The Royal Ocean Racing Club is a club in London with a further clubhouse and office in
Cowes,
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
. It was established in 1925 as the Ocean Racing Club, as a result of a race to the
Fastnet Rock from Cowes, finishing in Plymouth. It received royal approval by King George V in November 1931 since when it has been known as the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
RORC was founded to encourage long distance yacht racing and the design, building and navigation of sailing vessels in which speed and seaworthiness are combined.
Rating Systems
In co-operation with the offshore racing department of the
Yacht Club de France, RORC is responsible for the
International Rating Certificate (IRC), the principal international handicap system for
yacht racing
Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course mark ...
.
Events
The RORC is the principal organiser of offshore
yacht races in the United Kingdom. It runs its own offshore series consisting of multiple races around the English Channel. In addition, it holds inshore racing within the Solent, primarily the Easter Regatta and IRC Nationals.
The following pinnacle events are also run by the RORC:
* Bi-Annual
Fastnet Race
* Quadrennial
RORC Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race
*
Admiral's Cup
*
Commodores' Cup
* Racing Division of
Atlantic Rally for Cruisers
More recently it has helped establish international races away from the United Kingdom with the assistance of local clubs:
*
RORC Caribbean 600 Race,
*
RORC Transatlantic Race
*
RORC Baltic Sea Race
Clubhouses
London
The club has traditionally been based in St James's Place in Mayfair London.
Cowes
In 2014 the ''Royal Corinthian Yacht Club of Cowes'' merged with RORC giving the RORC a more visible presence in Cowes where the majority of its Offshore Races start on the line of the
Royal Yacht Squadron
The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...
. The use of the building itself as a yacht club was established in 1948 by yachtsman Tiny Mitchell.
Other Offices
RORC Rating Office is based in Lymington and the race management team relocated from London to separate offices on Cowes High Street in the 2010s.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Official websiteIRC Rating websiteFastnet Race websiteRORC Caribbean 600 websiteRound Britain and Ireland Race websiteRORC Transatlantic Race website(East Anglian Offshore Racing Association), an alternative UK offshore yacht race organiser
*
JOG (Junior Offshore Group), an alternative UK offshore yacht race organiser
{{Authority control
Royal yacht clubs
1925 establishments in England
Gentlemen's clubs in London
Organisations based in England with royal patronage
Yacht clubs in England
Sports clubs and teams established in 1925