"Warrior Won" takes overall victory at the RORC Caribbean 600: "Like a ten-round boxing match"

"Warrior Won" is the overall winner of the 13th RORC Caribbean 600. The Pac52 of owner Christopher Sheehan from the USA won the Caribbean race over 600 nautical miles according to calculated IRC time. Her crew came out on top in the handicap classification against the super maxi "Comanche" skippered by Mitch Booth and the third-placed Botin 52 "Tala" owned by David Collins.

Christopher Sheehan said after the race: "I'm over the moon right now. Considering how hard the crews have all worked in this race, I'm overwhelmed. We've been preparing for this race for eight months. When I think of all the people who have won this race, it's just extraordinary. The mantra on 'Warrior Won' is humility and extreme confidence in what we are doing. This leads to positive energy on board, hard work and cohesion. Every crew member on 'Warrior Won' has done an outstanding job." The crew members are: Christopher Sheehan, Thomas Allin, Stuart Bannatyne, Norman Berge, Richard Clarke, Shane Diviney, Scott Ewing, Gregg Griffin, Morgan Gutenkunst, Hartwell Jordan, Collin Leon, Chris Lewis, Tristan Louwrens, Henry Vogel and Christopher Welch.

Tactician Richard Clarke, four-time Olympian under the Canadian flag and Volvo Ocean Race winner, said: "A race like the Caribbean 600 is short but complicated. It's short enough to push really hard, but you also have to deal with fatigue. On a boat like 'Warrior Won' with its fixed keel, you need to have as many people on the edge as possible. The basis is to keep the boat at maximum speed with the right sail configuration. As a tactical race, the RORC Caribbean 600 is one of the toughest in the world because there are so many islands to round and the tactics change with the time of day. Add in the fickle trade winds and stormy clouds, and I can compare it to a ten-round boxing match where the rights, lefts and combinations come at you. Sometimes you have to switch to attack, sometimes to defence, because you can park at any time. The lead is never safe until you've reached the finish." Click here for the winning video (please click!).

"Maybe I'm still dreaming?"

Chris "Lew" Lewis, amateur navigator on "Warrior Won" and employed in the tech industry in Los Angeles, said: "We have put a lot of preparation time into this race, going over the courses of some of the great navigators who have done this race. The 'Warrrior Won' crew has put in place a two and a half year testing programme, so we know what the best sail configuration is at what wind angles and in any wind strength. After that, it's simply a matter of execution. Preparing for a race like this is everything for me. While the pros have to split their time between one race and the next, I do relatively few races. And I've been working very hard for this race. To have won this bucket list race is like a dream come true. I haven't made up for the lack of sleep yet. Maybe I'm still dreaming?" Click here for the results of the Caribbean classic (please click!).

The "Warrior Won", which has now replaced Tilmar Hansen's 2020 winner "Outsider" as defending champion, can also be expected to compete in upcoming prestigious races. Starts are planned in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2022, the Rolex Fastnet Race 2023 and the Rolex Middle Sea Race in the same year. In 2024, the team wants to take part in the RORC Transatlantic Race and be back in the Caribbean.