht Club, the Seahorse restaurant guide steers you in the direction of the immaculately restored and even more (sic) splendid Grill Room at the Café Royal in London… an ‘Ian Botham’ stone’s throw from the RORC London clubhouse
Strength in depth
What a season we have ahead of us, it being our club centenary and a Rolex Fastnet Race year, and with 2025 seeing the return of the Admiral’s Cup after a 22-year gap. The Commodore in her column has also touched on some of the talented female sailors we have racing as part of the 15 teams competing. The clocks going forward for me is always an indicator that the
domestic sailing season is upon us. The Junior Offshore Group (JOG) has perhaps been responsible more than any other organi- sation (except RORC of course…) for introducing new faces to off- shore racing, and they have already held their first event of the season with the popular coastal Cowes-Weymouth return. Our own Easter Challenge has been a regular in the RORC
calendar for over 20 years and it is always a standout event, being very different from our other inshore regattas and our offshore pro- gramme. This year will be no exception with five Admiral’s Cup boats also taking part over three days of Easter and taking advantage as usual of the high-level on-water coaching that is unique to this event. Following on swiftly from the Easter Challenge, we have the
Cervantes Trophy at the beginning of May, which is traditionally our first offshore race of the domestic season, a cross-Channel dash to Le Havre. The Cervantes Trophy was first presented to the club in 1972 by Bob Watson who named his host of successful yachts Cervantes. Together with Edward Heath (Morning Cloud) and Arthur Slater (Prospect of Whitby) Cervantes IV was part of the winning British Admiral’s Cup team of 1971. With 85 boats already entered, this race is also the first in our
newly created Cowes Offshore Racing Series, which incorporates seven races between May and September, all starting from Cowes and with the Cowes clubhouse hosting pre-race dinners. A team’s best five results will count towards their series scores. Assuage Trophies will be awarded to all IRC class series winners. The schedule of races is designed for teams with limited time
and budget (the series excludes the Rolex Fastnet), or for teams new to offshore racing who want shorter, more easily accessible races to find their feet. For more information and to enter the new series online, please visit
www.sailracehq.com. As part of our centenary celebrations and being a club that has
72 SEAHORSE
a global membership we are staging celebratory dinners in different parts of the world. Our first was held at the New York Yacht Club in their grand Model Room (above). The evening was hosted by our Vice Commodore Derek Shakespeare and Rear Commodore Andrew Tseng, along with Commodore Jay Cross and Vice Commodore Claire Harrington of the NYYC. The full schedule of regional centenary dinners can be found on the website. Our first members’ celebration in the UK will be a centenary party
on the evening of Saturday 19 July at the Cowes clubhouse. I would also like to remind everyone about our on-the-water event in Cowes on the same day, for classic yachts with an association with the RORC during its first 50 years – that is up to 1975. Owners interested in participating should email
racing@rorc.org to register their interest as soon as possible. Following Poole’s success in 2024 hosting the first GBR IRC
Nationals outside the Solent, we have entrusted the combined yacht clubs of Poole to organise and run the 2026 IRC European Championship. Sailors from around the UK, across the Channel and over the Irish Sea will meet for four days of competitive racing against the spectacular backdrop of the Purbeck Hills and Jurassic Coast from 22 to 26 May 2026. Young sailors selected for our Griffin Offshore Pathway this
season continue with their hard work over multiple training weekends supervised by the UK’s best-known offshore racers – the latest ‘master-in-charge’ being Volvo Ocean Race winner Ian Walker. The mixed crews of the Griffin Race Team under lead coach Hugh
Brayshaw came together for their first race of the season, competing in JOG’s Lewmar Lonely Tower Race, finishing a very respectable third in IRC 2. As I’m sure readers appreciate, they can always do with more funding and if you’d like to know how to help then please visit
www.rorc.org/the-griffin-fund or email:
Griffin@rorc.org. On a final note, if you weren’t aware, the Cowes clubhouse is now
operating longer summer opening hours and with a new summer menu. If you haven’t visited the redeveloped Cowes clubhouse please do so soon – to enjoy a drink in the Fastnet Bar and/or a meal in the Terrace Restaurant with its wonderful views across the Solent. Jeremy Wilton, CEO
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