PRESS RELEASE: 29 April 2008 

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, the Royal Maas Yacht Club,
the Noordzee Club and the Royal Dutch Navy Yacht Club

There will be big grins all round if the competitors in this year’s North Sea Race get the same conditions as last year. It was a downhill sleigh ride and Peter de Ridder’s, Mean Machine  won, smashing the race record by over eight hours, at an average speed of over 16 knots.

The entry list for the 2008 North Sea Race has eclipsed last year and a fleet of over 60 boats will race from Harwich to Scheveningen over the bank holiday weekend. The high class fleet is mainly from Holland, but there are also entries from Britain, Belgium and Austria.

Past class winners racing this year include: Piet Vroon’s Formidable 3, Kees Kaan’s ROARK, Peter de Ridder’s Checkmate, Michiel van der Meulen’s van Uden-TUDelft-van Oord, R.M. Crul’s Rosetta from the Rocks, F. Winterswijk’s Antares, Paul van der Pol’s Jimjams, K A de Walle’s Fandango & Gert Vink’s Gambiet.

Note: - Boats competing in the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta may enter the North Sea Race directly through the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta. All other entries should enter through the RORC.

The first RORC North Sea Race was the Heligoland Race in 1933. The 310 mile race was from Burnham-on-Crouch to Heligoland (an island in the SE corner of the North Sea). 14 yachts entered the race and it was won by the smallest, the gaff rigged, Isis.

RORC  Season’s Points Championship 2008

The North Sea Race is part of The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Season’s Points Championship. The Championship consists of a testing series of races which attracts an international and varied fleet. For the serious offshore sailor, trying to win the Season’s Points Championship is the real challenge. The Season’s Points Championship this year includes the tactically challenging BMW Round Ireland Race and a new addition to the RORC sailing programme, The Cowes Madeira Race which offers an exciting opportunity of a race to Madeira and back, some 1500 miles away in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. For those with less time, the programme also includes a race to the charming port of La Rochelle.

For the full RORC racing programme go to: http://www.rorc.org
For more information, please contact: –
RORC: Tel. 020 7493 2248, E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
PRESS LIAISON: Trish Jenkins – J2 Communications & Events, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 07880 518689 / 01983 248070
RACE REPORTS: Louay Habib, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 07801800521