RORC Caribbean 600 2026

English Harbor, Antigua — 23 February 2026

Caribbean IRC offshore classic 600 nm island circuit
55 boats in the fleet 3 editions covered 16 countries 600 nm International event fleet · as of 2026-07-10
Kinship

An Atlantic-to-Caribbean offshore campaign.

17 of the 55 Caribbean 600 fleet boats also raced the 2025 Fastnet — the long-haul offshore programs that thread the Atlantic, the Solent, and the 11-island Antigua loop into one winter.

 Hidden Shape

AEROBLADE leads at 32.7%.
The blue-water offshore signature on a 600 nm tropical loop.

18 light, agile racing platforms among the 54 classified boats; AEROMAX at 25.5% and DEEPFRAME at 12.7% complete the offshore podium.
Character

Eleven islands, six hundred miles, a trade-wind blue-water classic.

The RORC Caribbean 600 is 600 nautical miles around the volcanic Caribbean island chain from English Harbor, Antigua, where trade winds, squalls, and dramatic island wind shadows make a different race every fifty miles. The course rewards hull efficiency on the open-water tradewind legs, crew execution through the physically demanding island roundings, and tactical intelligence in the squall and katabatic-wind game that defines the passages between islands. The Guadeloupe wind shadow downwind of La Soufrière is the race's tactical crucible; the night passages off the volcanic slopes are a second one. FleetEdge tracks 55 boats across three editions admitted to the fleet — the 2024, 2025, and 2026 editions are populated in the analytic record, with the most recent 2026 edition fielding 26 of those 55 boats on the start line in February 2026.

The fleet runs AEROBLADE-led at 32.7% (18 boats), with AEROMAX at 25.5% (14 boats) and DEEPFRAME at 12.7% (7 boats) behind — a blue-water offshore signature. AEROBLADE is the light, agile racing-platform archetype that converts open-water trade-wind reaches into sustained speed; AEROMAX is the power-efficiency hybrid that drives upwind at moderate displacement; DEEPFRAME is the deep-hull stiff platform that runs drag-optimized through chop. The top three archetypes together account for 70.9% of the 55-boat fleet — a clear offshore signature where light reaching speed, power-efficient upwind drive, and deep-hull efficiency carry the long passages. STEELFORM follows at 10.9% (6 boats), with KEELFLEX at 7.3% (4 boats), GRAVITYRUN at 5.5% (3 boats), and GLIDEFORM at 3.6% (2 boats) rounding out the seven populated archetypes. One boat lacks enough certificate fields for classification. Sixteen countries are represented across the 55-boat fleet, led by GBR (14), USA (10), and FRA (6).

The Caribbean 600 is also an Atlantic-Caribbean campaign — 17 of the 55 fleet boats (30.9%) also raced the 2025 Fastnet. The overlap is structural, not coincidental: programs that target the long winter offshore in the Caribbean often thread the Solent in summer on the same boat and the same crew. Farr Design leads the fleet at 8 boats (14.5%) as the most-common designer, ahead of Rod Johnstone (J/Boats) and Judel-Vrolijk at 5 apiece (9.1%), and Reichel/Pugh, Frers, and Humphreys at 4 each. No single board dominates the fleet — Farr's lead is real but lives inside the fleet's wider multi-designer mix, and the next edition in February 2027 runs the same 11-island course under whatever trade-wind regime the Atlantic delivers on the day.

Event cohort view · 26 boats · as of 2026-07-10

Selected Race Result

RORC Caribbean 600 2026 — 600 nm round the volcanic Caribbean chain.

26 of the 55 fleet boats raced the 2026 edition on 23 February 2026 across 10 countries on one race — an offshore-island-circuit course scored IRC Overall, with comparative-allowance data on the 11 boats that reached FleetEdge’s comparative-data threshold.

Headlines

Dimension leaders — Caribbean 600 2026 fleet.

Leaders from the published 2026 edition data. Comparative Time — the allowance delta in sec/nm against the fleet’s ORC median — reads negative = faster than the rating expects; Crew Residual — the sec/nm gap between a boat’s actual pace and its archetype-expected pace — reads negative = the crew beat that baseline. Both comparative boards rank most-negative first.

