The 16th RORC Caribbean 600 sailing race begins Monday at 11 am from Antigua’s Fort Charlotte. The 600-nautical-mile race features 67 boats from 22 nations with over 500 sailors competing.
Defending champion Leopard 3, skippered by Christopher Sherlock, aims to beat their time of 2 days, 1 hour, and 23 minutes, though the course record of 1 day, 5 hours, and 41 minutes was set by MOD 70 Argo in 2022.
Notable local participants include:
- The Warthog team, led by 26-year-old Jules Mitchell (the youngest skipper in the fleet), with an average crew age of 24
- Bernie Wong, 72, the oldest captain and only person to compete in all 16 races since 2009, sailing Huey II with the fleet’s youngest crew member, 15-year-old Carrack Jones
- Brothers Shannon and Rocco Falcone competing against each other on different boats (Bullitt and Warthog respectively)
The challenging course passes eleven Caribbean islands, starting from Antigua and going north to St. Martin, then south to Les Saints off Guadeloupe, passing several other islands before returning to Fort Charlotte.
