2026 RORC North Sea Race - Preview
by Louay Habib / RORC 12 May 14:39 BST
15 May 2026
2026 North Sea Race Course © YB Races
The world's largest offshore racing series, the RORC Season's Points Championship, continues on 15 May. First raced in 1931, the RORC North Sea Race is one of the Club's longest standing offshore races, linking the UK and the Netherlands.
Starting from outside the Royal Harwich Yacht Club across a demanding 165nm North Sea course, the race finishes off Scheveningen, Netherlands.
The North Sea Race is a serious offshore test with strong tides, sandbanks, commercial traffic, wind farms and shifting North Sea weather all playing their part. Crews must balance tidal strategy, VMG and boat speed negotiating restricted areas and shipping lanes. Key decisions points include the sandbanks near the start, the approach to Smith's Knoll and the complexity of the finish off the Dutch coast.
The North Sea is also one of the most complex areas of the course for the forthcoming RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race.
International fleet bound for Scheveningen
The entry list features a strong fleet of approximately 50 boats with Dutch, British, German and Belgian crews set for the overnight race across the North Sea. Among the fully crewed boats to watch are past overall and class winners under IRC including the Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team's Ker 46 Van Uden skippered by van Veen & van Dongen, van Cappelle & Witsenburg's J/122 Moana, 2024 overall winner Michel Dorsman with his new MAT 1070 Checkmate, Swan 44 Astrid skippered by Paddy Moriaty, Radboud Crul's Dehler 36 Rosetta and Paul Scott's Sigma 38 Spirit.
The IRC Double-Handed entries boast strong competition from Great Britain & the Netherlands including a battle between 2025 overall winner under IRC, Rob Craigie's Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, racing with RORC Commodore Deb Fish, taking on Astrid de Vin & Roeland Franssens' JPK 1030 Il Corvo. The Anglo Dutch quartet actually raced together in this year's RORC Caribbean 600 but once the starting gun goes for the North Sea Race, the competition should be intense.
Second overall last year was Diederik Forma with his JPK 1030 Jetpack, which hopes to go one better, this year racing with Martijn Graafmans. Overall IRC winners in 2023, John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef, will race their new Dutch Xr 41 X-Esteem, which has been optimised for short-handed racing. Schram & van Marle's J/110 Little Mav brings deep Dutch double handed experience to the fleet. Second overall last year was Diederik Forma with his JPK 1030 Jetpack, which hopes to go one better, this year racing with Martijn Graafmans.
Besides Bellino and Astrid, British boats also making the delivery from the Solent to Harwich for the North Sea Race are the fully-crewed RORC Griffin team, skippered by Wheland & Jarman and Gavin Howe's Tigris which will be racing double-handed with Griffin Pathway sailor Albert Barber. Both Sun Fast 3600s will be competing in this year's Round Britain & Ireland Race, whose 1805nm course goes through the North Sea.
Heritage, hospitality and hard earned silverware
The North Sea Race has a long history linking British and Dutch offshore racing, the finish at Jachtclub Scheveningen provides a warm welcome after a tough passage across the North Sea. Prestigious trophies include the Goeree Challenge Cup for the best corrected time under IRC, alongside class trophies and the Golden Dragon Trophy for IRC Two Handed. The C70 Trophy is awarded for the winner of The Netherlands vs Great Britain match - may the best teams win!
For more information about the Royal Ocean Racing Club: www.rorc.org