127 Boat RORC Fleet for Myth of Malham Race

27th May 2021

Louay Habib

David Collins’ Botin IRC 52 Tala Credit: Rick Tomlinson

The Royal Ocean Racing Club offshore programme is in full race mode this weekend with 127 boats expected on the Royal Yacht Squadron Line for the 230nm race around the Eddystone Lighthouse. The Myth of Malham Race is always an important event in a Rolex Fastnet Race Year, as it mirrors the start of the world-famous yacht race that will start from Cowes in August. Even more, importance is attached to the Myth of Malham Race for 2021.

Among the Irish sailors competing is Greystones, County Wicklow yachtswoman Pamela Lee on board Gilles Fournier and Corinne Migraine's J133, Pintia.

This will be the largest RORC fleet to set sail since the start of the pandemic. The forecast fair weather will make for an impressive spinnaker start off Cowes Parade.

Conditions at the start of the race may suit teams racing light displacement boats, especially those that can clear the tidal gate at Portland Bill. Among the favourites for Monohull Line Honours in IRC Zero are David Collins' Botin IRC52 Tala and CM60 Venomous skippered by James Gair. In IRC One the fastest boats will also challenge to be the first to finish, especially RORC Commodore James Neville's HH42 Ino XXX and Ed Fishwick's Farr 42 Redshift. James Holder's Dazcat 1295 Slinky Malinki is currently the only team racing for Multihull Line Honours. For overall victory under IRC for the Myth of Malham Trophy and victory in the six IRC Classes, the form book is wide open, especially as the wind is forecast to increase in speed for the slower boats.

Yachts taking part in the RORC Myth of Malham Race will start to gather off Cowes Parade from around midday on Saturday 29th May. The full entry list and AIS tracking link can be found here.

Additional reporting by the Afloat team

Published in RORC

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RORC

About The Author

Louay Habib

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Louay Habib is a Maritime Journalist & Broadcaster based in Hamble, United Kingdom

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THE RORC:

Established in 1925, The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) became famous for the biennial Fastnet Race and the international team event, the Admiral's Cup. It organises an annual series of domestic offshore races from its base in Cowes as well as inshore regattas including the RORC Easter Challenge and the IRC European Championship (includes the Commodores' Cup) in the Solent
The RORC works with other yacht clubs to promote their offshore races and provides marketing and organisational support. The RORC Caribbean 600, based in Antigua and the first offshore race in the Caribbean, has been an instant success. The 10th edition took place in February 2018. The RORC extended its organisational expertise by creating the RORC Transatlantic Race from Lanzarote to Grenada, the first of which was in November 2014
The club is based in St James' Place, London, but after a merger with The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes now boasts a superb clubhouse facility at the entrance to Cowes Harbour and a membership of over 4,000

At A Glance – RORC

RORC Race Enquiries:

Royal Ocean Racing Club T: +44 (0) 1983 295144 E: [email protected] W: http://www.rorc.org/

Royal Ocean Racing Club:

20 St James's Place, London SW1A 1NN, Tel: 020 7493 2248 E: [email protected]

2026 RORC Key dates

Key RORC 2026 dates extracted from the programme:

January–February 2026
• 11 January – RORC Transatlantic Race (Lanzarote to Antigua)
• February (dates vary) – Nelson’s Cup, Antigua
• 23 February – RORC Caribbean 600

May 2026
• 2 May – Cervantes Trophy Race (Cowes to Le Havre)
• 15 May – North Sea Race
• 22–25 May – IRC European Championships, International Poole Regatta
• 23 May – Myth of Malham Race
• 30 May – De Guingand Bowl Race

June 2026
• 12 June – Morgan Cup (Cowes to Dartmouth)
• 20 June – Round Ireland Race (Wicklow)

July 2026
• 3 July – Cowes–Dinard–Saint Malo Race
• 25 July – Channel Race

August 2026
• 8 August – Baltic Sea Race (Helsinki)
• 9 August – Round Britain and Ireland Race (Cowes)
• 26–29 August – IRC National Championship (Dartmouth)

September 2026
• 4 September – Cherbourg Race

October 2026
• 17 October – Rolex Middle Sea Race (counts towards 2027 championship)