preparation ahead of the rigours that the Atlantic Ocean can throw at a boat. Indeed, Daniel Calero is fully au fait with the needs of the yacht racing community in this respect as an owner-driver in the RC44 class. At the time of writing, for example, his Lanzarote Calero Sailing Team had just spent a week racing at Porto Cervo in Sardinia and Porto Calero has hosted the class’s world championship onmultiple occasions. The 12th edition of the RORC


Transatlantic Race will depart from Arrecife in January 2026. Finishers expected to arrive in Antigua between six days and three weeks later. This will give a decent gap before the start of the Nelson’s Cup Series on 17 February and the Caribbean 600 which starts onMonday 23 February. The schedule allows plenty of time for anymaintenance or repairs needed after the Atlantic crossing to be carried out, without the complexities associated with planning themaround a delivery trip. This timetable also gives plenty


of time for crews to return home between the events. Alternatively, for those with sufficient spare time Antigua is a great jumping-off point


Top: the final prizegiving at Antigua Yacht Club is a superb party. Above: the RORC Transatlantic Race is a 3,000-mile trade wind passage. Above right: the course of the Caribbean 600 delivers a wide variety of sailing conditions, technical and tactical challenges


for exploring the rest of the Leeward Islands, including the quieter gems such as Barbuda and Anguilla, to the north the BVIs and to the south the beautiful island of Grenada. The RORC Nelson’s Cup and


RORC Caribbean 600, the 17th edition of which will take place in 2026, are both firmly established fixtures in the international calendar, attracting a broad swathe of both Corinthian and professional entries. The latter follows a 600-mile course in warm trade winds and tropical seas around 11 spectacular islands that are carefully chosen to provide technical challenges that consistently attract the world’s top offshore racing teams. Competitors can choose from a


variety of rating systems including IRC, CSA and MOCRA. The C600 is also an event in the Class40 calendar and there’s a dedicated IRC two-handed class. The Nelson’s Cup Series is a


perfect prequel ahead of the popular RORC Caribbean 600, providing a high intensity warm-up thanks to a well-established format that enables skills and teamwork to be honed. The focus over the first two days is on six inshore races, which also provide a chance to assess competition in the IRC classes, while racing alongside grand prix raceboats and Maxi yachts. A new Maxi Series was added to


the Nelson’s Cup this year, which saw close competition between eight yachts from 62ft upwards. At the end of a closely-fought series Yacht Club Costa Smeralda commodore Andrea Recordati’s Wally 93 Bullitt took overall victory, despite having only won one race. ‘Antigua is very special, there's a lot of sailing history here,’ he says. ‘The conditions this week have been exceptional; very challenging to say the least, in terms of the sea state and wind. The courses have been extremely well


SEAHORSE 73


ARTHUR DANIEL/RORC


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