RORC Easter Sailing Challenge – Day 2 Light winds are keeping Irish entries in the bottom half of the respective IRC fleets at RORC's Easter challenge this weekend. After four races sailed, Royal Cork's Anthony O'Leary lies sixth from ten boats in the IRC 1 division. In IRC 2 Dun Laoghaire's Niall Dowling sailing a brand new J111 also lies sixth from ten. James Boyd reports from the Solent: With a forecast indicating no wind on the Solent, the race committee and competitors were blessed in being able to get two races in on the second day of the RORC Easter Challenge, once again held in unseasonably summer-like conditions.

While the first start was scheduled for 1000, a windless Solent saw racing postponed for three hours. Competitors were kept occupied in the Cowes Yacht Haven Events Centre with a valuable talk from Jim Saltonstall on race preparation.

Early afternoon the race committee made the brave call to get underway on a course off Hill Head despite the apparent mill pond. In fact there was wind off the water and a meaningful race was held. As women's match racer Josie Gibson, helming the new Mat 1010 in IRC 3, observed: "It was really good of them to try and do it, because the alternative was to wait for the new breeze. It wasn't totally unfair but it was just very very light. There was an awful lot of shear. At the top we were getting 5-6 knots but it was really glassy on the water."

At the end of the first race the wind began to veer into the southwest as the sea breeze prevailed and for race two, the wind picked up to an unexpected 13-14 knots with the tide running left to right across the course on the beat. From the first race, where crews were being sat down to leeward, for race two they were up on the weather rail, fully hiking.

At the end of play, in IRC1 Mike Bartholomew's King 40 Tokoloshe now shares the top spot with Rob Gray and Sam Laidlaw's Farr 50, Bob, the biggest boat in the RORC Easter Challenge fleet.

"Sam sailed the first race and we got away quite nicely. She goes like a rocketship in the light stuff," recounted Gray of his Farr 50 which is looking very smart with a new paint job and, for this season, a stiffer mast, new mainsail and an enlarged asymmetric kite. "We were sailing faster than the apparent wind. Tokoloshe is sailing very very well. In the second race today she was way to the right and was first to catch the new breeze." The two boats share the top spot due to Tokoloshe posting a fourth in today's light opener.

In IRC Two, frustrating Andrew McIrvine in his second placed First 40 La Réponse, Andrew Williams' Prima 38 Max 'Ed Out! holds the lead having won both today's races, putting them two points ahead of the RORC Commodore. Williams and his crew have made the trip up from Plymouth to compete. For this season they have changed the name of their boat from Mighty Max III after they enlarged the size of their biggest spinnaker by 35%.

"This is the first time we have raced her with the new rating and it has made a tremendous difference," said Williams. In today's ultra-light first race Williams said it was all about keeping the boat moving. "She is a 14 year old design and we have had three firsts and a fourth, which for a scratch crew with a boat with a new sail configuration we've only been out once with - we feel quite pleased with the way she is performing."

Chris and Hannah Neve's high experienced crew on the Lymington-based First 35 No Chance are slipping away in first place in IRC 3 after posting a 2-1 today. They lead Louise Morton's Mat 1010 by three points. The RORC Easter Challenge is only Mat 1010's second competitive outing. The boat is being sailed by Morton's all-female crew that normally race on the Quarter Tonner Espada, with the exception of Volvo Ocean Race winning navigator Jules Salter, taking time off from his latest campaign with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. "This morning was quite like Abu Dhabi," quipped helm Josie Gibson.

IRC4 is the only class to have a run-away leader in Grant Gordon's J/97 Fever, now nine points clear of Paul Blowers and Nick Daniels Impala Patriot Games, while in the J/80s Kevin Sproul made a good come back after yesterday's rig issues to win both today's races.

Despite the light wind to start with today, the conditions once again proved ideal for the on-the-water coaching provided by Jim Saltonstall, Barry Dunning and their team. The RORC Easter Challenge is a 'coaching regatta' and the competitors have been lapping up the advice during races as well as the post-race video analysis ashore.

"Today was brilliant because you could concentrate on sail shapes and not get too distracted. At least you aren't battling around in survival conditions like you normally are," commented Ben Jones, the main trimmer on Mike Greville's Erivale of today's coaching. "It is always nice to have a view from outside of the boat and there are some good people there telling you gently and sensitivity that you've got it slightly wrong. We have suffered from a bit of pressure. It is very useful."

