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Garmin ORC World ChampionshipStart with offshore races, Germans with chances

Fridtjof Gunkel

 · 11.08.2025

Jens Kuphal wants to be at the forefront with his XR 41 "Exciter".
Photo: Jascha Kuphal
65 teams from nine nations are taking part in the ORC World Championship in three classes. The strong Group B, where the new XR 41s will start, will be particularly exciting.

After a day of preparation, a training race and the opening ceremony, the 65 teams have started the 2025 ORC World Championship in Tallinn, Estonia. The series kicked off on Monday with a long offshore race and will run for six days until 16 August.

Challenging route in the Gulf of Finland

The first race of the ORC World Championship is a challenging offshore race that runs overnight and covers different distances depending on the class. Class A teams will have to cover a distance of 211 nautical miles, while Class B will cover 195 nautical miles and Class C 175 nautical miles. All three courses began with a short north-south circuit in the bay north of Tallinn. The route then follows a roughly triangular shape through the Gulf of Finland - from Estonia to Finland and back to the Estonian coast. Two German teams are competing in Class A: Lars Hidde's MAT 1220 "Pure" and the Carkeek 47 from the Hamburgischer Verein für Seefahrt with skipper Torben Mühlbach. The favourite in the group is the "Ran" of Swedish tech entrepreneur Niklas Zennström.

XR 41 vs. X-41 in the generational battle

It will be particularly exciting from the point of view of the brand fans and shipyards in Class B. Among the 22 starters, there are no fewer than 11 X yachts, including seven X-41s, which have been the benchmark for ORC in this boat size for years. The boat is now facing home-grown competition from a new development from the Danes, the XR 41. Four boats of the new, radical-looking boat are at the start, including the shipyard's own "Formula X" from Denmark under skipper Jesper Radich, one of the favourite crews of the ORC World Championship. The crew of Jens Kuphal's sister ship "Exciter" also reckons it has a podium chance. Likewise the Danish "Dixi 5" of Erik Stannow, which is partly sailed by a German crew. The largest class is Group C with 34 entries, which is firmly in the hands of boats from the Baltic States and Scandinavia.

The Garmin ORC World Championship 2025 in brief

  • Date: 11 to 16 August 2025
  • Place: Tallinn, Estonia
  • Number: 65 teams
  • Nations: 9 countries
  • Classes: A, B and C

More on the topic

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Fridtjof Gunkel

Fridtjof Gunkel

Deputy Chief Editor YACHT

Fridtjof Gunkel was born on Helgoland in 1962; he started his sailing career there in the Opti and quickly switched to keelboats. North Sea Week, Cowes Week and Kiel Week were early stops, followed by many years in the Admiral's Cup scene on the cuppers “Container” and “Rubin” World Championships and international regattas in the Starboat, with the mini-maxi “SiSiSi” and various tonner yachts as well as participation in the Whitbread Round the World Race were further formative stations, flanked by extensive cruising trips. Fridtjof Gunkel joined YACHT back in 1985 as part of a traineeship, where he later became Head of the Test & Technology department and then Deputy Editor-in-Chief around 25 years ago. He is also responsible for the regatta and sports section. Fridtjof Gunkel privately sails a performance/cruiser moored on the Baltic coast, his favorite areas are the eastern Swedish archipelago and Brittany.

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