026 ORC Double-Handed World Championship Opens With Tactical Short Offshore Race off Scheveningen
by Offshore Racing Congress 22 May 07:25 BST
18-25 May 2026
The opening championship challenge of the 2026 ORC Double-Handed World Championship, held from May 18-25, and hosted by Jachtclub Scheveningen in collaboration with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) during the North Sea Regatta, delivered close racing, tactical offshore conditions and impressive speed across all three ORC classes on the North Sea off Scheveningen.
A high-pressure system settled over the Netherlands for the opening day of racing - something the Dutch locals may enjoy, but not always the sailors. The significant temperature differences among land, sea, and air created a developing sea breeze that shaped the race throughout the afternoon. At the start, the fleet raced away from Scheveningen Harbour in approximately 10 knots of south-westerly breeze, with the forecast predicting a gradual drop toward 6 knots by the expected finish window later in the day.
The Short Offshore Race sent ORC Classes A and B over a 39.82 NM course northbound along the Dutch coast before turning offshore and returning toward Scheveningen. ORC Class C sailed a shorter 31.84 NM variation.
ORC Weather Routing Scoring predictions proved remarkably accurate, with elapsed times finishing very close to the predicted routing durations, confirming how precisely the North Sea conditions had been captured for the race.
ORC Class A - XR-41 X-ESTEEM opens the championship with victory
The Dutch XR-41 X-ESTEEM of former Dutch double-handed champions Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre claimed the opening Class A victory after completing the 39.82 NM course in an elapsed time of 5h 53m 58s and crossing the finishing line first in the class. The modern offshore-oriented XR-41 design once again demonstrated its strength in double-handed competition after already finishing second at the ORC DH Europeans in Spain earlier this season. Throughout the race, X-ESTEEM regularly posted speeds between 7.1 and 8.8 knots on different legs of the course.
Second place went to another Dutch campaign, the J-122 E MOANA sailed by Frans van Capelle and Thei van Hout, finishing 11 minutes 04 seconds behind the winners on corrected time.
Germany's XP 44 mod. LAXXI, sailed by Kai Stuebane and Knut Weijnen, completed the podium 18 minutes 46 seconds behind X-ESTEEM.
ORC Class B - Proven JPK 10.30 platform delivers again
ORC Class B once again highlighted the strength of the proven JPK 10.30 platform in offshore double-handed racing.
The Dutch JETPACK, sailed by Diederik Forma and Martjin Graafmans, secured victory on the 39.82 NM course after 6h 24m 54s of elapsed racing. The result once again underlined the pedigree of the JPK 10.30 design in offshore double-handed sailing. Notably, the entire podium of the 2022 ORC DH Worlds in Class B was also made up of JPK 10.30s.
Second place went to the Swiss-flagged J-99 LÄLLEKÖNIG with Walter Kollmann and Wick Hillege, finishing 8 minutes 45 seconds behind the winners on corrected time.
Third place belonged to J-109 FIRESTORM, sailed by Wim van Slooten and Ivo Polderman, who finished 14 minutes 26 seconds behind JETPACK.
ORC Class C - WAVERIDER wins the fastest battle of the day
ORC Class C produced the fastest and closest racing of the day over the 31.84 NM course.
The Dutch Sun Fast 3200 WAVERIDER, sailed by Willem Schopman and highly accomplished offshore navigator Max Deckers, secured victory after an intense corrected-time battle with Germany's mixed offshore duo aboard the Sun Fast 30 OD GAIA.
Both boats regularly sailed at very high speeds throughout the race, with GAIA, sailed by Sverre Reinke and Lina Rixgens, reporting peaks close to 10 knots.
WAVERIDER's victory came as little surprise considering the experience on board. Max Deckers is widely recognised for his tactical and navigational expertise in major offshore events, including the Rolex Fastnet Race, The Ocean Race and a Rolex Middle Sea Race victory.
GAIA finished only 1 minute 22 seconds behind the winners on corrected time. Reinke and Rixgens brought impressive offshore credentials into the championship, including a victory in the Baltic 500 and participation in the Mixed Offshore World Championship and the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Defending Class C world champions Lars Bergkvist and Anders Dahlsjö aboard the Swedish Corby 25 ALTISSIMUS completed the podium just 4 minutes 02 seconds behind WAVERIDER after more than five hours of racing.
Main challenge ahead - the Long Offshore Race
The championship now turns toward its main challenge, the Long Offshore Race, scheduled to start on Friday at midday. The offshore marathon is expected to take approximately 48-60 hours for the slowest boats and will carry a higher scoring coefficient, making it the decisive race of the championship. The start of the long race will be streamed live, and the teams' journey can be followed via TracTrac.
Full Results Here