"It is really good to have it," agreed Louise Morton of the coaching. "We enjoy going to the briefings and seeing on video how far forward we are for the starts or not. You pick up one or two things every time. Just things like trim and whether we should be sitting further forward on the boat. Jim is very incite-full."

A further two races are scheduled to start at 1000 tomorrow, the final day of racing at the RORC Easter Challenge with a forecast similar to today's.

For more information, visit the RORC web site: www.rorc.org

Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39, Antix returns to the Solent in less than a month for the 20th edition of RORC's Easter Sailing Challenge and once again this ever-popular event has attracted a huge range of yachts writes Louay Habib. Raced on tight Solent courses over the Bank Holiday weekend, the event is an ideal way to kick-start a racing season, test new equipment and brush up on boat handling. With seven races scheduled over three days, the RORC Easter Challenge offers an intensive programme designed to blow away the winter cobwebs and get both crew and yachts up to speed.

The fundamental purpose of the regatta is to improve performance for the season ahead. Competitors benefit from complimentary world class coaching, as the rules on outside assistance are relaxed to allow the legendary Jim Saltonstall MBE and his team to provide free on-the-water advice. This year the team will include: the highly experienced Barry Dunning and RORC CEO Eddie Warden Owen. The British Keelboat Academy's Phil Johnston will be coaching the J80s. There will also be expert advice from Ultimate Sails, North Sails and Quantum Sails. After each day's racing Jim Saltonstall delivers his impressive video debriefing which is often light-hearted but always packed with knowledge and tips that give tremendous benefit to all of the competitors.

The RORC Easter Challenge provides a golden opportunity to make a great start to the season. Although the prizes are Easter eggs, the regatta is most definitely competitive. The RORC Easter Challenge is a very popular event. Already entries include 22 different types of yacht and many close battles are expected. Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39, Antix returns to the Solent after winning the Rolex Commodores' Cup for Ireland last year.

"This will be the first time that Antix has been competing this year," explained Anthony O'Leary. "We have been out over the winter in 1720s and other boats but nothing beats putting the crew back together. Having excellent coaching, right at the start of our season, is a real bonus and Jim Saltonstall and his team do an excellent job. We are expecting some great racing. There are several boats competing that should be close to Antix on the water. Easter is late this year, so we hope that we won't be getting any arctic conditions!"

Antix should have some close company on the racecourse: Mark Devereux's Swan 42, Brevity, John McLaren's Ker 39, Maridadi, and Michael Bartholomew's King 40, Tokoloshe, are already entered for the regatta.

This year, the Royal Ocean Racing Club is expecting a fleet of as many as 10 J80s which will be level rating. The J80 has become an incredibly popular class, especially with sailing academies such as the British Keelboat Academy. The inclusion of J80s allows a more youthful element to enjoy racing at the RORC Easter Challenge.

Latest RORC News from Afloat

Irish solo sailing fans may be interested in the annual Solo Racing Festival at the Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble on Saturday 12th March.

Given the Figaro race is coming to Dun Laoghaire in August a talk on the Artemis Academy with John Thorn (Figaro 2) will be of particular interest.

Owen Clarke's designer Merfyn Owen, who lives in Hamble will be attending as well as colleagues from their brokerage partners Boatshed Performance.

So whether your interest be solo sailing or short-handed sailing in general they will be there to answer questions on design, construction, as well as sale/purchase and charter of offshore performance yachts.

The Race Fair is  an open house from 10.00 for race organisers to meet and greet potential skippers from; Global Ocean/Class 40, Mocra, UK mini group, RORC, SORC, Biscay Challenge, AZAB. Floating boat show, 8 boats including the OC class 40, 2 minis, A35, J105, Figaro 2, Sunfast 3200.

There is a Book Signing, Alex Bennett signing copies of High Seas High Stakes and showing Fuji DVD Mike Golding is opening the talks at 11,00.

Followed by:

Winning Mind Set with Ian Brown, sports psychologist
Global Ocean race with Oliver Dewar
Two Star/Ostar with John Lewis, RWYC
30m trimaran design with Nigel Irens (Idec, Sodebo)
Artemis Academy first term report with John Thorn (Figaro 2)
Route du Rhum with Marco Nannini, (class 40)
all in the spendid riverside setting of the Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble.

More HERE.

Two big names in Irish offshore racing are among the 30-boat fleet preparing for the Transatlantic Race 2011 (TR 2011) this June. Last night the organisers, the Royal Yacht Squadron, New York Yacht Club, Royal Ocean Racing Club and Storm Trysail Club, extended the deadline to enter the Race to March 31, 2011.

