Rolex Fastnet Race – ~695nm
Cowes to the Fastnet Rock and on to Cherbourg. Founded in 1925, this is effectively the race that gave birth to the Royal Ocean Racing Club and codified offshore yacht racing in the UK. The original blueprint.
Rolex Middle Sea Race – ~606nm
A Malta–Sicily loop starting and finishing in Valletta, rounding Stromboli, threading the Strait of Messina and navigating various marks around Sicily. Famous for its volcano-plus-Mistral picture-postcard brutality.
RORC Caribbean 600 – ~600nm
Start and finish in Antigua, with a multi-island slalom around 11 Caribbean islands. Designed specifically as a modern 600nm RORC classic, it has become a core pro-am season opener.
Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race – 628nm
The Boxing Day start from Sydney Harbour to Hobart via the Tasman Sea, Bass Strait and Storm Bay. The Southern Hemisphere's blue-water benchmark, with a long list of brutal editions etched into its history.
Newport–Bermuda Race – 635nm
A biennial race from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda. Dating back to 1906, it is widely described as the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race, with most of the course run entirely out of sight of land.
Round Ireland Yacht Race – 704nm
Run by Wicklow Sailing Club, this circumnavigation of Ireland includes the exposed Atlantic west coast. Established in 1980, it now sits among the main 'extended 600-milers'.
