When the gun goes at Fort Charlotte, Antigua on Monday 21st February to mark the start of the RORC Caribbean 600, the racing crews will be pumped up with adrenalin to begin a high-speed adventure in arguably the best sailing grounds in the world. Warm breeze, day and night with big waves typify this race, making the central Caribbean a very special place to race.

"This race has it all," said Boogie, the skipper of the Swan 51 Star Chaser: "Lots of wind, no wind, big seas, flat seas, rain and sunshine.Our crew and Star Chaser have enjoyed every part of it and we worked very hard to keep the boat racing as fast as we could. When doing 8.5 almost 10 knots going to windward, you forget about getting soaked on the foredeck and just enjoy the ride!"

America's Cup and round the world helmsman, Gavin Brady was very impressed with the racecourse: "This race has something for everyone, certainly a race course where you have to concentrate all the time. I sailed in shorts and T-shirt the whole race, even though the wind strength got up to 20 knots. That's something you don't say very often after a 600 mile classic."

* ICAP Leopard, the record breaking 100ft super-maxi racing yacht owned by Helical Bar PLC chief executive Mike Slade, will cross the start line of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's (RORC) Caribbean 600 race at English Harbour in Antigua. Having set the, as-yet, unbeaten course record of 44 hours and 5 minutes in the 2009 inaugural race, the team are working to prepare the boat for the multitude of challenges that the race presents. The 605 mile course will see ICAP Leopard weave its way through the 14 islands of the central Caribbean.

Slade will be joined by co-skipper Clarke Murphy from New York. Together they will lead a crew of vastly experienced offshore talent, including top Volvo Ocean Race sailor and former Green Dragon Bowman Freddie Shanks (GBR), Volvo Ocean Race and Ericsson 4 sailor Guy Salter (GBR) on the bow and former Puma Ocean Racing Watch leader, Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) as Tactician. Other notable members of the crew include former GBR America's Cup sailor Ian Budgen and veteran navigator Hugh Agnew.

Speaking about the conditions expected during the race, Tactician Rob Greenhalgh said: "The weather is quite changeable at the moment. The Caribbean has been experiencing an intensely dry season for the last few months and we have recently been experiencing severe squalls. These squalls produce intense rain combined with strong winds which, if used advantageously, will really boost our chances of beating our previous record."

caribbean600.rorc.org

 

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