Adrian Lee's Cookson 50 from Dublin Bay and the Limerick Volvo 70 skippered by Ger O' Rourke's both make the entry list although the Shannon estuary's Chieftain is described only as a 'provisional' entry. For Entry list click HERE.

With the Transatlantic fleet now over 30 entries and many new inquiries following the success of the RORC Caribbean 600 - part of the companion Atlantic Ocean Racing Series - the organisers encourage those interested to enter the TR 2011 as soon as possible to secure a spot since the Notice of Race notes a maximum of 50 yachts for the race.

The TR 2011 will cover 2,975 miles from Newport, R.I., to the Lizard in England. The focus of pre-race activities will be the New York Yacht Club's Harbour Court clubhouse in Newport, R.I. There will be three staggered starts from June 26 to July 3. The awards ceremony on August 9th and other post-race activities will be held at the Castle, the home of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, England.

The fleet will include IRC Racing, IRC Racer/Cruiser, Classic and Open divisions with a minimum length overall (LOA) of 40 feet and no maximum. Competition is building within several segments of the diverse fleet, notably the 100' and up range which includes Sojana, Rambler 100, ICAP Leopard, and Maltese Falcon.

Tight racing is also expected in other classes and divisions, such as yachts in the under 50' range in IRC Racing and IRC Racer/Cruiser including the Class 40s - Concise 2, Dragon, and Kamoa'e, the Rogers 46s - Shakti and Varuna, as well as British Soldier ASA, Jacqueline IV, Sasha, Dawn Star, and Carina. For a complete list of entries click here.

All race documents are available HERE.

The TR 2011 is the centerpiece of the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series (AORS), and is organized in concert with the following clubs: Royal Malta Yacht Club, Annapolis Yacht Club, Ida Lewis Yacht Club, Montego Bay Yacht Club, Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, Jamaica Yachting Association, Antigua Yacht Club and Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo.

Two races in the AORS have been completed: the Pineapple Cup - Montego Bay Race and the RORC Caribbean 600. The Pineapple Cup, from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. to Montego Bay, Jamaica, a distance of 811 miles, was won by Genuine Risk, a 97-foot canting keel super maxi skippered by Hugo Stenbeck. In the RORC Caribbean 600, George David's Rambler 100, took line and overall IRC honors and set the monohull record of one day, 16 hours, 20 minutes and 2 seconds for the course's 600 miles.

In an effort to absorb the large waiting list for the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Royal Ocean Racing Club have decided to increase the number of places available to IRC yachts by removing the 'professionally' sailed classes from the 300 entry limit. The Volvo Ocean 70s, IMOCA 60s, Class 40s and Multihulls, who will race under their own class rules, will be counted over and above the previous 300 entry limit.

The Rolex Fastnet Race reached its entry limit 10 days after opening and over 130 boats are on the waiting list. "We were staggered at the speed with which people signed up," said RORC Commodore Andrew McIrvine. "We had to do something to satisfy the huge interest, and taking the non IRC yachts out of the total is a fair solution allowing more loyal RORC racers to get their boats into the race."

Removing the non-IRC classes will add about 50 more places to the total. "We are delighted that the Volvo's and IMOCA's want to compete in the race and that the Class 40's are coming en-masse," said RORC Chief Executive, Eddie Warden Owen. "It shows the popularity of the Rolex Fastnet that these professionally sailed boats want to join the race. However without this initiative, they would be taking valuable places away from less experienced offshore racers who view this race as a great personal challenge - their 'Everest' of sailing."

Sutton Harbour increase berthing capacity
To cater for the number of boats arriving in Plymouth, Sutton Harbour Marina has increased the amount of space by making the whole of the berthing area adjacent to West Pier and the Barbican available to the Rolex Fastnet fleet. Sutton Harbour has also become the official berth provider for the race and Chief Executive Nigel Godfroy is pleased to be associated with the race. "Sutton Harbour Marina welcomes the return of this world famous race," said Nigel. "We are very proud of the quality of facilities we have here in Sutton Harbour and being selected as the official berthing provider for the Rolex Fastnet Race. We look forward to welcoming the extra large fleet in August this year."

To accommodate the increased number of entries, space has been booked in Queen Anne's Battery, adjacent to Sutton Harbour and in Plymouth Yacht Haven in the Cattewater, where a water taxi service will be set up to connect competitors with the race office based at Sutton Harbour.

The 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race starts in Cowes, Isle of Wight on Sunday 14 August.

