RORC
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Can I be the first to wish all RORC members and readers a very happy and prosperous New Year, and I hope you all had a very enjoy- able Christmas. Even though we had our last race of the 2023 Season’s Points
Championship back at the beginning of September, this club always has something going on especially if we consider the rating office and their management of IRC. There is always an event being raced somewhere in the world using the IRC system. Late October we had the 600-mile Rolex Middle Sea Race, then
in November we had the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta organised by the Royal Selangor Yacht Club. This annual event con- sists of three overnight passage races, plus three days of inshore racing around the tropical islands of Penang and Langkawi in Malaysia. Also in Asia, in December we had the well-established King’s Cup regatta in Phuket, Thailand which was first held in 1987. Finally the middle of December brings the relatively new and
exciting IRC Middle East Championships run by the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club. All of which are our rating office’s responsibility (by the way the office just moved for the first time in many years into a purpose-built office space within the Berthon Marina). Our latest – 10th anniversary – Transatlantic Race recently set
off from Marina Lanzarote bound for Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada. The 2024 edition sees another great line- up with as many as six Maxi yachts in the fight for the overall win under IRC, as well as the IMA Transatlantic Trophy which is awarded to the first Maxi home. Six multihulls are expected in the MOCRA class, including an
unprecedented four 70ft trimarans. This race has really grown in stature over the years, which is testament to the support we get from Calero Marinas in Lanzarote and the International Maxi Asso- ciation, along with our co-organisers, Yacht Club de France. The Caribbean racing season then kicks off in earnest with the
largest offshore race in the region, the Caribbean 600, which starts on Monday 19 February. Last year we introduced the Nelson’s Cup inshore series as a warm-up series, the second edition of which will again take place with the same format of two days of inshore/coastal racing, then a lay day followed by the Antigua 360 race round the island. If you read about the fire at the Antigua Yacht Club marina complex
back in October please don’t be put off, as the operational and berthing side of the business has not been affected. Antigua Yacht Club itself along with Club Sushi & Steak House and Bar B’s are also all trading as normal. 2024 is the 15th edition of the Caribbean 600 so please come and celebrate this landmark; entry will stay open until Monday 22 January. Closer to home, December saw our annual dinner and prizegiving in London, celebrating all the winners from a successful – and busy
– 2023 season. Notable winners on the night were the NMD54 Teasing Machine which won Yacht of the Year and IRC Class Zero. The year’s RORC Season’s Points Championship was truly
special. Fifteen separate races, over 500 different boats competing, including over 100 teams in IRC Two-Handed. Over 1,500 race entries raced in five IRC classes, plus the world’s fastest multihulls racing under MOCRA and 30 Class40s under their own class rules. With barely believable timing the overall winner of this year’s
Points Championship was Rob Craigie’s Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, co-skippered by Deb Fish… who just happens to be the new RORC Commodore and who, by the way, we welcome unreservedly into her new role. This was the first time Bellino has won the RORC Championship
overall, having come third in 2022 and second in 2019. Other class winners were IRC Super Zero – Volvo 70 I Love Poland; IRC One – the JPK 1180 Dawn Trader; IRC Two – Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster; IRC Three and Two-Handed overall – Sun Fast 3200 Cora; IRC Four – Sigma 38 Alacrity; MOCRA – MOD70 Zoulou and Class40 – The 3 Bros. After the awards we had DJ Mark Covell performing live this year;
some of you may recall that before turning to spinning the discs as an international DJ Mark was an Olympic silver medallist in the Star at Sydney 2000 racing with helm Ian Walker... While talking about prizes, RORC did well too at this year’s British
Yachting Awards, with the Rolex Fastnet highly commended in the Event of the Year category behind Don MacIntyre’s wonderful Golden Globe Race. Building works on the Cowes clubhouse continue apace and main
contractor John Peck Construction has been doing a great job through a miserably wet autumn. The foundations and steels are all now in place to create the main extension where the new bar area will be created. We will keep members updated through our monthly newsletter and the RORC website. The London clubhouse was very busy throughout December with
Christmas parties, the accommodation in particular regularly booked out as members and guests enjoyed all that the capital offers at this time of year. Turning to the Admiral’s Cup’s return in 2025, while in Australia
in November I did an impromptu presentation on the event at the CYCA in Sydney, who I would like to thank for their support in staging the evening. On my way back to the UK I took the opportunity to repeat the exercise at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, whom I also thank. Both clubs are planning to enter teams in 2025. Finally, can I take this opportunity to thank all the staff at RORC
for their commitment and hard work last year and wish them all a happy and prosperous New Year. Jeremy Wilton, CEO
q
Above: Rob Craigie and new RORC Commodore Deb Fish racing Craigie’s high-mileage Sun Fast 3600 Bellino in the Morgan Cup. High-mileage because this well-practised and consistently successful two-handed team compete in pretty much every offshore race on the calendar, including the real toughies like Round Britain and Ireland. After years of gathering two-handed silver, Bellino capped 2023 by winning the RORC Championship overall – crewed and shorthanded. Another Fastnet under the commodore’s belt… (above)
64 SEAHORSE
RICK TOMLINSON
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