100 years of RORC: The fathers of the Fastnet Race

The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) resides in an old, three-storey brick building at the end of a quiet, small cul-de-sac in the St James's district of London. It dates back to the 17th century and was most recently the city palace of Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount d'Abernon, who was posted to Berlin as British ambassador from 1920 to 1926. The neighbours on St. James's Place are also impressive: Winston Churchill lived at number 29, Sir Francis Chichester at number 9 and number 27 is the palace of Lady Diana Spencer's family. Just a few metres from the entrance to the RORC, Queen's Passage, a narrow footpath, leads to nearby Buckingham Palace.

You wouldn't expect to find a sailing club so far from the sea. Especially not in the centre of London at such a historic address. However, the RORC, which is celebrating its centenary this year, is no ordinary sailing club. It is a truly royal organisation with 4,000 members. Its patron is King Charles III, just as his mother Queen Elizabeth II and before that his father King George V were.

Nevertheless, the RORC is not the domicile of old white rich men who ruminate about the lost Empire over a Pimm's No. 1 Cup. In fact, we are dealing with an organisation that is completely in tune with the times, that pulls the strings in ocean racing worldwide and that owes its existence exclusively to sporting activities.

The first Fastnet Race

It all began in the years after the First World War. The era of the great racing schooners of the nobility, which competed against each other off the seaside resort of Cowes on the Isle of Wight, was over. Now the middle classes were at the helm, and off Cowes they mainly sailed semi-open, barely seaworthy racing classes on the sheltered coastal waters.

Somehow, the dishonour of the city that was lost here in 1856 and has never been regained since America's Cup always with them. In 1923, the Americans were once again one step ahead of the British when they organised an ocean race over 635 nautical miles from Newport/Rhode Island on the US east coast to the British Bermuda Islands. Sailing in the Bermuda Triangle? That was considered highly risky. And yet, the Bermuda Race, which is still sailed every two years today, developed into an ocean classic.

The British did not want to be left behind. A group of initially seven English amateur sailors organised a 600 nautical mile race in August 1925. The starting shot was fired off the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Fastnet Rock south of Ireland was chosen as the turning point and the finish line was off Plymouth harbour. The course therefore led through a sea area more feared than the Bermuda Triangle. All in all, more sailors had lost their lives here on the south coast of England than anywhere else in the world. And not only poor sailors on warships or merchant ships, but also a number of fine yachtsmen.

As there were hardly any suitable racing yachts for an adventure like the Fastnet Race in 1925, the field of seven boats consisted mainly of former sailing boats. The ultimately victorious "Jolie Brise", a 16 metre long French pilot cutter, reached the finish line after six days, two hours and 45 minutes. Seconds were not yet counted. To make an admittedly not entirely fair comparison: the record for the now somewhat longer course of 690 nautical miles to today's finish in Cherbourg is held by the French 33-metre high-tech catamaran "Lazartigue", sailed by professionals, with one day, eight hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds. After all, "Jolie Brise" has won the Fastnet Race a total of three times, she was still competing in 2013 and is still sailing.

How the Royal Ocean Racing Club came about

The "Ocean Racing Club" was founded in Plymouth on the day of the first award ceremony of the Fastnet Race, at the end of August one hundred years ago. The founders chose a motif with a white seahorse in a wreath of beaten cordage on a dark blue background as their standard. If you look closely, you will notice that the tail of the seahorse in the emblem is wrapped backwards instead of forwards, i.e. upside down. No matter. This did nothing to dampen the success of the Fastnet Race.

On the contrary, it even attracted yacht crews from the USA, who usually had the upper hand. This in turn led to the inevitable disputes about the different handicap rules. The RORC found an important field of activity here - right up to the present day.

England's monarch George V, himself an enthusiastic regatta sailor, showed his favour for the Ocean Racing Club. In November 1931, the board received a letter from Buckingham Palace, which read: "His Majesty the King had been pleased to command that this club should henceforth be known as The Royal Ocean Racing Club."

In this way, the crooked hippocampus erectus in the club emblem received its royal crown. When the monarch died soon afterwards, the royal yacht "Britannia" was sunk near the Isle of Wight in accordance with his wishes - a grave according to old Viking custom: the king's mother was of German-Danish descent. In contrast to almost all British clubs, women were admitted as members with equal rights from the outset. The only exception was that they were not allowed to sail on the club yacht "Griffin". This barrier was not lifted until 1973.

The RORC in times of war

Between the world wars, the RORC organised many ocean races, particularly in the neighbouring countries of France, Holland and Germany. The races to Helgoland were among the highlights of the season. The Germans therefore also took part - as apprentices - in the Fastnet Race. Until the outbreak of the Second World War, many German-English sailing friendships were formed in this way, which lasted beyond 1945.

With the development of its own RORC handicap rule, the club had a major influence on the development of ocean racing. As a result, a large number of pioneering yachts were built to the RORC formula. These included the 19-metre yawl "Bloodhound", built by Camper & Nicholson in 1936. She won the Fastnet Race in 1939 and 1949. In 1962, Prince Philip acquired the ship for the British royal family and even cruised with it at Kieler Woche.

In 1937, the innovative RORC "Ortac" won the regatta to Helgoland. The 15-metre racer, which was almost unbeatable in its day, was the first with a permanently installed pulpit. In 1953, the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt (HVS) bought the "Ortac" to train the next generation of sailors.

Finally, in 1957, the RORC created the Admiral's Cup race week, with a final fastnet race. Teams from up to 15 nations competed with three boats each during Cowes Week. On board were the best sailors in the world. After the America's Cup, the Admiral's Cup was soon regarded as the crown jewel of sailing.