George David's maxi yacht, Rambler 100 crossed the finish line in Antigua in the early hours of Wednesday morning in an elapsed time of 1 day 16 hours 20 minutes and 2 seconds.

Rambler 100 has broken the monohull race record set by race rival, Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard by nearly four hours.

Two of the world's most impressive racing yachts have been locking horns over 600 miles of high-speed action in a fight to the finish. Competing against each other for the first time and battling it out to snatch the record for the third edition of the RORC Caribbean 600.

32 other yachts from 15 different nations crossed the start line of the RORC Caribbean 600, off English Harbour in Antigua, Caribbean on February 21st. Most of the fleet is expected to finish over the next 24 hours.

Latest news on the race website: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/

Follow the fleet trackers online: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/race-information/tracking/2011-fleet-tracking.html

As if by magic, the tradewinds blew into the starting area off English Harbour, Antigua after several days of light winds. With 22 knots or more in the gusts. The strong winds launched the RORC Caribbean 600 fleet into action for the start of what is probably the world's most exciting 600-mile offshore race.

First off were the smaller boats, but powerful yachts by any normal standard. Piet Vroon's electric blue Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens, seared through the line on port like a guided missile. The Army Association's A 40, British Soldier sprang into action, stealing a march on the competition in IRC Two. Whilst, Tony Lawson's Class 40, Concise nailed the middle of the line to lead their class.

Ten minutes later, the line off Fort Charlotte was festooned with canvas. The 155ft Schooner Windrose of Amsterdam, chartered by Andrew McIrvine, came in on port at the pin end with amazing power; Peter Harrison's Farr 114, Sojana opted for a middle of the line start and engaged Brian Benjamin's Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir, (with Belfast's Ian Moore onboard) who were right in under the Pillars of Hercules. Sojana then tacked into Windrose's path, but thankfully there was no issue.

Whilst a battle royal was going on, Simonas Steponavicius' Volvo 60, Ambersail stole the line, taking a flyer on port. The Lithuanian team with veteran Swede Magnus Olsson on board, got away in clear air to lead their class at the start. No doubt, the amateur crew would have been welling up with pride and adrenalin, having pulled off the best start of the race.

Next up was the big showdown between the canting keelboats and there was drama even before the start. Inside the 10 minute gun, Hugo Stenbeck's Dubois 90 Genuine Risk, heard a sickening crack as the vang pulled clean out of its deck mounting: the team had no choice but to return to the dock.

Meanwhile, Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard and George David's Rambler 100 were getting on with big business. This is the first ever show down between two of the fastest boats in the world. ICAP Leopard came smoking in on port from course side, Rambler chose starboard under the cliffs. ICAP Leopard may have thought they were too early and tacked onto port, just before the line, whilst Rambler 100 wound up the canting keel flyer under the cliffs off Fort Charlotte. But it was Adrian Lee's Cookson 50, Lee Overlay Partners that judged the line to perfection. However, they were very quickly rolled by Rambler 100, who rounded Green Island in no time at all. Rambler 100 has pulled the trigger and power, sliding down the windward side of Antigua, at over 20 knots. A fire-hose of water will be smashing down the deck, as they smoke through the surf, barreling towards Barbuda.

Last to start were the multihulls. There may be only two of them this year, but that didn't stop Cam Lewis from match racing at the start on Lloyd Thornburg's Gunboat 66, Phaedo who turned Wonderful about in a pre-start dial up. The bright orange catamaran will be hotter than a pepper sprout when they turn downwind later in the day.

Heart-felt commiserations to Genuine Risk who are safely moored up in Antigua. They are missing out on a race which is already providing some ballistic sailing action. To quote Juggy Clougher, the veteran round the world sailor who is on Rambler 100: "Why wouldn't you want to do this race?"

Read John Burnie's expert analysis on the RORC Caribbean 600 website which contains regular updates on the race, blogs from the boats and follow the yachts on trackers:

http://caribbean600.rorc.org/

http://caribbean600.rorc.org/race-information/tracking/2011-fleet-tracking.html

On loan from the Oracle America's Cup Team, Northern Ireland ace navigator Ian Moore is the navigator on board the Carbon built 80-footer Aegir for this week's RORC race in the Caribbbean.

Antigua Yacht Club is buzzing with excitement, with two days to go to the start of the 600-mile race around the central Caribbean. Yacht crews are busy at work making final preparations for the Royal Ocean Racing Club's (RORC) Caribbean 600. Falmouth Harbour is an impressive sight with the RORC fleet safely moored up next to the yacht club.

