The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Cowes Dinard St Malo Race has attracted 204 boats with over one thousand crew on board from sixteen different nations. This is the largest fleet for any offshore yacht race since the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race. 191 boats will be competing under the IRC Rating Rule for the overall win and the magnificent King Edward VII Cup, dating back to 1906.
From about 2pm on Friday 07 July, the impressive fleet will gather in the Central Solent outside Cowes with multiple starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line. Spectators can watch the start from Cowes Parade and along the shore of the Western Solent.
The Multihull Race Record was set in 2015 by Tony Lawson's MOD70 Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, Concise 10 set an incredible pace, finishing the 151nm race in 9 hrs 12 mins 35 secs. The Monohull Race Record was also set in 2015; Mike Slade's Farr 100 Leopard scorched across the finish line in an elapsed time of 11 hrs 57 mins 53 secs.
Returning to defend their overall win last year is Henry Vergnoux's Classic Illingworth designed 33ft sloop Arabel, which lifted the King Edward VII Cup in 2022. Arabel is proof that under IRC, any team that puts in a top performance and gets the rub of the green can win big trophies under IRC.
The Cowes Dinard St Malo is the final race for the inaugural IRC Two-Handed European Championship, the first leg is still in progress in the 350-mile La Trinité Cowes Race. An update of the double handed teams vying for the championship will be released after the results are in for Leg One (La Trinité Cowes Race). The second leg to St Malo will feature 63 double-handed teams to decide the European Champion.
The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Cowes Dinard St Malo Race is the 12th race of the RORC Season's Points Championship, the largest racing series in the world of offshore racing.
For more information about the Royal Ocean Racing Club: www.rorc.org
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