Please select your home edition
Edition
Vaikobi 2024 December

RORC North Sea Race Preview

by Louay Habib / RORC 8 May 2024 08:56 PDT 10-11 May 2024
Ker 46 ROST Van Uden © Paul Wyeth / RORC

First Start: 10:30 Friday 10 May, 2024
Harwich - Scheveningen (180nm)

The Royal Ocean Racing Club's North Sea Race, hosted by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, has attracted over 50 boats. The North Sea Race is one of the oldest in the RORC Racing Calendar dating back to 1931.

The race is run in association with the East Anglian Offshore Racing Association, the Yacht Club Scheveningen and the North Sea Regatta. The North Sea Race is the sixth race of the 2024 RORC Season's Points Championship, the world's largest offshore racing series.

2024 North Sea Race Entries

The 180nm race across the North Sea starts from Harwich on the East Coast of England and finishes close to the famous Dutch sailing city of the Hague and the Yacht Club Scheveningen. The majority of the entries come from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with over 300 sailors taking part that include crew from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway and Poland.

Last year's overall winner J/122 Ajeto! is back, racing double-handed by Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre. 2023 RORC Season's Points Champion, Sun Fast 3600 Bellino will be in Harwich. Bellino was in fine form winning the Myth of Malham Race last weekend. Rob Craigie and RORC Commodore Deb Fish are looking to extend their winning streak with the North Sea Race. Both Bellino and Ajeto! will be racing in IRC Two and IRC Two-Handed.

In IRC Super Zero, the Dutch VO65 NextGen will be favourite for line honours. In IRC Zero, the two fastest boats on IRC rating are Ker 46 ROST - Van Uden, skippered by Gerd-jan Poortman and Whitbread 60 Boudragon, skippered by Hans Bouscholte. Mark Emerson's A13 Phosphorus II is the scratch boat from the United Kingdom.

In IRC One, two Dutch J/122 go head to head, Frans van Cappelle and Michelle Witsenburg's Moana, which competed in the RORC Transatlantic Race and RORC Caribbean 600, will have a close match with Uneco de Meester's Otra Vez. Both teams are from the Yacht Club Scheveningen.

In IRC Three, Michel Dorsman's X-362 Extra Djinn will defend the class win from last year. Radboud Crul has competed in over 30 editions of the race and is a proven winner. Crul's Dehler 36 Rosetta is one of the favourites for the class, and if the conditions suit, also overall under IRC.

In IRC Four, Will & Jenny Taylor-Jones S&S 40 Sunstone is defending their class win from last year. Sunstone was launched in 1965 and enjoyed many successes over the decades. Close competition will come from another classic from the design board of Sparkman & Stephens. Swan 38 Xara was launched in 1974 and won IRC Four in the 2023 Cowes Dinard St Malo Race and was the overall winner under IRC of the 2021 De Guingand Bowl Race. Paul Scott's Sigma 38 Spirit, which won the race overall in 2018, will also be in contention.

At the lively prize-giving hosted by the Yacht Club Scheveningen on Sunday May 12, competitors will be awarded a number of prestigious trophies including the Goeree Challenge Cup for the overall win under IRC.

For more information about the Royal Ocean Racing Club: www.rorc.org

Related Articles

Tschüss 2 - Transatlantic Titans
Line Honours for Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 in the Transatlantic Race 2025 Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA), owned by Christian Zugel and co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has taken Line Honours in the West to East Transatlantic Race 2025 in an elapsed time of 07 Day 15 Hrs 29 Mins and 10 Secs. Posted on 26 Jun
GBR IRC Championship continue into Autumn & beyond
Attention now turns to the second half of the season With the first half of the GBR IRC Championships successfully complete, attention now turns to the second half of the season, running from July to the end of the year, with events spanning the East Coast, South West, Channel Islands, and inland waters. Posted on 26 Jun
Can a maxi achieve the Rolex Fastnet Race triple?
The fight to claim the prestigious monohull line honours prize is lining up to be a tough one The fight to claim the prestigious monohull line honours prize in the centenary edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rolex Fastnet Race is lining up to be a tough one between the world's fastest 100ft maxi yachts. Posted on 25 Jun
Tschüss 2 powers ahead in Transatlantic Race
Her nearest rival, some 300 miles astern, is Oliver Kobale's VO65 Sisi Six days into the West-East Transatlantic Race, Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 Tschüss 2, co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has raced over 2,000 miles and is the clear leader for both Monohull Line Honours and the overall IRC win. Posted on 23 Jun
2025 Morgan Cup Race Preview
Over 100 boats expected to be on Yacht Squadron Line with crew competing from 24 different nations The Morgan Cup Race is the tenth race of the RORC Season's Points Championship—the world's largest offshore racing series. It is also the fourth race of the inaugural Cowes Offshore Racing Series. Posted on 22 Jun
Class40 top guns enter Rolex Fastnet Race
One of the most successful genre of offshore race boat ever Now 20+ years old, the Class40 has proved itself one of the most successful genre of offshore race boat ever. Posted on 18 Jun
IRC UK National Championships overall
Adam Gosling's JPK 1080 Yes! crowned overall champion The final day of the 2025 IRC National Championships, part of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta, began on schedule, with a steady south-westerly breeze bringing yet another twist to the range of conditions experienced. Posted on 16 Jun
IRC UK National Championships day 2
Caro leads in IRC Zero after three races by a single point In Race 1, Karl Kwok's TP52 Beau Geste scored a dramatic victory, overlapped through the finish line with Stefan Jentzch's Botin 56 Black Pearl. Beau Geste took the gun and the race win after IRC time correction. Posted on 15 Jun
IRC UK National Championships day 1
From dead calm to dead heat Racing on Day 1 of the 2025 IRC UK National Championships began under clear skies and glorious sunshine, but a lack of wind delayed the start for all classes. Posted on 13 Jun
Women sailors reflect on Admiral's Cup inclusion
Pivotal milestones, but there is still so much more to achieve The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has long acknowledged the slow but steady path toward gender inclusion in offshore sailing. Posted on 11 Jun
Hyde Sails 2024 - One DesignVaikobi 2024 DecemberRooster 2025