Burnie put the idea to the
RORC’s CEO, Eddie Warden-
Owen, who liked the
concept, and the next year it
was started with a small
fl eet of 24 yachts.
The race has never had an overall sponsor, and that fi rst
year it a made a loss. But Warden-Owen saw the potential
and stuck with it. “It was suggested we should run it every
other year,” he recalls, “and I remember our treasurer saying:
‘That’s great; it will take us twice as long to go broke!’”
Warden-Owen felt it needed to be an annual part of the
calendar to gain momentum, and was right. Word soon
got out that the Caribbean 600 was a fun but tricky event
and anything but the dawdle round the islands some
might have assumed. Over the last decade, it has evolved
into a genuine Blue Riband event.
Today it ranks with the Rolex Middle Sea Race and even
the RORC’s own Fastnet Race as a must-do offshore event,
arduous in its own special way, but also sunny... and in the
Caribbean... and in February.
Compared with the other major 600-milers, this race is
even more international, with entries from 27 countries
and the fl eet spans yachts as small as 30ft – the
smallest this year was the open Seacart 30 – through a
Above: race base
at Falmouth
Harbour, Antigua.
Below: party time!› Dockside chat and preparations. The RORC Caribbean has amazing camaraderie
GUADALOUPEANTIGUAStart/finishST BARTHS
BARBUDAST KITTSSABAST EUSTATIUSNEVIS
REDONDAMONTSERRATANGUILLA
ST MARTINST MAARTENLE
EW
A
R
D(^) I
S L A N D S
Atlantic
Ocean
Caribbean
Sea
N
nautical miles
0 10 20 30 40 50
Photos: Tim Wright and Arthur Daniel/RORC