The Caribbean 600 RORC race can only be a good thing for racing and general tourism along the entire chain of the West Indies. Conceived by a group of RORC members living in the Caribbean, the race starts on the 23rd February 2009 off Fort Charlotte outside English Harbour Antigua. The 605 nautical mile course takes the fleet to the North passing a mark off Barbuda, the islands of Nevis, Saba and St Barths, to circle St Martin before heading down to Guadeloupe as the most southerly point, then back up to a mark off Barbuda before returning to finish in Antigua.

With over 22 yachts already expressing interest in the race, race organizers are looking forward to welcoming the likes of Rambler and Sojana not only to this race but to all the other big boat series in the Caribbean. That said, there is a big push to also bring out the smaller boats for this event.

Having competed in the Fastnet and other RORC races, Liz Holder, of Ondeck Antigua, said , "I know first hand the kind of safety procedures the Royal Ocean Racing Club puts into place. The good news is that none of these rules and regulations discriminates against the smaller yachts and the yachts that are CSA rated on our side of the pond. If you own (or can get your hands on) a 40footer with a rating of over CSA 0.870, and have due diligence safety kit onboard like an epirb, liferaft, search lights and so on, the Caribbean 600 is well within your reach. With many of the larger boats opting for the IRC rating, you may even find yourself bettering the likes of Sojana on the water - just look at the Fastnet results of 2005 where the winner (a 33ft boat) eclipsed ICAP Maximus! I say bring on the smaller CSA yachts and let's give the big boys a run for their money!"

For more information please visit the following website: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/200809294/race-information
Or contact Liz Holder - Manager, Ondeck Antigua Ltd, lh@ondeck.co.uk

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