Allowance — sec/nm vs ORC

1. SCOWLING DRAGON · −69.92
2. RIKKI · −64.85
3. BLACK JACK 100 · −55.54
Cohort 11 of 26 boats

Sail Drive Index

1. BLACK JACK 100 · 53
2. AEGIR · 40
3. JACKKNIFE · 31
Cohort 11 of 26 boats

Upwind VMG — 12 kt, kn

1. BLACK JACK 100 · 8.84
2. MONSTER PROJECT · 8.74
3. AEGIR · 7.32
Cohort 26 boats

Downwind VMG — 12 kt, kn

1. BLACK JACK 100 · 11.55
2. AEGIR · 8.58
3. INO NOIR · 8.02
Cohort 26 boats

Rated Pace — GPH sec/nm

1. BLACK JACK 100 · 325.2
2. MONSTER PROJECT · 394.7
3. INO NOIR · 458.5
Cohort 25 of 26 boats

Crew Residual — sec/nm

1. SCOWLING DRAGON · −74.81
2. RIKKI · −64.42
3. NEOJIVARO · −53.77
Cohort 10 of 26 boats
Stories

What the Caribbean 600 2026 fleet surfaced.

Performance Verdict

INO NOIR converts a Ker-46 platform into third overall.

INO NOIR (Ker-46, Ker J, GBR) finished 3rd in IRC Overall at the 2026 Caribbean 600 — the best published result by any of the fleet’s 26 starters at this running. The result is platform-consistent rather than platform-defying: the Ker-46 sits 3rd on the fleet’s Downwind VMG-12kt board at 8.02 kn, 4th on Upwind VMG-12kt at 6.47 kn, and carries the third-fastest rated pace in the fleet at 458.5 GPH sec/nm — a 46-footer holding podium dimensional presence in a fleet headed by a 100-foot Super Maxi and a Volvo 70. The boat’s physics said front-of-fleet; the corrected scoreboard agreed.

  • IRC Overall: 3rd · published 2026 standings
  • Downwind VMG-12kt: 8.02 kn · 3rd of 26
  • Rated pace: 458.5 GPH sec/nm · 3rd of 25
Complete data RORC Caribbean 600 2026
Multi-Dimension Presence

BLACK JACK 100 stacks Sail Drive, rated pace, and both VMG-12kt boards.

BLACK JACK 100 (Super Maxi 100, Reichel/Pugh, AEROBLADE) tops four Caribbean 600 fleet Headlines at once — Sail Drive Index at 53 (13 points clear of AEGIR), Upwind VMG-12kt at 8.84 kn, Downwind VMG-12kt at 11.55 kn (2.97 kn clear of AEGIR), and the fleet’s fastest rated pace at 325.2 GPH sec/nm. The 100-foot Super Maxi is the only boat in the 2026 fleet to lead four separate dimension families across the same race, and it backs the physics boards with a −55.54 sec/nm allowance delta — 3rd on the comparative board. On a course where the open-water trade-wind reaches reward sustained drive and the island-cluster pointing sections reward upwind VMG, the AEROBLADE Super Maxi converts length and rig power into a leading dimensional position across both points of sail.

  • Sail Drive: 53 · 1st of 11 (13 clear of AEGIR)
  • Upwind / Downwind VMG-12kt: 8.84 / 11.55 kn · 1st of 26 on both
  • Rated pace: 325.2 GPH sec/nm · fastest of 25
Complete data RORC Caribbean 600 2026
Magnitude Gap

SCOWLING DRAGON runs 27.7 sec/nm faster than the comparative median.

SCOWLING DRAGON (Class 40, Owen Clarke design, AEROBLADE, USA) led the 2026 comparative-allowance field at −69.92 sec/nm vs the ORC median — 5.1 sec/nm clear of RIKKI (RP-42, Reichel/Pugh) at −64.85 and 27.7 sec/nm faster than the 11-boat comparative field’s median of −42.21. The 40-foot offshore one-design out-sailed its allowance harder than the maxis behind it — BLACK JACK 100 took 3rd on the board at −55.54 — the signature of a planing-capable shorthanded platform set up for exactly the sustained open-water reaching the Antigua loop serves. Over 600 nm, a 27.7 sec/nm edge over the median compounds to better than four and a half hours of corrected time.

  • 1st: SCOWLING DRAGON · −69.92 sec/nm · AEROBLADE
  • 2nd: RIKKI · −64.85 sec/nm · 5.1 sec/nm gap
  • Comparative-field median: −42.21 sec/nm · 11 of 26 boats
Complete data RORC Caribbean 600 2026
Composition Shift

The AEROBLADE tilt in the 2026 race field.

