Morgan Cup Set for Tactical Offshore Sprint to Dartmouth

8th June 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Offshore Charge — The Morgan Cup fleet streams out of Cowes at the start of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's offshore race to Dartmouth. More than 40 boats are expected to contest the tactical south coast challenge Credit: Paul Wyeth

The Morgan Cup Race returns on 12 June with more than 40 boats expected on the start line for the offshore passage from Cowes to Dartmouth. Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Royal Yacht Squadron, Royal Thames Yacht Club and Royal Dart Yacht Club, the race forms part of the 2026 RORC Season's Points Championship and the RORC Cowes Offshore Series.

The fleet will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line before heading west along England's south coast on a course of between 110 and 160 nautical miles. While relatively short by offshore racing standards, the race presents a demanding tactical challenge. Solent navigation, tidal gates, headlands and shifting weather patterns can all influence the outcome.

Channel Challenge — Noel Racine's JPK 1030 Foggy Dew powers along the south coast. The JPK designs are expected to feature strongly in IRC Three during the Morgan Cup race. Photo: Paul Wyeth

More than 40 entries are expected across six IRC classes, alongside a multihull fleet racing under MOCRA. Graeme Lewis' CM60 Venomous is the scratch boat in IRC Zero and is among the favourites for monohull line honours.

IRC One features a strong mix of offshore contenders, including Trevor Middleton's JPK 1180 Black Sheep, Nick and Jacquetta Edmonds' J/45 Stickleback, Cameron Davis' Farr 40 Espresso Martini Too and François Charles' J/133 Sun Hill IV. In IRC Two, RORC Vice Commodore Derek Shakespeare returns with the J/122 Bulldog after a strong early-season campaign. Martin Tisdall and Oliver Milton's First 36, Juno, and Richard Powell's First 40, Rogan Josh, also feature.

Class Contender — François Charles' J/133 Sun Hill IV is among the leading entries in IRC One for the Morgan Cup race from Cowes to Dartmouth. Photo: Paul Wyeth

IRC Three is the largest class with 17 entries and is expected to produce some of the closest racing. Leading contenders include Rob Craigie's Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, sailing with RORC Commodore Deb Fish, alongside fellow Sun Fast 3600s Diablo, Princesse Gotionude II, Tigris, Fujitsu British Soldier and RORC Griffin.

Several JPK designs will also be in contention, including Foggy Dew, Il Corvo, Ronin and Horizon Hunter.

Two-Handed Test — Nick Martin's Sun Fast 3600 Diablo is one of 11 teams competing in the growing IRC Two-Handed division. Photo: Rick Tomlinson

IRC Four includes Myth of Malham class winner Mojo Risin', together with Jetpack, Jangada, Bandit, Astrid, Hot Pursuit, Jeepster, Jolly Jumper and Kindred Spirit.

The growing two-handed division features 11 entries spread across the IRC fleet, underlining the continued popularity of short-handed offshore racing. Four multihulls are also entered. These include DMS Vinyl, Minor Swing, Shockwave and Slinky Malinki.

The first start is scheduled for 1200 BST on Friday 12 June. Competitors are expected to arrive in Dartmouth on Saturday, where the prize-giving will be hosted by the Royal Dart Yacht Club.

Published in RORC, Offshore

Published in 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)