The RORC Caribbean 600 is known for high calibre offshore racing in Champagne conditions, attracting a variety of entrants across IRC, multihull and Class 40 divisions. And the 14th edition proved no different, this year drawing 70 boats with nearly 600 sailors from 30 nations to the startline under the dramatic backdrop of Antigua’s Towers of Hercules. As the gun went, spectators looked down from the clifftop onto a stunning showcase of boat-on-boat action in 18kts of breeze and rolling swell.
You’d be forgiven then for thinking that the scene at the finish line – some 30 hrs, 55 mins and 45 secs later – seemed something of an anti-climax, as the leading boat, Erik Marais’ MOD70 Zoulou (FRA), crossed in near-slow motion to take multihull line honours.
But that was far from the case, as the giant multi claimed the accolade by just 11 seconds after racing 600 complex nautical miles through the Caribbean islands neck-and-neck with rival MOD70 – leaving Giovanni Soldini’s Italian team settling for the runners-up spot for the second consecutive year. As a snapshot finale, it couldn’t have been more dramatic – so close was the action that neither boat knew the result as the winner.