The 2026 running tilts the archetype mix further toward the light platforms: where the 55-boat fleet baseline runs AEROBLADE-led at 32.7% with AEROMAX at 25.5% and DEEPFRAME at 12.7%, the 11 of 26 starters carrying an archetype assignment at the view published nearest the race read AEROBLADE 5 (45.5%), AEROMAX 3 (27.3%), DEEPFRAME 2 (18.2%), and GRAVITYRUN 1 (9.1%). The two populations read on their own scopes — the baseline is the full three-edition fleet under the current published view, while the event slice covers only the classified part of one starting list — but the ordering holds across both, and AEROBLADE concentrates hardest at event scope: 45.5% against its 32.7% fleet share. The 2026 starting list still reads as a subset of the broader fleet because that fleet IS the Caribbean 600, edition by edition — the 2024 edition fielded 20 boats, 2025 fielded 23, and 2026 fielded 26.

  • Fleet baseline (55 boats, current view): AEROBLADE 32.7% · AEROMAX 25.5% · DEEPFRAME 12.7%
  • 2026 race field (11 classified at the race-nearest view): AEROBLADE 5 · AEROMAX 3 · DEEPFRAME 2
  • Editions populated: 2024 (20) · 2025 (23) · 2026 (26)
Partial data Race group vs fleet
Race Archetypes

11 boats classified in RORC Caribbean 600 2026.

Archetypes as published 2026-07-10 — the FleetEdge view nearest this event.

26 fleet boats started the 2026 edition; 11 of them carry a FleetEdge archetype assignment at the view published nearest the race — a smaller classified population than the current Fleet DNA baseline, so the two surfaces are read separately. AEROBLADE leads at 45.5%, with AEROMAX and DEEPFRAME behind and GRAVITYRUN fielding one hull.

AEROBLADE

High-efficiency rig with sharp heel sensitivity and rapid trim response.

Boats 5
Share 45.5%

AEROMAX

Upwind-power specialist with the fleet's strongest rig-driven VMG.

Boats 3
Share 27.3%

DEEPFRAME

Deep-hull efficiency paired with a stiff platform for drag-optimized flow.

Boats 2
Share 18.2%

GRAVITYRUN

Heavy-mode momentum boat with strong downwind power in sustained breeze.

Boats 1
Share 9.1%

International event fleet · 55 boats · as of 2026-07-10

Fleet DNA

How the Caribbean 600 fleet is built.

55 boats in the fleet. 29 ORC-rated and 26 mapped IRC entries attributed across 7 archetypes — 54 classified, 1 boat lacks enough certificate fields for classification. The full classified archetype distribution, sorted by count.

The 7-archetype distribution.

AEROBLADE

High-efficiency rig with sharp heel sensitivity and rapid trim response.

moderate upwind · moderate reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 18
Share 32.7%
  • TP-52
  • Farr 40
  • XP-44

AEROMAX

Upwind-power specialist with the fleet's strongest rig-driven VMG.

strong upwind · neutral reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 14
Share 25.5%
  • First 40.7
  • First 40
  • Grand Soleil 40

DEEPFRAME

Deep-hull efficiency paired with a stiff platform for drag-optimized flow.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 7
Share 12.7%
  • J-109
  • First 36
  • J-120

STEELFORM

Compact-rig, rigid platform delivering consistent, low-variance results.

neutral upwind · neutral reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 6
Share 10.9%
  • Bavaria CR 46
  • Dufour 41 Performance
  • Hanse 400 E

KEELFLEX

Narrow stability window; fast when perfectly balanced, punishing when not.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 4
Share 7.3%
  • First 31.7
  • Express
  • First 31.7 LR

GRAVITYRUN

Heavy-mode momentum boat with strong downwind power in sustained breeze.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · strong downwind

Boats 3
Share 5.5%
  • First 36.7
  • First 34.7
  • X-332

GLIDEFORM

Low-drag hull delivering smooth, efficient downwind acceleration.

weak upwind · moderate reaching · strong downwind

Boats 2
Share 3.6%
  • J-105
  • J-99
  • Farr 30

AEROBLADE leads the fleet at 32.7% — the light, agile racing-platform archetype that converts open-water trade-wind reaches into sustained speed across the 600 nm Antigua loop. AEROMAX follows at 25.5%, the power-efficiency hybrid that drives upwind at moderate displacement; DEEPFRAME at 12.7% brings deep-hull efficiency through chop. Together the three lead archetypes account for 70.9% of the 55-boat fleet — a clear blue-water offshore signature where light reaching speed, power-efficient upwind drive, and deep-hull efficiency carry the long passages between islands. STEELFORM holds the next tier at 10.9%, with KEELFLEX at 7.3%, GRAVITYRUN at 5.5%, and GLIDEFORM closing the distribution at 3.6%.

