North Sea Race

A Classic Forged by the North Sea

1947. Europe was still healing from its wounds, yet crews were already racing between England and the Netherlands in what would become one of the oldest fixtures on the Royal Ocean Racing Club calendar. Nearly eight decades later, the North Sea Race has lost none of its rugged character.

Organized jointly by the RORC, the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, the East Anglian Offshore Racing Association, and Yacht Club Scheveningen, this race embodies European offshore racing at its rawest: headwinds, fierce tidal streams, fog thick enough to slice. The North Sea forgives nothing.

The 2026 edition counts toward the RORC Season's Points Championship — the world's largest offshore racing series — raising the stakes even higher for every crew on the start line.

Harwich to Scheveningen: 148 to 180 Miles of Pure Tactics

The starting gun fires on 15 May 2026 off Harwich, on England's east coast. Destination: the Netherlands. In between lies a course of 148 to 180 nautical miles depending on mark placement, where every decision carries weight.

Key Points on the Course

• Harwich Start — launch scheduled around 10:30 local time, in the estuary where currents already set the rhythm.
• Smith's Knoll Buoy — the major strategic mark. Planted off Norfolk, it demands precision navigation. In 2024, dense fog turned this passage into an exercise in instrument-based survival.
• The Eastward Crossing — after rounding Smith's Knoll, it's due east into Dutch waters. Cross-currents, heavy shipping traffic: this is often where races pivot.
• Finish at Scheveningen — finish line near the harbor, under the gaze of the local Yacht Club.

Classes and Format: IRC as the Final Judge

The North Sea Race welcomes a wide range of yachts under IRC handicap, where corrected time reshuffles the deck. First across the line isn't necessarily the one who lifts the trophy — as 2024 proved spectacularly.

IRC Super Zero & Zero

The weapons of war. VO65 NextGen, Ker 46 ROST Van Uden, Carkeek 52 Oystercatcher XXXV — 50+ footers gunning for Line Honours, the real-time win.

IRC One

Top-end cruiser-racers, 40 to 45 feet. The J/122s (including Moana and Ajeto!) regularly cross swords with the X-Yachts in battles decided by millimeters.

IRC Two

An explosive class mixing modern designs with proven performers. The J/122 Ajeto! (often double-entered) and Sun Fast 3600 Bellino rank among the benchmarks.

IRC Three & Four

Boats ranging from 30 to 40 feet, often helmed by enlightened amateurs who have nothing to envy the pros. The X-362 Extra Djinn, IRC overall winner in 2024, is masterful proof. The S&S 41 Winsome and S&S 39 Sunstone round out a fleet where experience trumps budget.

Double-Handed

The rising category. Two sailors, one boat, zero safety net. The duo of Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre aboard Ajeto! reigns with formidable consistency.

Crews to Watch in 2026

J/122 Ajeto! — The Unsinkables

Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre: overall winners in 2023, runners-up in 2024. This Dutch pair sails with surgical precision, particularly in double-handed configuration. They're returning with a clear objective: reclaim first place.

X-362 Extra Djinn — The Fleet's David

Michel Dorsman and his crew are defending their title. Their 2024 victory against much newer and larger boats reaffirmed a fundamental truth of offshore racing: in the North Sea, tactical intelligence is worth every foot of waterline length.

Ker 46 ROST Van Uden — The Rotterdam Pipeline

Skippered by Gerd-Jan Poortman, this 46-footer represents the Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team, a training program feeding Dutch sailing with talent. Regular IRC Zero podium finishers, the crew is aiming higher.

Sun Fast 3600 Bellino — Double-Handed Experience

Rob Craigie and Deb Fish — the latter being RORC Commodore — form a fearsome crew thoroughly versed in double-handed formats. The North Sea Race is still missing from their collection.

A Strategic Crossroads in the RORC Season

Positioned between the Cervantes Trophy Race (2 May) and the legendary Myth of Malham (23 May), this 2026 edition carries serious weight in the championship economy. Every point earned here can make the difference in the final season standings.

For Dutch crews, the stakes transcend sport. The home finish at Scheveningen energizes an "Oranje" fleet that's always heavily represented and supported by a knowledgeable public.

The race also serves as a full-scale proving ground: crew cohesion, equipment reliability, fine-tuning — everything that needs to work before the major summer events gets tested here, in the grey chop of the North Sea.

Find the complete RORC racing calendar on spencer.club and compare the entered boats to follow this edition closely.