A Weekend of Centenary Celebrations
The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Centenary year continued in style last weekend with two memorable dinners in Plymouth and Hamburg, celebrating both the Club’s remarkable history and its future in offshore sailing.
RORC Centenary Dinner Plymouth
On Friday 12 September, members and guests gathered at The Box in Plymouth, a city with a special place in the Club’s history, as the finishing port of the very first Fastnet Race in 1925, where the Ocean Racing Club was founded. A sparkling reception set the tone before RORC Admiral, Janet Grosvenor, spoke about those origins and Plymouth’s role in the Club’s heritage. Toby Marris, skipper of the legendary Jolie Brise, then reflected on the yacht’s unique record as winner of the inaugural Fastnet and still the only boat to have won three times. Berthed at the Barbican landing stage for guests to view before dinner, Jolie Brise stood as a living link between the Club’s beginnings and the progression of offshore sailing. Marris also looked ahead, imagining how the sport might evolve over the next hundred years. A three-course dinner followed, with guests including the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Kathy Watkin, her consort Alderman Dr John Mahony, and senior flag officers of the Royal Western Yacht Club, underlining the city’s strong ties with RORC.
RORC Centenary Dinner Hamburg
The following evening, on Saturday 13 September, celebrations moved to Hamburg, where the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein hosted RORC at the Hanse Lounge. After an al fresco reception on the terrace, Derek Shakespeare, RORC Vice Commodore, joined the NRV Commodore Tobias Köenig in welcoming members and friends, and reflected on the Club’s proud history and influence on the sport. RORC Rear Commodore Stefan Jentzsch gave the keynote address, recalling highlights of his Admiral’s Cup campaign and looking to the future of offshore sailing with particular focus on the Griffin Offshore Pathway. First established in 1945 with the gift of the training boat Griffin, the programme remains central to the Club’s mission, providing sailors aged 18–30 with a clear route into offshore competition.
RORC Vice Commodore Derek Shakespeare
The evening was marked by generous gestures of friendship and history. Vice Commodore Shakespeare received a silver commemorative salver from NRV, and the centenary book and burgee of the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt (HVS), a club founded in 1903 which continues to train young offshore sailors and campaigns yachts such as Haspa Hamburg in RORC races. Guests also celebrated Germany’s Admiral’s Cup heritage, with a model of Saudade, the yacht that in 1973 became Germany’s first Cup winner under Berend Beilken, who was present at the dinner - adding to the sense of occasion.
Across both cities the atmosphere was warm, celebratory and forward-looking, weaving together the traditions that shaped RORC with the priorities that will define its future. The presence of Jolie Brise in Plymouth and the model Saudade in Hamburg connected today’s sailors with those who made history, while the Griffin Pathway highlighted the Club’s commitment to the next generation. With the Centenary Rolex Fastnet Race and the return of the Admiral’s Cup already marking historic milestones earlier this summer, and following successful dinners in Cork, New York and Rotterdam in the spring, the international celebrations now look ahead to the next Centenary gatherings in Hong Kong, Malta, France and Australia, ensuring the spirit of RORC’s first hundred years is shared with members and friends around the world. These occasions serve as a reminder that RORC is both proud of its past and fully engaged with the future of offshore racing.
RORC Centenary Dinner Plymouth
For more pictures of the RORC Centenary Dinners around the world go to the RORC Centenary Page
