The fourth fixture in the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Offshore Season Series takes place this weekend, with the fleet starting around midday Saturday off the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, Isle of Wight. Over 80 yachts are expected to take part with the vast majority of the crews made up of passionate Corinthian sailors with their own set of goals.

Designed to last 24-36 hours, the De Guingand Bowl Race starts and finishes in the Solent and is a
“flexi-course”, allowing the Royal Ocean Racing Club to design a bespoke course. “Without the constraint of finishing the race in a totally different location, we concentrate on the weather and tidal conditions to decide the course,” explains RORC Racing Manager, Nick Elliott. “We try to get all of the fleet to finish the first beat in the same tidal vector, so as to avoid a tidal gate early in the race.”