Cowes-St Malo Classic Draws Strong Offshore Fleet

26th June 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Channel Classic — The RORC Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race returns on July 3 with a strong offshore fleet racing 150 nautical miles from the Solent to Brittany Credit: Paul Wyeth

The Royal Ocean Racing Club's historic Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race returns on Friday, July 3, with a strong international fleet contesting the 150-nautical-mile Channel classic. The race starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes before heading west through the Solent and across the English Channel to the walled French port of St Malo.

First contested in 1906, the event remains one of the oldest and most prestigious races on the RORC calendar. The overall IRC winner will lift the King Edward VII Challenge Cup, donated by King Edward VII more than a century ago.

The race also forms part of the 2026 RORC Cowes Offshore Series and the RORC Season's Points Championship. For the double-handed fleet, it marks the opening round of the 2026 IRC Double-Handed National Championship.

The largest yacht entered is Johnny Vincent's Volvo 70 Pace, formerly Tschüss 2, which set the monohull race record and claimed both line honours and overall IRC victory in 2023. Among the leading IRC contenders is James Neville's new Botin 52 Ino Veritas, fresh from victory in the Range Rover Sardinia Cup and making its RORC debut ahead of next year's Admiral's Cup.

Record Pace — Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace, formerly Tschüss 2, returns to the Cowes-St Malo race having set the monohull record and won overall in 2023. Photo: Paul Wyeth

Sixteen boats are entered in the IRC Two-Handed division, where crews will balance speed, navigation and sail handling with minimal opportunities for rest during the offshore passage.

The fleet also includes a strong selection of IRC One, Two and Three contenders, featuring JPKs, Sun Fasts, J/109s and J/122s, alongside experienced offshore campaigns from across Europe.

Class Act — François Charles’ J/133 Sun Hill IV joins a competitive IRC One fleet for the 150-mile Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race. Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Classic yacht enthusiasts will welcome the return of Pen Duick III, the famous Eric Tabarly-designed yacht from the 1960s. She is joined by classic entries including Quailo 3, Esprit de Rueil, Persephone and the successful Swan 38 Xara, overall winner of the race in 2021.

The RORC Griffin youth pathway programme will also be represented by Nikki Curwen and the crew of the Sun Fast 3600 RORC Griffin, continuing the club's commitment to developing the next generation of offshore sailors.

Pathway Push — Nikki Curwen leads the RORC Griffin youth pathway crew into the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race aboard the club’s Sun Fast 3600. Photo: Paul Wyeth

Three multihulls complete the entry, adding extra pace to the race across the Channel.

Multi Mission — Dazcat 1295 Slinky Malinki adds multihull pace to the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo fleet for the Channel crossing to Brittany. Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Racing begins on Friday, July 3, with the first warning signal scheduled for 1350 BST. Spectators can watch the fleet depart from Cowes, while satellite tracking will provide live updates throughout the race.

Published in RORC, Offshore, J109, Multihull

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)