News Archive

Winter weather in central Florida in mid-February is notoriously variable, which is what 11 teams experienced who were registered for the 2026 ORC Midwinter Regatta as part of the 2026 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St Petersburg.

The ORC fleet took centre stage at the 2026 Annual Sea Regatta in Barcelona, held from 21–23 February and jointly organised by the Club Nàutic de Barcelona and the Société Nautique de Genève. While the event ran alongside the Barcelona J70 Winter Series, the ORC competition delivered its own compelling contest on coastal courses off the Catalan capital.

ORC exists to ensure that vastly different racing yachts — in size, design, and performance characteristics — can compete fairly on the same race course. Through advanced VPP-based handicap systems, ORC serves sailors and race organizers in more than 45 countries and remains the largest measurement-based rating system in the world.

The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) confirms that race organizers can now apply to use Weather Routing Scoring (WRS) for the 2026 season.

Entries for the ORC World Championship, the flagship event of the Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2026, will officially close on 28 February. To date, 118 boats are entered, confirming the event as one of the most important and best-attended fixtures on the international offshore racing calendar.

The NSW ORC Championship reached an exciting conclusion on Sunday, February 15, at the Pantaenius Pittwater Regatta, where shifting and fading breezes tested crews across a full six-race series sailed on the Palm Beach Circle.

In the first article, “When Averages Stop Being Fair,” I explored why a single rating number can never fully describe how a boat behaves across all conditions. Boats are not constant machines; they respond differently to wind strength, wind angle, and course geometry.

The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) is pleased to announce that the 2026 editions of ORC Rules and Regulations are available at https://orc.org/organization/rules-regulations. These rules serve as the framework that allows the world's largest measurement-based rating system to help serve the needs of a wide diversity of racing sailboats: Monohulls, Multihulls, Superyachts and Sportboats.

The Northern European Offshore Coordination group held its annual coordination meeting on February 7, 2026, in Vilnius, Lithuania. This long-standing alliance includes representatives from countries within the Nordic Sailing Federation (NOSF), which represents Group G in World Sailing, as well as partners from Germany and the Netherlands. Together, they form a vital platform for advancing offshore sailing across Northern Europe.

This past weekend, the Yacht Club of Greece hosted a comprehensive ORC Seminar dedicated to sailors, race organizers, rating officers, and measurers. The two-day event combined presentations, discussions, and practical workshops, attracting more than 25 participants from across Greece.

The 2026 ORC VPP update introduces a targeted technical adjustment aimed at safeguarding the accuracy and consistency of performance predictions as yacht designs continue to evolve.

Special hospitality offers have been announced for teams registered for the ORC European Championship 2026, with the host city of Klaipėda extending a warm welcome to visiting sailors through discounted accommodation and dining options. In addition, organizers have confirmed a special welcome gift for the first 20 teams registering from abroad: a traditional Lithuanian dinner for the entire crew.

The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) has unanimously approved a refined update to the 2026 Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) following an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on January 29. The decision represents an important step in safeguarding fairness, stability, and scientific integrity within the ORC rating system.

With just one month to go, the countdown is on for the ORC Double-Handed European Championship 2026, held in conjunction with the 40th anniversary edition of the 200 Millas A2. Organised by Altea Sailing Club (Club Náutico Altea – CN Altea) in collaboration with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC), the event will take place from March 1-7, and has already made headlines by breaking its all-time registration record–more than 70 boats entered two months ahead of the start.

One of the most anticipated sailing events of the year, the 2026 Rolex South Atlantic Circuit for ORC and ORC Sportboat classes, concluded with the traditional Vuelta a la Isla Gorriti (Round Gorriti Island Race). The event took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay, co-organized by the Yacht Club Argentino and the Yacht Club Punta del Este, with Rolex as title sponsor.

Saturday, 31 January, 14:00 CET (UTC+1) – The road to the ORC Double-Handed World Championship 2026 continues with a can’t-miss learning opportunity for offshore and double-handed sailors: the Scheveningen Sail Summit: Masterclasses, streamed live from the Netherlands.

The Notice of Race is posted and registration is open for the 62nd edition of Rolex Big Boat Series, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, California. In addition to four days of highly competitive racing in select classes, this year’s event also serves as the 2026 ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) North American Championship.

The Bosphorus Cup, one of the world’s most renowned international sailing events, celebrates its 25th anniversary with great enthusiasm in 2026.