The 2026 RORC North Sea Race starts on Friday 15th of May with an international fleet set for the 165-nautical mile crossing from Harwich to Scheveningen in the Netherlands. Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club with Royal Harwich Yacht Club, the East Anglian Offshore Racing Association and Yacht Club Scheveningen, the race remains one of offshore sailing’s longest-running contests.
First sailed in 1931, the North Sea Race forms part of the RORC Season’s Points Championship, regarded as the world’s largest offshore racing series. The route across the North Sea presents crews with shifting weather, strong tides, sandbanks, shipping lanes and offshore wind farms. Tactical calls around Smith’s Knoll and the Dutch coast are expected to prove decisive.
Around 50 boats are entered from Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Among the fully crewed contenders are Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team’s Ker 46 Van Uden, the J/122 Moana, Michel Dorsman’s MAT 1070 Checkmate and Paddy Moriaty’s Swan 44 Astrid.
The double-handed division is expected to produce one of the closest contests in the fleet. Rob Craigie’s Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, racing with RORC Commodore Deb Fish, returns after winning overall under IRC in 2025. They face strong competition from Astrid de Vin and Roeland Franssens aboard the JPK 1030 Il Corvo
Diederik Forma’s JPK 1030 Jetpack returns after finishing second overall last year, while John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef campaign the Dutch Xr 41 X-Esteem.
British entries also include the RORC Griffin team and Gavin Howe’s Tigris, racing double-handed with Griffin Pathway sailor Albert Barber.
The race also offers a preview of the challenges crews will face later this year in the 1,805-nautical-mile RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race. Prestigious prizes include the Goeree Challenge Cup for best corrected IRC time and the Golden Dragon Trophy for the IRC Two-Handed division.
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