Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Royal Yacht Squadron

The Royal Ocean Racing Club's offshore season continues to be extremely popular with another bumper entry for the De Guingand Bowl Race. Nearly 90 yachts are expected on the Squadron Line on Saturday morning, ranging from cutting edge custom yachts to traditional cruising yachts.

In IRC Class Super Zero, the RYA Keelboat Programme's TP 52, John Merricks II, is back to defend the overall win in last year's race and will be crewed by some of Britain's emerging talents.

In IRC Class Zero there is a highly diverse field including two brand new yachts. Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens, made an impressive winning debut last weekend at the RORC IRC National Championship. The sleek, merlin blue hull is taking her first offshore outing. Sean Hurst & Patrick Fitzgibbon's striking Lutra 42, Seawolf 2, should be in close contention on the water. At the other end of the spectrum the Tall Ships Trust have entered two 72 ft Challenger yachts who will be hoping that the forecast is wrong and there is plenty of wind to get them around the course.

In IRC Class One, Sailing Logic's Reflex 38, Puma Logic, will be looking to go one better than their second in class at last month's Myth of Malham Race. The sailing school specializes in race training and is a consistent performer at RORC events. "We are looking to improve our boat speed for this race," commented Puma Logic's skipper, Philippe Falle. "Quokka was very fast in our last race and we see straight line speed as an area where we can improve. Our main goal for the season is the Rolex Fastnet." The Army Sailing Association's A 40, British Soldier, had a great battle with Puma Logic in last year's seasons points championship and they will certainly be looking for success this weekend.

In IRC Class Two there are no less than 13 boats racing Two - Handed, proving how popular this discipline has become. Nick and Suzi Jones' First 34.7, Astarte, won the Two - Handed race last time out and is entered for this year's race. However, Geoff Poore's Pronavia 38, Tangaroa, may be favourite for the IRC Class Two win, having shown great form in the Myth of Malham Race.

IRC Class Three features no fewer than nine Sigma 38s racing in the second RORC race of their offshore championship. Chris & Vanessa Choules' With Alacrity, Trevor Drew's Flying Formula and Nigel Goodhew's Persephone of London are the in form boats, but David Lees' High Tension 36, Hephzibah, should be hard to beat on handicap.

For the full RORC racing programme go to: http://www.rorc.org