RORC 600 Wrap up: Canadians fare well in Paradise

RORC Hermes Ocean Racers

Mar 12, 2020

The RORC Caribbean 600 circumnavigates 11 Caribbean Islands with crews that include some of the finest sailors in the sport – Olympians, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendee Globe, America’s Cup and round the world record-breakers.

Emily of CowesThis year four Canadian teams participated. Emily of Cowes an Elan 450 chartered from LV Yachting by Katy Campbell of Vancouver did the best out of the Canadian entries. She was second in IRC Three and 18th overall in the IRC fleet, which is great in a highly competitive fleet of 57 boats in the class. Katy runs the only RYA training centre on the west coast of North America and along with Nikki Henderson sailed with an amateur crew for their first stab at the 600-miler. Stuart Dahlgren’s Beneteau First 40.7 Escapado competing for the first time finished 34th overall. 

Vancouver’s Katy Campbell and crew placed 2nd in IRC 3

Hermes, the Pogo 12.50 owned and co-skippered by Meg Reilly of NYC and Morgan Watson of Calgary placed 35th and Montréal-based Atlas Ocean Racing’ VO60, Esprit de Corps III ranked 45th in the tough fleet.

RORC Six20

 

 

 

The Esprit de Corps III crew

The annual event drew a total of 73 boats including 700 sailors representing 37 nations.

Video Gallery

Neptunus 650F Review

Neptunus 650F 400

By Andy Adams

Over the years Canadian Yachting has had the pleasure of doing several boat review articles on new Neptunus models and we are familiar with the qualities that Neptunus is famous for. They have all been exceptional yachts, but this is the one I would most want to own myself. It’s a personal choice and a matter of taste as to whether you would prefer to have a sedan express model or a flybridge but in my opinion, the flybridge layout offers some wonderful attributes.

We met with Neptunus Managing Director Jan Willem De Jong this past fall to take the new Neptunus 650F out in Lake Ontario. 

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Destinations

The Other Virgin Islands

Sunset off St John

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I was first seduced by the United States Virgin Islands during a ferry ride from St. Thomas to Tortola to begin one of our earliest British Virgin Islands charters nearly twenty years ago.

A perfect sunset off St. John with St. Thomas views for backdrop.

Clearing Pillsbury Sound, surrounded by voluptuous emerald mountains as the ferry sliced through royal blue waters, I was struck by the unspoiled ambiance of St. John, the island gliding past our starboard beam and the irresistible charm of a village called Cruz Bay visible from our quarter stern.

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Lifestyle