The overall winner for the 181nm North Sea Race under IRC was the Dutch JPK 1180 Il Corvo, owned by Astrid de Vin and skippered by Roeland Franssens. Dutch Ker 46 Van Uden skippered by Johnny Poortman was just 121 seconds behind Il Corvo after IRC time correction. Michel Dorsman’s Dutch X-362 Team Extra Djinn was third. The top three boats, racing under IRC, all came from different classes. Richard Matthews’ British CF520 Oystercatcher XXXV, sailed by James Bolingbroke, took Line Honours for the race.

Richard Matthews’ British CF520 Oystercatcher XXXV Photo: Rick Tomlinson

The victorious Il Corvo team celebrate at the Yacht Club in Scheveningen Photo: Tim Thubron

“Roeland and I have taken part in the North Sea Race many, many times, we have won class before but for me this is the first overall win,” smiled Il Corvo’s Astrid de Vin. “Roeland is the strategist on board and makes all of the key decisions. The Il Corvo crew are a mixture of sailors from past campaigns, and we are all friends. The North Sea Race is one close to our hearts, we are so happy that we have won it! I have booked a nice restaurant to celebrate but we will have an early start to get the boat over to the Solent for the Myth of Malham Race, next week.”

Dutch Ker 46 Van Uden skippered by Johnny Poortman Photo: Paul Wyeth

Skipper of Van Uden Johnny Poortman has competed in three editions of the Volvo Ocean Race, and leads a young talented Dutch crew, looking to break into the world of professional sailing. “After the start the race was nearly all off the wind, so there were a lot of sail changes, and especially during the night, the team did an excellent job. Well done to Il Corvo, they must have sailed very well. On Van Uden we can only aim to beat the boats in our class, so we are happy with that.” Van Uden will be competing at the RORC IRC Nationals in the Solent June 10-12.

Start of the 2022 North Sea Race Photo: Richard Matthews

The North Sea Race is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, the East Anglian Offshore Racing Association, the Yacht Club Scheveningen and the North Sea Regatta.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club RORC Season’s Points Championship continues with the 7th race of the series, the Myth of Malham Race. Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line at 1300 BST on the 2nd of June, the 230-mile race around the Eddystone Lighthouse mirrors the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race. 

IRC Class Winners for the North Sea Race

IRC SZ Volvo 70 Telefonica Black
IRC 0 Ker 46 Van Uden
IRC 1 JPK 1180 Il Corvo
IRC 2 First 40.7 Flying Fish
IRC 3 X-362 Team Extra Djinn
IRC 4 Sigma 38 Spirit
IRC T-H JPK 1010 Jangada

Full results here