Win a week's holiday for 2 at the exclusive Inn at English Harbour

Holiday for two in Antiguan Splendour

The RORC Caribbean 600 is a challenging race starting on 20 February in Antigua, but the Inn at English Harbour are offering an even greater incentive for those competing in classes IRC 1, 2 or 3 to sail fast around the 11 Islands and 600nm race course

The prize of a week's holiday for two at this luxurious resort on the south coast of Antigua is up for grabs for the first IRC 1, 2 or 3 class boat on corrected time! Around half of the 40-strong fleet will be eligible to take part in this fantastic competition offered by the sponsor.

Fabio Giorgi, the General Manager of The Inn at English Harbour is delighted to be associated with the race: "We have watched the race grow over the last few years and feel that it is the right time to become involved," said Fabio. "We know that the race offers a unique and exciting challenge and we feel that our hotel offers unique level of comfort and relaxation that the competitors can enjoy when they visit Antigua."

Read the complete article on the RORC Caribbean 600 minisite

The London Clubhouse will be partially re-opening from Monday 6^th February 2012.

The entrance to the clubhouse will temporarily be at 19 St James's Place which is to the right hand side of your usual front door.

We have four bedrooms available for booking, increasing to five bedrooms from Monday 20^th February 2012.

The Dining room which offers a two course lunch from £15.00 & a two course dinner from £20.00 will also be open from Monday 6^th February 2012. The Jolie Brise and Fastnet rooms will also be available private hire.

Whilst the Clubhouse is open, ongoing building work will continue on the upper floors so please note that there will be noise in the Bar and Fastnet areas from 9am until 4pm. Structural alterations may require the Bar and Fastnet room to be closed at short notice and we apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Bar and Restaurant Opening times

Lunch: Mon - Fri 12.30, last orders 13.45
Dinner: Mon - Thu 19.30, last orders 20.45
Bar: Mon - Fri 12.00 - 15.00; 17.30 until 23.00
Friday night the bar closes at 20.00

For any accommodation or restaurant bookings or if you have any further enquiries please contact Mark Newens on 0207 493 2248 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We look forward to welcoming you all back to the Clubhouse.

The 2012 Notice of Race has been published.

It consists of two main sections. Part 1 applies to all RORC races and includes rules that affect every race unless modified by Part 2. Part 2 details rules that apply to specific races. When a rule is modified in Part 2 it takes precedence over the rule in Part 1.

Download

2012 RORC Notice of Race 4.23 Mb 08/02/2012

To read the Notice of Race online please click here [2012 Notice of Race]

With less than one month to go to the fourth edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, the Royal Ocean Racing Club's 2012 programme kicks off with a sensational cast in Antigua.

The RORC Caribbean 600 is a truly international affair, with well over 500 hundred competitors from at least 24 different nations taking part. More than 30 impressive yachts are expected to take part in a high-speed, action-packed yacht race around 11 Caribbean islands. There can be few sporting events that can boast such a worldwide appeal with sailors taking part from all over the world including:

Antigua, Australia, Austria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey and the United States of America.

This astounding diversity of nationalities is matched only by the astonishing array of yachts and personalities. The largest yacht competing this year is the magnificent Hetairos with a waterline length of 200'. Hetairos is the world's largest carbon composite sailing yacht. The 29 crew on board is composed of many Volvo Ocean Race, America's Cup and Jules Verne around the world veterans. Hetairos is among the favourites to take line honours, but there are several other yachts more than capable of finishing in front.

Read the full article on the RORC Caribbean 600 Minisite [RORC Caribbean 600: Race of Nations]

Interest from teams wishing to stake a claim on the prestigious Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup is running high with challenges from several nations including: England, Netherlands, France, Ireland and Hong Kong. Eddie Warden Owen, Chief Executive of organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), is very happy with the way things are shaping up for the 11^th biennial event:

"It would appear that the new format of allowing teams to be made up of three boats of any size and the availability of good boats to charter, has prompted interest from outside of Europe too. The Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup is shaping up to be a very competitive regatta."

Read the whole article on the Event Minisite

Please note that a major refurbishment of the club bedrooms will start on January 3^rd 2012 and will run for approximately 12 weeks. The club will not be open in January however the offices will operate as normal during this period.

In February the bar, restaurant and meeting rooms will re-open with full service from the 6^th February and five bedrooms (14, 15, 16, 17 and 18) will also be available.

During February and March the entrance to the club will be through No 19's front door (to the right of the current entrance in the passageway) with the main door being used by the contractors.

The new bedroom layout will reduce the number of bedrooms to 15 but increase the number of beds by two with all rooms having en-suite facilities.

We apologise for the inconvenience and the staff will do all it can to ensure that your visit to the club is as comfortable as possible.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Eddie Warden Owen
Chief Executive
Royal Ocean Racing Club

As we cast off our dock lines on EFG Bank Mandrake, thoughts went back exactly twelve months previously to what seemed to be an eternity when we were racing our previous yacht, the slightly ageing Mills 51, Mandrake. Having purchased the current yacht in the UK to be part of the Hong Kong team for the 2010 Rolex Commodores' Cup, the preceding twelve months seemed to be an absolute blur with racing in the UK, shipping and now competing once again on the Asian circuit. Roll forward to the present and as we head down the river and away from the rubbish floating in and around Port Klang, we were setting our sights to a forecast of sensational weather with only a hint of any storm activity. Now this is what keeps us turning up to this great event with its mixture of passage racing and windward/leeward racing. With all races counting it helps the leader board remain in a constant cycle and keep the pressure on crews until the very end of the regatta.

This year RORC member Brian Thompson will attempt to break the Round the World Fully Crewed Record as helmsman on Banque Populaire V, the world's largest and fastest racing trimaran. The target is to beat 48 days and average over 25 knots for the 28,000 mile course. In the process Brian will have sailed 4 non stop circumnavigations of the globe, more than anyone ever in UK.

It was at 5:03pm on Monday 21st November that Loïck Peyron and his men, including Brian, left the dock, three weeks after their arrival in Brest in preparation for this monumentous challenge. As they left Brest the wind was very light, and the team waited for the wind to build and finally at 08h31mins42s Banque Populaire V crossed the startline doing 25 knots quickly building to 35 knots.

You can follow Banque Populaire and Brian's progress by visiting the offical Banque Populaire website or follow Brian's blog.

To hear what Brian had to say before the start, please click here.