At a glance

RORC Caribbean 600 — structural profile.

Scope
55 boats
29 ORC-rated · 26 mapped-IRC
Top 3 archetypes
  1. AEROBLADE — 18 boats (32.7%)
  2. AEROMAX — 14 boats (25.5%)
  3. DEEPFRAME — 7 boats (12.7%)
Eleven canonical performance archetypes cluster the fleet by dimensional signature. See the full map →
Top designer cluster
Farr Design
8 boats (14.5%) — the most-represented design voice in this fleet.

Counts and archetype assignments above are measured from the current corpus. Commentary below is interpretive.

International event fleet · as of 2026-07-10

Classified fleet view · 54 of 55 classified · as of 2026-07-10

Fleet Stories

Caribbean 600 fleet signature.

Designer Density

Farr Design — the Caribbean 600’s most-common designer.

Farr Design drew 8 of the 55 fleet boats (14.5%) at the RORC Caribbean 600 — the largest single designer share in the fleet, ahead of Rod Johnstone (J/Boats) and Judel-Vrolijk at 5 boats apiece (9.1%). Reichel/Pugh, Frers, and Humphreys each placed 4 boats, with Ker J at 3 and a long tail of single-board entries from Verdier, Finot-Conq, Mills M, Kouyoumdjian J, and others. Farr’s 14.5% share sits in the “most-common” band rather than the dominant band — in a fleet split across Farr, J/Boats, Judel-Vrolijk, and Reichel/Pugh boards, the Farr Design drawing-board carries the largest single share but no single designer commands the fleet outright. The Caribbean 600 is a multi-designer offshore fleet.

  • Farr Design: 8 boats · 14.5%
  • Rod Johnstone (J/Boats) & Judel-Vrolijk: 5 boats each · 9.1%
  • Reichel/Pugh, Frers, Humphreys: 4 boats each · 7.3%
Complete data FleetEdge fleet-wide data
Archetype Density

AEROBLADE leads the Caribbean 600 fleet.

AEROBLADE carries 32.7% of the Caribbean 600 fleet (18 of 55 boats), with AEROMAX behind at 25.5% (14 boats) and DEEPFRAME at 12.7% (7 boats) — a top-three that accounts for 70.9% of the fleet. AEROBLADE is the light, agile racing-platform archetype that delivers the fleet’s maxi front row — the Super Maxi 100, the Volvo Open 70, the Marten 73 — alongside the Ker-46 cluster and the grand-prix 52-footers, the platforms that convert open-water trade-wind reaches into sustained speed. AEROMAX brings power-efficient upwind drive at moderate displacement, a strong second share that gives the fleet a paired light-platform and power-hybrid front tier; DEEPFRAME brings deep-hull efficiency for the drag-dominated long-reach legs. The Caribbean 600 is a blue-water offshore signature — light reaching speed and power-efficient upwind drive leading the fleet, deep-hull efficiency behind them. STEELFORM follows at 10.9%, with KEELFLEX at 7.3%, GRAVITYRUN at 5.5%, and GLIDEFORM at 3.6%.

  • AEROBLADE: 18 boats · 32.7%
  • AEROMAX: 14 boats · 25.5%
  • DEEPFRAME: 7 boats · 12.7% — top three = 70.9% of the fleet
Complete data FleetEdge fleet-wide data
Continue

Go deeper.

IRC Racing

All six IRC offshore classics in one analytical framework — the Caribbean 600 is one of the five flagship races with full HYCOM ocean-current treatment.

ORC World Fleet

The cross-fleet ORC reference for archetype, designer, and class signature — the dictionary against which the Caribbean 600’s 32.7% AEROBLADE share reads.

RORC Transatlantic

3,000 nautical miles from Lanzarote to the Caribbean — the Atlantic feeder route that delivers programs to the Caribbean offshore winter.

Fastnet

The 695 nm Solent-to-Fastnet-Rock loop — 17 of the 55 Caribbean 600 fleet boats also raced the 2025 Fastnet, the largest cross-event overlap in the fleet’s analytic record.

Middle Sea Race

The 606 nm Maltese loop — the third member of the IRC offshore long-mile triangle alongside the Caribbean 600 and the Fastnet.

Fleet Archetypes

The 11-archetype design groups that let us read the Caribbean 600’s structural signature — what AEROBLADE, AEROMAX, and DEEPFRAME are and why the 600 nm Antigua loop puts the three together.

Analyze the Caribbean 600.

600 nm around 11 islands. Trade winds, squalls, and volcanic wind shadows.

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