The IOR formula in the Admiral's Cup and Fastnet Race

And again it was a new handicap formula, this time the International Offshore Rule (IOR), which led to many new yachts being designed and built. The IOR marked the beginning of the golden quarter of a century of sailing in Germany. In 1973, the German apprentices stepped out of the shadow of the Anglo-Saxon champions for the first time. With the superior victory of the yachts "Saudade", "Rubin" and "Carina", they astonished the competition and went on to win the trophy three more times in 1983, 1985 and 1993.

After that, interest in the Admiral's Cup waned, not least as a result of unsuccessful new formula attempts. What's more, the infrastructure of the small seaside resort of Cowes had long since been completely overwhelmed. The often stormy English tidal waters were also unable to withstand the lure of new regatta areas in the mild Mediterranean. Not even the royal yacht HMS "Britannia" made an appearance. The Admiral's Cup disappeared, but the Fastnet Race remained a rock in the surf.

And yet it didn't look like that at all in the meantime. In the summer of 1979, the largest fleet to date - 303 yachts - set off for the Fastnet Rock: straight into a catastrophe. A hurricane that was not recognised in time smashed a large number of the yachts and 15 sailors lost their lives. It was the darkest hour not only in the history of the RORC, but in the history of ocean racing as a whole. However, RORC Race Director Alan Green, who was the centre of attention of the entire world press, kept a cool head. The results of the RORC's accident investigation led to a host of new safety regulations at sea, which have since become standard worldwide.

RORC: Fastnet Race hardly loses popularity even after the 1979 disaster

Above all, however, the accident hardly damaged the popularity of the Fastnet Race. For the anniversary year 2025, the RORC is expecting well over 400 yachts on the course of the "Regatta of Death". In addition, the clubhouse of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes was acquired and extended in 2015. Since then, the club has had a second home on the Solent - again in a prime location, but this time with a view of the water, 14 guest rooms and just a stone's throw away from the Royal Yacht Squadron's castle, where the guns are traditionally fired at the start of the regatta.

In recent years, the International Rule (IRC) developed and administered by the RORC has succeeded in establishing itself worldwide as a well-functioning and proven handicap rule in the face of great resistance. It has also managed to bring watch manufacturer Rolex on board as a premium sponsor. The Fastnet Race is now called the Rolex Fastnet, and the winners not only receive a trophy, but also a fine wristwatch.

In the club hierarchy, directly subordinate to the Royal Patron, a Commodore and an Admiral are of equal rank. Since 2024, the Commodore of the RORC has been a woman: Dr Deborah Fish O.B.E. worked as a scientist at the British Ministry of Defence. She knows how to tackle; she has sailed around Fastnet eleven times, most recently finishing second in the double-handed class.

Since this January, the "Admiral of the RORC" has also been female: Janet Grosvenor started in the club secretariat in 1969, made it all the way to senior race officer and has long been a legendary figure, and not just in the British sailing scene. The club manager at St James's Place is Eddy Warden-Owen, one of Britain's most successful professional sailors.

New edition of the Admiral's Cup for the Royal Ocean Racing Club anniversary

The three of them will accompany the RORC through its anniversary year. There is a lot to do. It started in January with the RORC transatlantic regatta westwards from Lanzarote to Grenada. The "Haspa-Hamburg", a German yacht, also took part. This will be followed in February by the RORC Caribbean 600 in Antigua, a winter classic. On 18 June, another transatlantic regatta will start with the participation of the RORC, then eastwards from Newport/Rhode Island to Cowes, 3,000 nautical miles.

For Cowes Week in July, preparations are underway for a New edition of the Admiral's Cupthis time with two-boat teams, each representing one club. The RORC is expecting clubs from 16 nations to take part. The final Fastnet regatta is expected to attract well over 400 starters.

There will also be celebrations, not only with two summer gala dinners in Cowes, but also with friendly yacht clubs around the world throughout the year. In September, the North German Regatta Club in Hamburg will be the host.

Although the heart of the RORC still beats in the old clubhouse in St James's Place, it is not suitable for larger celebrations. Everything you would expect from a British ladies and gentlemen's club is there: creaking floorboards, a club room - the "Fastnet Room" - and oil portraits of former RORC greats looking down from the walls. In the dining room, however, there are just ten seats at the table in front of the fireplace.

The RORC is and remains an institution

The social centre of the hotel is the bar on the first floor. Here you can read the "Times" or the sailing magazine "Seahorse" in comfortable wing chairs, brew yourself a fine Earl Grey and have your first gin and tonic at noon on the dot.

The walnut bar stools are not comfortable, but they are stylish. They are remnants from the furniture of the dreadnought HMS "Iron Duke". The British flagship sank the German cruiser SMS "Wiesbaden" in the Battle of the Skagerrak in 1916 - and with it the poet Gorch Fock. Then in 1939, German bombs ran the Iron Duke aground in Scapa Flow harbour. Old sailing stories are often also old war stories and are still a favourite topic of conversation in English bars today.

The home of the RORC is a welcoming place. Club members and friends can even spend the night there, as there is a hotel wing. The suites are decorated in the national colours - so you don't forget that the king is slumbering nearby. At a price of just over 150 pounds per night, the accommodation in the centre of London is even considered a bargain.

Despite many challenges and various crises, the Royal Ocean Racing Club is an institution not only for English ocean sailing. Hopefully, little will change in the next hundred years.