Record Growth Predicted for RORC Caribbean 600

Published on November 14th, 2016

The ninth edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 starts from Antigua on February 20, and with almost double the number of entries now compared to a year ago, the 2017 race has already attracted a magnificent fleet and is expected to better last year’s record entry of 70 yachts.

Veteran French round the world sailor, Lionel Péan who is skippering the Volvo 70 SFS II in the 2017 edition, is a big fan of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 600 mile yacht race around eleven Caribbean islands.

“The RORC Caribbean 600 is the only true offshore race in the West Indies and is a very attractive event for many sailors. I love every part of the race as you have to navigate to always put the boat in the right place, even though the situation is often changing.

“You always have to ask yourself questions about your decisions and it is also a very technical race from one leg to another. There are always decisions to be made and many effects from the land. Racing around so many tropical islands in great weather is very beautiful.

Péan, who won the Whitbread Round the World Race as skipper of Esprit d’Équipe in 1986, previously raced the RORC Caribbean 600 in 2011 on Peter Harrison’s 114ft Superyacht Sojana, and will be seeking monohull line honours and the overall win under IRC for SFS II in 2017.

“SFS II is a Volvo 70 designed for offshore racing and especially for reaching, which is a main feature in this race,” comments Péan. “The Volvo 70 is perfect in this format so the ‘600 will be much more suited to our team than any race we’ve done with the boat.”

Another prominent boat on the start line will be Adela, one of the world’s fastest schooners which is back for a fifth RORC Caribbean 600. The 182ft twin-masted schooner dates back to 1903 and has recently undergone an extensive re-fit at Pendennis in Falmouth, UK.

The schooner has an extraordinary record in the race; coming in the top ten overall under IRC in every race she has competed in, including third overall in 2013. Adela is also unbeaten in the Spirit of Tradition Class.

“The Caribbean, especially the Windward and Leeward Islands are hard to beat for sailing condition for Adela,” says Adela’s skipper, Greg Norwood-Perkins.