RORC Yacht of the Year ready for battle

Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens - the RORC 2010 Yacht of the Year - arrived just before dusk on Friday. The delivery crew, all six of whom will also be racing, endured a 1,000 mile beat to Antigua from Jamaica: "This will be our fourth and final event in the Caribbean." Explained Piet Vroon. "This is the first time that I have done this race and it is the main reason that we came to the Caribbean. All of my crew said that this is a race that they want to do and I am very much looking forward to it."

Tonnerre is one of three boats that competed in the Pineapple Cup, the opening rubber of the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series. George David's Rambler 100, Richard Oland's Vela Veloce and Hugo Steinback's Dubois 90, Genuine Risk also competed in the Pineapple Cup which Genuine Risk won on corrected time. Vela Veloce is a Southern Wind 52, which cleaned up in Key West race week in January.

Entries from Australia and 14 other nations

Yachts representing 15 Nations have come to Antigua to compete in the 600-mile spectacular, but none have come as far as Chris Bull's Cookson 50, Jazz. The canting-keel flyer arrived in Antigua on Friday, having made an epic journey bycontainer ship and sail from Australia, after a fantastic performance in the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

"It's been hard work getting the boat here from Australia, but we have done it, which just goes to show it is possible." Commented Boat Captain, Anthony Haines. Jazz's journey started on January 8th from Sydney, Australia to Savannah, Georgia. After which the delivery crew sailed 1400 miles to get Jazz to Antigua on time.

"Ever since the RORC conceived the idea of this race I have wanted to do it," said Chris Bull on he dock in Antigua. "I am also keen to do the Transatlantic Race and try and win the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series which I think is an excellent initiative which the RORC are involved with."

Rock Stars and Corinthian Sailors Rub Shoulders

From Lithuania, the Volvo 60, Ambersail debuts in the Caribbean and counts veteran round the world sailor Magnus Olsen in their crew. Ambersail is well travelled, having competed in last year's Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race and the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Ondeck's Farr 65, Spirit of Minerva counts British solo-sailor Hannah White amongst the crew: "Effectively there are 10 legs and well over 600 miles of racing in fantastic trade wind conditions which I am sure will be a strong test for navigators and crews in equal measure." Commented Hannah.

Class 40 World Champions on the line

Six Class 40s are expected, possibly more. Tony Lawson's Concise and Gonzalo Botin are past and current Class 40, world champions. Tony Lawson, owner of Concise expects a close duel with Tales: "There is no doubt that the Spanish team will be fast and possibly more suited to lighter conditions, but I am confident that the team on Concise will be fully focused and they are in control of a quick, well prepared boat."

Power and Elegance Combine

RORC Commodore, Andrew McIrvine has chartered the elegant and powerful 154 ft schooner, Windrose of Amsterdam. The crew has taken the magnificent yacht through its paces, spending two days practicing manoeuvres: "It is a very different kind of sailing to my First 40." Commented Andrew McIrvine. "The sheer size of the sails and equipment make for extremely physical work and manoeuvres are far more complex. Communication from front to back is only possible by hand signals. We had some good pressure during our practice session, which confirmed that Windrose is a powerful yacht, literally built for Caribbean sailing."

Navigator's make their Predictions

Brian Benjamin's Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir has been out testing sails and the crew, visiting the top part of the race course all night Friday. Night sailing makes up close to half the time during the race. Boat captain Shreda Duke confirmed that the exercise was very successful in bedding in the crew to their proposed watch-system. Aegir's navigator for the race is Ian Moore on loan from the Oracle America's Cup Team. Moore concurs with Hugh Agnew, ICAP Leopard's navigator, the prediction of stable trade wind sailing but added: "The first key area of the race may well come as night falls. Aegir should be approaching Nevis at dusk and the first really tricky part of the course. The islands of Nevis and St Kitts are high, which will throw out quite a wind shadow through this area; there will be a lot of gear changes in between the lulls and puffs of acceleration. The big decision from a navigator's point of view will be how far off the leeward side of these islands to go."

In Falmouth Harbour, the air temperature is a balmy 27º C and a fair breeze is flowing in from the northeast, meaning that the trade winds are functioning, but it's an ever-changing picture. Read John Burnie's expert summary on the RORC Caribbean 600 web site: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/

100 footers Go Head to Head

ICAP Leopard set the monohull course record in 2009, completing the course in 44 hr 5 min 14 sec and Mike Slade's team believe that they could beat the record, although they may not be the first home. George David's stunning Maxi, Rambler 100 is dockside in Falmouth and are favourites to take line honours. George David has secured the assistance of Ken Read to the afterguard and some of Ken's Puma Volvo Ocean Race crew. It is the first time that these two 100 foot canting keel maxi's have raced each other with ICAP Leopard having taken an interesting strategy and dropped their rating considerably, in a bid to gain handicap honours.

