RORC 2026: Bellino Wins Fourth Straight Title, Palanad 4 Yacht of the Year

Bellino, the Sun Fast 3600 sailed two-handed by Rob Craigie and RORC Commodore Deb Fish, has won the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship for a fourth consecutive year. Olivier Magré's Mach 50 Palanad 4, skippered by Antoine Magré, is RORC Yacht of the Year.

Bellino's haul

As well as the overall title, Bellino took the Jazz Trophy (IRC Overall), the Grenade Goblet (IRC Three), the Psipsina Trophy (IRC Two-Handed), the Boyd Trophy (Mixed Two-Handed), the Keith Ludlow Trophy and the Serendip Trophy. "We do the preparation ourselves, so that's a big saving every year," said Craigie.

Class champions

Second overall went to Ian Hoddle's Sky Business Game On, and third to the Army Sailing Association's Fujitsu British Soldier, whose crew member Jake Salmon also won the Duncan Munro Kerr Youth Challenge Trophy.

Prize-giving

Trophies will be presented at the RORC Annual Dinner on Saturday 14 November 2026 at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London, with Dee Caffari MBE as guest speaker. It's sold out, with a waiting list.

Every boat in this list races under IRC. Our new guide explains how IRC ratings work.

What is the Royal Ocean Racing Club?

The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) was founded in 1925 after the first Fastnet Race and is based in St James's, London, and Cowes on the Isle of Wight. It runs some of the world's best-known offshore races, including the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, the RORC Caribbean 600 and the Rolex Middle Sea Race (with the Royal Malta Yacht Club), and co-manages the IRC rating rule.

What is the Season's Points Championship?

The Season's Points Championship rewards consistency across the RORC's offshore programme: boats score points in each race they enter, with longer races worth more, and the best results count towards the overall table. Winning it four years in a row, as Bellino has, means turning up and performing in a long run of races in all weathers.

The rise of double-handed offshore racing

Bellino is sailed by just two people. Two-handed (double-handed) offshore racing has boomed over the last decade, helped by boats such as the Sun Fast 3300 and 3600 and JPK designs that are easy to sail short-handed. It demands good watchkeeping, heavy weather skills and self-reliance, since there's no one else to wake.

Key facts

• Season champion: Bellino (Sun Fast 3600), Rob Craigie and Deb Fish, 4th straight title
• Yacht of the Year: Palanad 4 (Mach 50), Olivier and Antoine Magré
• Prize-giving: 14 November 2026, Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London
• Guest speaker: Dee Caffari MBE

Guides associés

• What is IRC?
• RORC Caribbean 600 2027

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