2026 RORC Myth of Malham Race - Preview
by Louay Habib / RORC 20 May 06:16 PDT
23 May 2026
2026 RORC Myth of Malham Race - IRC One start © Paul Wyet / RORC
The RORC Myth of Malham Race returns with a potent fleet for one of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's most respected offshore tests.
Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes, the race sends the fleet west out of the Solent, along the English Channel to round the Eddystone Lighthouse before turning back towards the Solent.
Spectators can watch the start from Cowes Parade with the fleet preparing to start from 0900 BST from the historic Royal Yacht Squadron Line before heading west out of the Solent. All boats are equipped with satellite tracking with a detailed player free to view on computers and smart devices.
Track the race here
At around 235 nautical miles, the Myth of Malham course is short enough to demand intensity from the start, but long enough to expose every weakness in boat speed, tidal strategy, crew work and stamina. The race is often a tough beat west, followed by a fast return, and the opening 100 miles mirrors much of the early challenge of the Rolex Fastnet Race.
The Myth of Malham Race is also the second race of the 2026 Cowes Offshore Series, adding another important layer to the event. The race will provide a strong early season showcase for the crews, boats and stories that are shaping the RORC offshore series of seven races all starting from Cowes IOW. The Myth of Malham is also the sixth race of the world's largest offshore series the RORC Season's Points Championship.
Book crew supper
Race crews, family and friends are welcome to the RORC Cowes Clubhouse on Friday 22 May for drinks followed at 1900 by the Myth of Malham pre-race supper. Booking is highly recommended.
The 2026 fleet features 45 IRC yachts, including 17 two-handed teams, with six multihulls adding a high speed dimension to the race. Several standout performers from 2025 return, giving this year's edition a strong sense of form, rivalry and unfinished business.
In 2025, Géry Trentesaux's Ker 43 Long Courrier won the race overall under IRC, with Noël Racine's JPK 1030 Foggy Dew second by less than three minutes on corrected time. Foggy Dew returns in 2026 as one of the most proven French offshore campaigns in the fleet, having won IRC Three last year and come within touching distance of the overall win. Also returning is Dan Fellows' Sun Fast 3300 Orbit, skippered by son Zeb Fellows with sister Bella also on board. Orbit was third overall in 2025. As members of the Yealm Yacht Club, just 12nm from the Eddystone Lighthouse, the light is a familiar landmark for the Fellows family. The Sun Fast 3600 RORC Griffin will be crewed by the RORC youth team that will be taking on the Round Britain and Ireland Race this August, co-skippers are Albert Barber & Nuala Sellwood.
The two-handed fleet is once again a major part of the race with entries from Great Britain, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands. Mzungu!, Sam White's JPK 1080, returns after winning IRC Two-Handed in 2025 with Sam North. The class is packed with experienced offshore sailors and competitive designs, and the Myth of Malham is exactly the kind of race that rewards disciplined short-handed sailing: sleep management, sail handling, tidal calls and the ability to keep pushing. Also racing double handed will be Rob Craigie's Bellino with RORC Commodore Deb Fish, Bellino was third in class last year. Just off the class podium in 2025 was Simon Bamford's Kestrel, who returns racing with 2023 RORC Griffin Fastnet skipper, Ben Ibbotson.
The MOCRA multihull fleet adds another dimension, with six entries ranging from the Rapido 40 Adamas to a strong Dazcat presence. Vince Willemart's Adamas returns after winning multihull line honours and MOCRA in the 2025 race, while DMS Vinyl, sailed by Brendan Seward and round the world sailor Pete Goss, brings one of the most distinctive campaigns in the fleet. The entry also includes Minor Swing and Slinky Malinki, both Dazcat 1295s, Jon McColl's Shuttleworth 34 Shockwave, and James Holder's Grainger TR36 Uno. The Multihulls should provide some of the earliest action at Eddystone and if it's a downwind return to the Solent, the speed dials will be racing.
Across the IRC fleet, the race brings together a familiar mix of RORC regulars, Corinthian crews, double-handed specialists and club teams. That blend is part of the enduring appeal of the Myth of Malham. It is a race where the biggest boats may grab early attention, but the corrected time battle for the overall win under IRC is often fought deep into the fleet, with every tidal gate and every sail change counting.
The race also carries deep RORC heritage. It is named after John Illingworth's famous Myth of Malham, winner of the Fastnet Race in 1947 and 1949, and part of the victorious British Admiral's Cup Team in 1957. That legacy still fits the character of the modern race: tactical, physical and unmistakably offshore.
From Cowes to Eddystone and back to the Solent, the Myth of Malham remains a proper Channel test. It rewards the crews that can combine speed with control, aggression with stamina and good seamanship with sharp racing skills. For many teams, it is one of the defining offshore challenges of the RORC season.
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