On the evening of 22 February, the last competitor of the RORC Caribbean 600 arrived at the finish line. It took American crew Oyster49 Porthmeor 4 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes and 29 seconds to complete the 600-mile loop between 11 Caribbean islands. See our photo gallery of the best shots taken by RORC photographers over the past week to find out which crews were fastest.
Around paradise in 3 days
The first 600-mile race of the year as seen by RORC photographers
Battle for a place in the wind
The handicap system is ruthless. Despite the fact that the Italian trimaran Multi 70 Maserati and its American rival MOD 70 Argo were the very first to finish RORC Caribbean 600 and set a new record (just under 31 hours), the main prize of the race did not go to any of these teams.
Towards victory.
Who was the lucky one? MOCRA has an American crew on the Gunboat 62 Chim Chim. Taking into account the «equalization» of her result 66 hours and 21 minutes, while the «bronze» result Argo - 67 hours 42 minutes and 56 seconds. The Italians from Maserati, who set the record for the race, were awarded only 4th place. In reality, they were 7 minutes ahead of Argo, but with the handicap, the team lost. «Silver» went to the American crew of Bieker 53 Fujin, who came in third among multihull vessels.
In the blue sea, in the white foam... White rhinoceros!
Much less dramatic were the results in the IRC echelon. The winner was the American crew of Volvo 70 Wizard. Despite the fact that the team took part in the Caribbean 600 for the first time, even without the handicap, it finished third in the entire fleet of the race and the first among monotypes. After the «equalization», when the real time of 43 hours, 38 minutes, 44 seconds turned into 71 hours, 8 minutes and 32 seconds, the team still did not give anyone their leading position. The American crew of the Carkeek 47 White Rhino 2 (photo) with the result 81 hours, 29 minutes and 50 seconds took 7th place among IRC boats.
Beyond the horizon.
The only Russian team of Mikhail Mataruev, who went in the race on Mobile 53 Anna, finished 27 among monotypes. The crew covered the 600-mile route in 72 hours, 40 minutes and 39 seconds. The British flagged international team at the First 40 Optimus Prime, in which the skipper was Russian Yuri Fadeev, crossed the finish line 83 hours, 59 minutes and 44 seconds after the start. The boat became the 46th one-hulled boat to return to Antigua. But the crew under the flag of the Cayman Islands, led by Russian Victor Malakhov, left the race early. Shipman 80 Ivanka covered 535 of «the» 600 nautical miles and left the race.
On Roerich's envy.
In Class 40 all 3 prize places went to the French crews. And all of them passed the distance for 61 hours, and the first place from the second is separated by four minutes, and the second from the third - and only two. «Eärendil has gold» (21 minutes, 50 seconds), Aïna Enfance Et Avenir has «silver» (photo; 25 minutes, 10 seconds) and Lamotte-Module Création has «bronze» (27 minutes, 43 seconds).
A drop in the sea, a pebble at the foot of the mountain.
In virtual regatta RORC Caribbean 600 the first place was taken by Swiss player Buddha-BSP «». His boat passed the route in 59 hours, 28 minutes and 49 seconds. With a delay of 21 seconds, «Raketa»from Russia finished second. «MidnightFoiler», the «bronze-winning» Australian, lost 1 minute and 28 seconds to the leader.