Local Knowledge from Caribbean Entries

Local interest comes from Bernie Evan-Wong who is competing in the race for the third time in his Mumm 36, High Tension. From Guadeloupe there is a Class 40, Territoires Attitudes, skippered by David Ducosson.

34 boats are expected on the start line on February 21st February. The RORC Caribbean 600 web site contains regular updates on the race, blogs from the boats and the progress of the boats, which have trackers, can be followed via the website: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/

RORC has confirmed huge interest in its Rolex Fastnet Race this afternoon in a further example of the resurgence of offshore sailing. Entry for one of the world's most popular yacht races opened at midnight on Sunday 9 January and by midday Monday, nearly 100 entries had signed up, with an unprecedented number doing so in the early hours of the morning. The trend continued over the next couple of days when the halfway mark of 150 boats was reached for the race which has a maximum entry of 300 boats. Within a week, 250 boats had entered!

"We expected an initial rush of interest because people were registering the details about their boat on our REMUS on-line entry system over Christmas," commented the RORC Racing Manager Ian Loffhagen. "However nothing had prepared us for this unprecedented amount of interest in the race. We are obviously delighted at how popular the race has become with entries from all over the world."

Officially the first boat to enter was Fred Mundle's X332 Mardy Gras, only 50 seconds after entry opened. Another notable early entry is Ondeck's Farr 65 which will be chartered by the British Limbless Ex Service Men's Association (BLESMA).

Of the high profile race boats entered, the two canting keel 100 footers, ICAP Leopard and Rambler 100 will be the ones battling to take line honours in the Race. Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard and George David's previous Rambler had a huge fight in the 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race, with Leopard taking the silverware. However, this year, George David has chartered the Juan K designed Speedboat, re-named Rambler 100, which will put Mike Slade under a lot of pressure.

"The Rolex Fastnet is an iconic race," said Slade. "We would not miss it for the world and we are pleased to see our American friend George David coming back with a new boat. It will make for a terribly exciting race."

Also entered is the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race winner, Niklas Zennström's J.V. 72, Rán, hoping to make it two in a row, but he will have strong competition from RORC Caribbean 600 Race winner, Hong Kong's Karl Kwok in his Farr 80, Beau Geste; 2009 Rolex Middle Sea Race winner, Andre Soriano in his Mills 68 Alegre, as well as a group of very competitive 52' grand prix racers.

Leading this 50 footer pack is the 2010 Rolex Middle Sea Race winner, the TP52 Lucky, owned by Breyon Ehrhart from the USA and four boats from Germany who are making a serious attempt to win the race this year: Uwe Leben's RP57, Scho-Ka-Kola; the SKWB's J.V.53 Bank von Bremen and Haspa Hamburg and Norddeutsche Vermögen, both from Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt.

There are 15 Class 40's entered so far and the next biggest classes are the Sigma 38 and First 40.7s, with 14 boats each and so far, 14 different countries will be represented in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race which starts in Cowes, Isle of Wight on Sunday 14 August.

Race website: HERE

The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and Union Nationale pour La Course au Large (UNCL), joint owners of the IRC rating rule, have been in discussion with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) about the possibility of creating a unified organisation to govern yacht ratings worldwide. This initiative to bring the world offshore rating systems together was endorsed by ISAF following its AGM in 2009 in Korea.

The intention is for RORC/UNCL and ORC to create a joint venture company which would run the existing rules, IRC and ORC and then in time, using the combined knowledge and resources, evolve new rating systems that combine the benefits of IRC and ORC to create fast, fun and seaworthy boats for unified competition all over the world.

Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC, working alongside Vice-Chairman Wolfgang Schaefer, are enthusiastic and confident about working with the RORC. "We appreciate the work and friendship with RORC and we believe it is finally time to get back to the IOR era and to the ORC founding spirit, when only one single rule was recognised as 'the international' rule in offshore sailing."

Chris Little, Admiral of the RORC, working with Commodore Andrew McIrvine agree that it is time to bring the development of rating systems under one umbrella.
"We have received strong support from a number of countries and potential owners to develop a rule that will allow us to recreate the international yacht racing circuit and we shall continue to work towards this goal."