Please select your home edition
Edition
GJW Direct 2024 Dinghy

Fast offshore start to the ORC World Championship 2024

by Offshore Racing Congress 1 Oct 2024 09:09 BST September 27 - October 5, 2024

After an impressive spinnaker start out of Newport Harbor, the first several hours have shown great progress into first race at the 2024 ORC World Championship held at New York Yacht Club. The three competing classes have been sailing in a relatively steady northeast breeze of 11-16 knots, with close racing thus far among the current leaders in each class, especially in Class 0 where there was just 3 minutes separation in the corrected time standings among the top four teams after 7 hours of racing.

According to the championship rules set forth by co-organizers at the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) the format of this Long Offshore 24-hour race is to demonstrate offshore racing proficiency by testing skills in navigation, strategy, sail selection as well as boat speed on the course.

The fastest boats in the fleet are the 6 entries in Class 0 who are racing on a 203-mile course, and at 1700 local time they had rounded the southernmost mark 20 miles southwest of Montauk Point with about 12 miles completed into their next leg. This is the start of a long 63-mile beat upwind towards Buzzard Tower, a journey that will take them well into the night before rounding and heading west on their next towards Cerberus Shoal in Block Island Sound.

Victor Wild's TP52 FOX had the early lead at this stage, but only 1:18 ahead of Andrew Berdon's TP52 SUMMER STORM, who in turn was only 2:06 ahead of David Team's TP52 after 7 hours of racing.

Class A has the most entries in this fleet, with 19 boats traversing a 177-mile course that also took them first to the same mark south of Montauk and then on the same leg upwind to Buzzard Tower. At 1700 local time Tom Rich's GP 42 SETTLER held the lead by 3:09 over Austin and Gwen Fragomen's Botin 44 INTERLODGE IV and 8:08 over another GP 42, ARMA, owned by the McCloskey, Roseberry, Dubois and Crow syndicate.

However, unlike Class 0 where the leaders have remained close to each other throughout the race, some teams in Class A have split away from the leaders heading north on starboard tack by opting to start this leg by heading due east on port tack. This includes the young team on Bruce Chafee's R/P 42 RIKKI.

Class B is racing on a shorter 157-mile course that is zig-zagging upwind and downwind across Block Island Sound between Buzzard Tower and Cerberus Shoal. At 1700 the pack was just north of Block Island and led by the North East Keelboat Alliance's (NEKA) Ker 11.5 PEACEMAKER in actual time while close behind Marcin Sutkowski's GS 44 Performance WIND WHISPER 44 from Poland held the lead in corrected time. Only 5:45 behind was John Brim's Italia 11.98 RIMA with John Baxter's J/111 FIREBALL only another 2:33 behind RIMA.

Current projections have fleet finishers arriving at the finish at Fort Adams tomorrow late morning through midday, weather permitting.

"We're very pleased with this start to the ORC World Championship," said Regatta Chairman Matt Gallagher. "Very early this morning we made some adjustments to the courses based on new weather information and the Race Committee overcame a logistics hurdle with the position of one of the marks, so both race managers and racers are performing well."

During the race the positions of the teams may be found on the TracTrac system.

For more information on format, entries, schedule, scoring, results and media resources at the 2024 ORC World Championship visit nyyc.org/2024-orc-world-championship.

Related Articles

43rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE surpasses 50 entries
14 nationalities on the entry list Four months ahead of its 43rd edition, which will also host the ORC European Championship, the Copa del Rey MAPFRE already boasts 55 boats from 14 nationalities on its entry list. Posted on 1 Apr
Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca ORC and OD overall
ORC Racer Cruiser and One Design classes crowned in Palma The competition program for the ORC Cruising and One Design classes concluded after three days of varied conditions on the Bay of Palma. These races served as a prologue to the Olympic class regatta, which will bring together nearly 800 boats. Posted on 30 Mar
New teams and renowned veterans
A quick look at each of the 10 fleets in the 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca For many sailors on the Olympic campaign trail towards Los Angeles 2028, the Bay of Palma is where the international competition really begins. Posted on 29 Mar
Black Star, Aera and Aurum are the first leaders
As one-design competition gets underway at the 54 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS The one-design competition got under way this Friday with two races for the Cape 31, Dragon and 6 Metre classes. On Saturday the ORC cruisers will join the fleet on the Bay of Palma. Posted on 28 Mar
A+T's wind sensors in the Vendee Globe
Huge congratulations to Charlie Dalin on MACIF for his flawless performance Huge congratulations to Charlie Dalin on MACIF for his flawless performance in winning the 24/25 edition of the Vendee Globe. MACIF was fitted with A+T's 510 digital wind sensor which gave unflinching performance in often challenging conditions. Posted on 28 Mar
One Designs set for Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca
Dragon, 6 Metre Open and Cape 31 classes alongside ORC racing The 54 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS will set sail tomorrow, Friday 28th March, with the start of the ORC cruiser and One design classes races, which will be held until the 30th in the Bay of Palma. Posted on 27 Mar
Revealing the Secrets of the 'Impossible' XR 41
An out and out race yacht, but also a sporty cruiser, thanks to its modular interior The XR 41 from X-Yachts was quite a departure from what they'd been doing for the last 15 years: concentrating on high-end Performance Racing Cruisers. This is an out and out race yacht, but it's also a sporty cruiser, thanks to its modular interior. Posted on 27 Mar
Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2025 Preview
Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia is pleased to announce that 100 boats have already registered The Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2025 is fast approaching, and with it, the closing of registrations. The Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia is pleased to announce that 100 boats have already registered for the Tre Golfi Sailing Week. Posted on 27 Mar
Big Boats Return for the 21st Sandberg PalmaVela
Palma set to host the world debut of Magic Carpet E With the 21st edition of one of the Mediterranean's most iconic regattas just a month away, the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) and its renowned bay are set to host the world debut of Magic Carpet E, the latest 100-foot Maxi yacht. Posted on 26 Mar
Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy returns
With the introduction of the high-performance TP52 class The prestigious Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy is set to return for its sixth edition from July 4-6, 2025, promising a thrilling weekend of top-tier sailing in one of Europe's most scenic and challenging maritime locations, Cascais. Posted on 24 Mar