The crew are confirmed, flights are booked, t-shirts are at the printers and everyone is getting ready for the RORC Caribbean 600 and preparing to defend our title at the Heineken St Maarten Regatta. Scarlet Oyster, once the boat used by the Ellen McArthur’s Sailing Trust for their Round Britain event in 2009, is an Oyster Lightwave 48. She has benefited from continuous improvement, a major refit in 2008 and on-going investment in high-quality racing sails including North 3DLs.
Owner Ross Applebey told us “She has also been optimised to the IRC handicapping rule with a new keel in 2011. While she sails well in lighter winds, above 15knots she is a formidable contender and should prove very effective in typical Caribbean conditions!”. Her race results speak for themselves, and she won most of the JOG series in 2011, as well as several RORC races and finished 2nd in class in the Fastnet 2011 – just pipping our own Quokka on corrected time!
She'll be racing as 'Scarlet Logic' with Tim Thubron skippering, who in 2011 finished 4th in the RORC Caribbean 600 and won the Heineken St Maarten Regatta! Tim and Ross make a great team too - the last time they raced together they won Antigua Race Week - so we think we have all the ingredients for an exciting Caribbean season!
The RORC 600 is the only offshore race in the Caribbean racing season, following a course that weaves in and around the Leeward Islands. With consistent trade winds but challenging local effects – it is only in it’s 4th year but is has already become a firm favourite, anticipating 500 entries from 24 countries!
As well as tracking our Scarlet Logic, there are a number of other interesting entries to keep an eye on, including Hetairos - the worlds largest carbon conmposite 200ft yacht - favourite to take line honours, but the Spanish Volvo 70 Gran Jotiti (former Telafonica Black) is also super-fast!
The race starts on 20th February 2012 and can be followed live on the RORC website fleet tracker.
The 32nd Heineken St Maarten Regatta promises more ‘serious fun’ with 4 days of racing and partying scheduled! The racing is a mix of inshore and passage races, and each evening has a musical event in a different location. Having won in class last year, Tim Thubron comments "It really is serious fun and I’m excited to be back defending our win from last year!" and with 4 of the crew staying on after the Caribbean 600 to race in St Maarten, we hoping to have a good chance at some great results!
Follow Scarlet Logic's progress on our web-blog, twitter feed and facebook page!
And if you'd like to register your interest for next year, drop us a note and we'll keep you informed!
