Seven category champions have been crowned after the 2026 RORC Cowes Offshore Series brought nearly 150 boats together for a season of accessible, high-quality offshore racing from Cowes.
Venomous, L’Ange de Milon, Bulldog, Bellino and Zanzibar claimed the five IRC class titles, while Slinky Malinki won the Multihull division under MOCRA and Swift topped Class40.
Running from 2 May – 6 September, the Series combined seven established RORC races: the Cervantes Trophy, Myth of Malham, De Guingand Bowl, Salcombe Gin Morgan Cup, Cowes Dinard St Malo Race, Channel Race and Nautical Cloud Cherbourg Race. The best five results counted towards each boat’s final score.
The fleet ranged from a Contessa 32 to a Volvo 70, bringing Grand Prix campaigns, experienced offshore teams, youth crews and Corinthian sailors into the same programme. With most races starting on Saturday morning and finishing in time for crews to return home on Sunday, the format delivered serious offshore competition without demanding a full week away from work and plenty of fun both afloat and at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse.
Graeme Lewis’ Carroll Marine 60 Venomous won IRC Zero, ahead of James Neville’s Botin 52 Ino Veritas and Guy Gillon’s Botin 56 Khumbu.
IRC One produced a close contest. Jacques Pelletier’s French prototype L’Ange de Milon finished just 16.7 points ahead of Trevor Middleton’s JPK 1180 Black Sheep. Nick and Jacquetta Edmonds’ J/45 Stickleback completed the class podium.
RORC Vice Commodore Derek Shakespeare, racing his J/122 Bulldog was the clear winner in IRC Two. Jean-Eudes Renier’s Pogo RC Midnight Blues was second, with Richard Powell’s First 40 Rogan Josh third.
Rob Craigie’s Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, raced with RORC Commodore Deb Fish, won a deep IRC Three. Ian Hoddle’s Sun Fast 3300 Game On was second and Fujitsu British Soldier, campaigned by the Army Sailing Association, placed third.
In IRC Four, Inka Luhrs and Richard Bretherton’s Sun Fast 3200 Zanzibar scored won by 25 points from Mark Brown’s JPK 1010 Jetpack. Rob Cotterill’s J/109 Mojo Risin completed the top three.
The closest title fight came in the Multihull division. Peter Coote’s Dazcat 1295 Slinky Malinki defeated Didier Bouillard’s Minor Swing, another Dazcat 1295, by just 6.3 points. Dave Summers’ Dazcat 1495 DMS Vinyl was third.
Greg Leonard’s Swift won Class 40, ahead of Nicolas Lemarchand’s Weeecycling.
For several teams, the Series formed the opening part of a two-year campaign towards the 2027 Rolex Fastnet Race. It also gave the RORC Griffin Pathway’s under-30 crew responsibility for planning, preparing and racing its own campaign, building skills on and off the water. Multiple Griffin teams raced the club’s Sun Fast 3600 RORC Griffin, giving an extended squad valuable experience.
RORC Commodore Deb Fish said the racing and the atmosphere ashore were equally important: “The more you put in, the more you get out. The more you come to the post-race parties, the more you chat with your competitors, the more you learn, the faster you go and the more likely you are to win next year. We’ve had a great time!”
Winners of trophies and awards from the 2026 RORC Cowes Offshore Series will be honoured at the RORC Annual Dinner and Prize Giving.
