Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard FD July August September 2023

Solo Offshore Racing Club - Introductory Workshop

by Deb Fish 21 Oct 2013 07:41 BST 7 December 2013
Racing for the SORC Wonky Mainsail Trophy © SORC

Let SORC show you what solo yacht racing is all about and how to start

Were you awestruck by the last edition of the Vendee Globe and its super hero skippers? Is your perception of a solo yacht racer one of a madman with a wild fixed stare? Is solo offshore yacht racing a pastime for fringe lunatics? Why would anyone want to Go Solo? How do they do it?

Well, actually, you can do it too and we would like to show you how. The Solo Offshore Racing Club, sponsored for this event by Sea Ventures UK Ltd, consists of a fleet of solo amateur enthusiasts, male and female, young and not so young, all normal people with normal jobs sailing normal cruiser racers. We would like to share our experiences with you and welcome you to the most satisfying and personally challenging sailing discipline you are ever likely to encounter.

  • Where: Royal Southampton YC, 1 Channel Way, Ocean Village, Southampton, Hampshire. SO14 3QF
  • When: Saturday 7th December 2013 10:00 - 16:00

Solo Offshore Racing Club are holding an Introductory Workshop for sailors wanting to explore what Solo racing is all about. It is aimed at sailors who are reasonably experienced with crewed racing and want to understand what it means to Go Solo.

The workshop will be facilitated by SORC members who are all experienced solo and short handed racers so you will be talking with the skippers who do it.

We want to give you a taste of what it is all about and demystify Solo racing. We also invite you to join us in our 2014 inshore and offshore programme of races.

There will be tea/coffee/lunch breaks which will provide good opportunities for talking informally with us and asking any questions you may have.

Topics for Exploration:

  • Boat Set Up
  • Boat / Sail Handling
  • Race Planning and Management
  • Safety Issues
  • Personal Management

North Sails introduce the topic of sail choices and the considerations and differences for solo sails and how they are set up.

Deb Fish provides reflections on her first season solo racing

Nigel Colley, Chris Rustom, Simon Mitchell and Rob Craigie – established SORC racers – will lead the interactive workshops and to answer questions from the floor.

The cost of the day, with sponsorship from Jeanneau Yacht distributors and Yacht Brokers, Sea Ventures UK Ltd, is only £20.00 and includes a buffet lunch.

More details can be found here.

Related Articles

SORC Islands in the Stream Series concludes
The win wraps up a second consecutive season series win for Zig Zag Andrew Clarke's J-122 Zig Zag edged out Chris Lewis' J-44 Kenai by 31 seconds to win the ORC 3 Class and Fleet in the 2024 Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race. Posted on 21 Mar
SORC Inshore Series Races 1 & 2 - Cowes to Poole
A nice warm up to the SORC 2023 season Fabulous sailing conditions on the Saturday outward leg to Poole gave a nice warm up to the SORC 2023 season, followed by no wind and an abandoned homeward race on the Sunday. 16 skippers entered the event including 2 rookies. Posted on 18 Apr 2023
SORC Hayling Bay Weekend 2022, Inshore Races 8 & 9
The weather gods planned something for everyone The weather gods planned something for everyone last weekend, and some weather for no-one. The first challenge was getting to the starting area. Posted on 8 Oct 2022
2020 SORC Lay-up Nab Tower Race
An entertaining and sometimes challenging 30 mile solo race Sixteen skippers lined up for the final race of the 2020 SORC season. They were treated to an entertaining and sometimes challenging 30 mile solo race from Cowes to the Nab Tower and back. Posted on 15 Oct 2020
SORC Offshore Series Races 7 & 8
Cherbourg and back concludes series with interesting and close results Light airs did not detract from very close competition in the final two Offshore Series races, from the Solent to Cherbourg and back, with some close results and a maiden SORC win for Richard Clark on his Sun Fast 3200 "Fury". Posted on 5 Sep 2018
James Hardiman Blog 5: Offshore Races 3 & 4
SORC Cowes to Guernsey and back after Solo Round the Rock repairs For any newcomers to this blog, I'm writing about what it's like to race yachts, solo, in an offshore series with SORC (Solo Offshore Racing Club). Posted on 6 Aug 2018
James Hardiman Blog 5: SoloFASTNET finished!
Tough and challenging is no understatement This blog is about my journey through a solo yacht racing season. I'm hoping to give readers an insight into what it's like to race yachts singlehanded, inshore and offshore in the UK's top Corinthian races. Posted on 20 Jun 2018
SORC SoloFASTNET Race update
Twenty-eight intrepid solo skippers start from Cowes on Saturday Twenty-eight intrepid solo skippers set off from Cowes yesterday in sparkling sunshine and a 15 knot SWly breeze for the start of the 2018 edition of the soloFASTNET race. Posted on 3 Jun 2018
James Hardiman Blog 4
Will I make the start of the SoloFASTNET? For those following my blog, you may recall that I'm writing about my journey through a solo race season, and what it takes to set up a new boat from scratch and get her race-ready for the SoloFASTNET on June 2nd. The toughest solo race in the UK. Posted on 21 May 2018
James Hardiman Blog 3
Solo sailing and race preparation issues... I've had the most disappointing start to a race season in the last 10 years! I seem to be plagued with boat problems, which is not a new phenomenon in the world of yacht racing but at least many readers of have sent supportive messages. So, thank you. Posted on 2 May 2018