Warrior Won wins 2022 Caribbean 600

Antigua (February 24, 2022) – Christopher Sheehan’s Pac52 Warrior Won (USA) has claimed the overall win of the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600, with none of the teams still racing under IRC having any realistic chance of beating Warrior Won after time correction.

Sheehan’s Warrior Won was taking part in its first RORC Caribbean 600, having won the 2022 Transpac Race overall.

“I feel so much joy right now,” said Sheehan of winning the 13th edition of the 600 miler. “It is very humbling when I think about all of the competitors that have worked so hard in this race, I am overwhelmed.

“We have been preparing for this race for the last eight months and when I think of the great teams that have won this race, it is just extraordinary. The mantra of Warrior Won is humility and extreme confidence in what we are doing, which results in positive energy on board, hard work and collaboration. Every member of the Warrior Won team has put in an outstanding performance.”

Sheehan’s crew had Thomas Allin, Stuart Bannatyne, Norman Berge, Richard Clarke, Shane Diviney, Scott Ewing, Gregg Griffin, Morgan Gutenkunst, Hartwell Jordan, Collin Leon, Chris Lewis, Tristan Louwrens, Henry Vogel, and Christopher Welch.

“A race like the Caribbean 600 is short but complicated,” noted Clarke, Tactician on Warrior Won and himself a four-time Olympian for Canada and a Volvo Ocean Race winner. “You can push really, really hard, but you have to manage fatigue. On Warrior Won with a fixed keel, you have to keep as many bodies on the rail as you can. The basic aspects are keeping the boat at maximum speed with the right combination of sails up.

“As a tactical race the ‘600 rates as one the hardest in the world because there are so many islands to round and the tactics vary according to the time of day. Add fickle trade winds and squally clouds into the mix, I equate this to going ten rounds in a boxing match, where the left and the right and the combinations just keep coming at you. Sometimes you have to play offense or defense, because at any moment you can park-up, so no lead is safe until you finish.”

Chris ‘Lew’ Lewis, Navigator on Warrior Won, is an amateur sailor working in the tech industry in San Francisco, spend a lot of time preparing for this race, going through the tracks of some of the great navigators that have taken part in this race.

“The Warrior Won team has instituted a two and a half year testing program, so we know at every given angle and every given wind strength what the best sail combinations are, and after that it is all about execution,” noted Lewis.

“With an incredible crew, every time we needed to change sail it would magically appear. Getting ready for a big race like this is everything for me. While the professionals have to allocate their time between one race and the next, I do relatively few races and I have been working on just this race for a long time.

“To win this bucket-list race is a dream come true. I have not caught up on my sleep yet, so maybe I am still dreaming.”

Christopher Sheehan’s Warrior Won is planning to compete in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart, the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race and Rolex Middle Sea Race. In 2024 Warrior Won, will race back to the Caribbean in the 2024 RORC Transatlantic Race.

Earlier today, results had been confirmed in several of the faster classes. For the update, click here.

Race details – Results – Tracker

The 13th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 started February 21 for 74 teams with over 700 sailors from 32 countries. The 2022 race once again tackles the 600nm course which circumnavigates 11 Caribbean Islands starting from Fort Charlotte, English Harbour, Antigua and heads north as far as St Martin and south to Guadeloupe taking in Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, Saba and St Barth’s.

RACE RECORDS:
• Multihull record (2022) – Jason Carroll, Argo, MOD70 (USA) – 29 hours, 38 mins, 44 secs
• Monohull record (2018) – George David, Rambler 88, Maxi (USA) – 37 hours, 41 minutes, 45 seconds

PREVIOUS WINNERS: RORC CARIBBEAN 600 TROPHY – IRC OVERALL
2019 – David and Peter Askew, Wizard, Volvo 70 (USA)
2018 – George David, Rambler 88, Maxi (USA)
2017 – Hap Fauth, Bella Mente, JV72 (USA)
2016 – George Sakellaris, Maxi 72, Proteus (USA)
2015 – Hap Fauth, JV72, Bella Mente (USA)
2014 – George Sakellaris, RP72, Shockwave (USA)
2013 – Ron O’Hanley, Privateer, Cookson 50 (USA)
2012 – Niklas Zennström’s JV72, Rán (GBR)
2011 – George David, Rambler 100, JK 100 (USA)
2010 – Karl C L Kwok, Beau Geste, Farr 80 (HKG)
2009 – Adrian Lee, Lee Overlay Partners, Cookson 50 (IRL)

Source: RORC