News Archive

Racing for Rolexes, Perpetual Trophies & ORC Championship Titles at St. Francis Yacht Club, September 16-20, 2026

A total of 170 yachts have flocked to Porto Cervo, from the very first Swan ever built to the new Swan 128 and Swan 80 designs. Racing gets underway on 16 September, and concludes on Saturday, 19 September 2026.

Leopard 3 claims the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship; Northstar III the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship. Artemis Bleu, Yoru, H2O and Highland Fling XVIII take class honours.

The 36th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the International Maxi Association and with the support of title sponsor Rolex, officially gets underway today with the Skippers’ Briefing scheduled for 6 p.m. on the YCCS terrace, followed at 7 p.m. by the Welcome Cocktail. Racing will begin tomorrow, Monday 7 September, with the first signal scheduled for 12 noon CEST, and the event concludes on Saturday 12 September with the prize-giving ceremony in Piazza Azzurra.

ORC joins Norway and the sailing world in mourning the loss of H.M. King Harald V, who served for decades as Honorary Chairman of our organization, following many years in the same role at World Sailing, then known as IYRU.

The Offshore Racing Congress is pleased to share the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s announcement that the historic Settimana delle Bocche will return to the Club’s sporting calendar in 2027. The event will take place from 26 April to 1 May as part of the YCCS’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

Sunshine, national flags, champagne and celebrations both on the water and at the dock marked the final day of the Klaipėda ORC European Championship, where Denmark’s DIXI 5 and Sweden’s Garmin Team Pro4u were crowned the 2026 ORC European champions.

Lithuanian and Estonian teams shared the spotlight in Friday’s Volfas Engelman Leg. KETURI VĖJAI led RHINO to a home one-two in Classes A and B, while SHADOW and SUGAR delivered an Estonian one-two in Class C after mastering the lighter conditions of the short offshore race.

Sunshine, a steady breeze and close tactical racing delivered near-perfect conditions on Thursday as the 2026 Klaipėda ORC European Championship fleet completed three windward-leeward races in the Klaipėda City Municipality Leg. DIXI 5 and Garmin Team Pro4u strengthen their leads as three inshore races bring the first discard into play.

After the endurance test of the Klaipėda Port Long Offshore Race, the Klaipėda ORC European Championship fleet returned to the water on Wednesday for a very different challenge: two short, tactical windward-leeward races in the Sportland Inshore Races leg.

Denmark’s DIXI 5 and Sweden’s Garmin Team Pro4u have won the opening race of the Klaipėda ORC European Championship 2026 after a fast, intense and physically demanding night in the Baltic Sea. The non-discardable Klaipėda Port Long Offshore Race sent Class AB around a 240-nautical-mile course, while Class C raced 195 nautical miles.

The Klaipėda ORC European Championship 2026 begins today with its first scoring race, the Klaipėda Port Long Offshore Race. The first warning signal was displayed at 12:00, with Classes A and B starting at 12:05, followed by Class C at 12:15.

Finishing with a second place just behind Hispania, the Spanish Navy’s ORC 52 skippered by King Felipe, Mauro Gestri’s Italian team on Vudu laid to rest a full year of hurt when they clinched the Abanca ORC 0 title today after missing out 12 months ago due to a disqualification.

The wait is over. After three years of preparation, the Klaipėda ORC European Championship 2026 has officially opened, bringing leading offshore racing teams from across Europe to Lithuania’s port city. Klaipėda has become livelier with every arriving yacht, sailor and spectator.

Despite very warm sea temperatures and ongoing hot daytime values the reliable sea breeze was blowing nicely today on the Bay of Palma to produce perfect conditions for teams putting the finishing touches to their preparation for 44 Copa del Rey Mapfre which starts Tuesday with a hundred boats set to line up in six classes on three different race areas.

With one week remaining until the 2026 ORC European Championship in Klaipėda, Lithuania's leading offshore teams have completed their final competitive rehearsal at the ORC Prologue Race Klaipėda on July 25-26, held as part of the 59th Curonian Lagoon Regatta.

From 7–15 August 2026, Klaipėda, Lithuania, will host the ORC European Championship for the first time, welcoming one of the strongest offshore racing fleets in Europe. Reigning world and European champions will line up alongside some of the newest and fastest racing yachts on the international circuit, promising an exceptional battle for the continental titles.

The reigning World Champion, the reigning European Champion, the European runner-up, and the winners of the Sandberg PalmaVela and the SM La Reina Trophy will go head-to-head in one of the most competitive and unpredictable classes of the 44 Copa del Rey Mapfre.