Over 200 Sailors Expected for RORC Easter Challenge on the Solent

3rd April 2023

Afloat.ie Team

The RORC Easter Challenge is not a championship, so the race team will set courses which are both windward leeward and round the cans. The competitors race their boats at every point of sail and hopefully in different wind conditions Credit: Paul Wyeth

Over 200 sailors are expected for the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) Easter Challenge on the Solent this weekend.

Three days of racing are organised in The Solent from Easter Friday to Easter Sunday.

For over 20 years, the RORC has held a training regatta over the Easter Weekend. World Sailing Rules on outside assistance are relaxed, so for no additional cost to the teams, hand-picked coaches can provide pin-point assistance to get crews of any level up to speed.

Racing will be in IRC Rated Classes for Grand Prix racers, pocket rocket Cape 31s and HP30 Classes, plus a huge range of performance racer-cruisers. While the regatta attracts some professional teams, the vast majority are passionate corinthian crews looking to sharpen their skills. The RORC Easter Challenge has the traditional prizes of Easter Eggs, but, says RORC, the real winners are all the sailors, improving every aspect of yacht racing ability at a safe and friendly regatta.

As with all RORC racing, the RORC Cowes Clubhouse is open to all competitors.

Published in RORC

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RORC

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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)