The 13th edition of the Caribbean classic RORC Caribbean 600 starts on Monday (21 February). 700 sailors from 32 nations will take part in the popular long-distance race on 74 yachts, including many prominent sailing racing stables, impressive multihull Mocras and fast maxi yachts. After last year's edition was cancelled due to the pandemic, the anticipation in the port of Antigua is particularly high; however, German teams are not taking part this time. Which is why the great success achieved by Tilmar Hansen and his crew on the TP52 "Outsider" two years ago, when they were overjoyed to lift the RORC Caribbean 600 trophy into the sky, cannot be repeated in 2022, at least under the German flag. Hansen's triumph was the first German overall victory in the then twelve-year history of the "Race of the Eleven Islands".
After his transatlantic premiere with the aged Imoca "Rosalba", however, one German participant is also back in the Caribbean: Frank Stum from Berlin is taking part in the Caribbean regatta as a friend and crew member alongside British skipper Richard Tolkien and his two compatriots Matthew Pritchard and Dave Herrod. After the "Rosalba" crew had been unable to train for days because the bow lines of the yachts moored in Antigua were stretched diagonally while the gusts blew in from the side, the quartet had almost lost hope of at least one test day on the water. On Saturday, however, this became possible after all. On Monday, the "Rosalba" will start in the large IRC Zero group, the largest division of the race this year with 19 boats. "We will be the smallest boat in this group. The group starts with us...", says Frank Sturm from the Cöpenicker Segler-Verein. The goal of the "Rosalba" crew has not changed from the Transat to the Caribbean challenge. "If things go well, the regatta will last three days," says Frank Sturm, "we want to sail well and make the most of the conditions." Here is a video preview with IRC Zero insights (please click!).
The Mocra multihulls will see a repeat of the three-way battle that made the RORC Transat Race so exciting: Giovanni Soldini's Transat winners on "Maserati" will once again face Peter Cunningham's "PowerPlay" and Jason Carroll's "Argo", who still have a score to settle with the Italian and his crew after their last-minute coup in the Atlantic competition. Here, sailing legend Loïck Peyron and other professionals provide insights into the triathlon and explain the differences between the trimarans (please click!). Race Director Chris Stone summarised what will be served up on Monday: "It's a wonderful race in trade winds for an exceptional fleet of racing boats - this is a sailor's paradise!" What makes the RORC Caribbean 600 course so tactically and strategically exciting is explained by circumnavigator and 'Tala' navigator Campbell Field: "It's a great course because it requires full concentration over twelve sections and each of those sections has its own unique intricacies." To the Live tracker after the start on Monday here (please click!).
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
