Caribbean 600: We have a winner!

Antigua (February 27, 2025) – The Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA), owned by Christian Zugel and co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has been confirmed as the overall winner of the 2025 RORC Caribbean 600.

Competing in the IRC Super Zero Division, Tschüss 2 completed the race in an elapsed time of 01 Day 21 Hrs 31 Mins and 15 Secs. While nearly half of the boats are still racing, none of the competitors at sea can beat Tschüss 2’s corrected time under IRC to win the race overall.

Zugel has only been offshore racing for two years but has enjoyed fantastic success racing with the RORC, of which he is a member, as well as his membership of the New York Yacht Club. In that short time, Tschüss 2 has been the overall winner of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race, the RORC Transatlantic Race, and now the RORC Caribbean 600.

“As I started to get more and more involved in ocean racing it was clear we had to come here and the RORC Transatlantic Race was the obvious choice to get here,” he said. “This was an extremely competitive race with 11 entries in IRC Super Zero, with amazing boats like Leopard, Pyewacket, Lucky, Aiolos, and Balthasar, just to name a few. We knew it will be a real battle just to win the class and that every second would count.

“So, we concentrated on boats in our class but sometimes we looked over our shoulder at other classes, especially Rán and Daguet. Once we had finished, we went to the bar to celebrate winning IRC Super Zero and we had three laptops open watching Rán and Daguet’s battle to the finish, which was pretty tense for us because they could still beat us.

“When Rán caught a good shift and was gaining pace, the nervousness in our crew was unbelievable. However, once they crossed the finish line, we knew we had it – much to our great relief and lots of joy.”

Tschüss 2 co-skipper Mordaunt has had a long and distinguished career in sailing. Best known as a project manager for major campaigns, he has served as shore manager for several round-the-world races, including the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race with Green Dragon, representing his native Ireland. Mordaunt considers the overall victory in the RORC Caribbean 600 the highlight of his career and dedicated the win to his mother, Patsy.

“For me it’s all about the team,” commented Mordaunt. “The individuals come together as a team, that’s the most important aspect of it. We are mates pulling and pushing in the same direction; for me that’s the most enjoyable part. Having the right team with the right experience; we’ve got complete legends on the boat who make my job easier. I would go to war with this team.”

The Tschüss 2 crew had Christian Zugel, Sonia Zugel, Johnny Mordaunt, Al Fraser, Alex Higby, Andrew McLean, Campbell Field, Christopher Welch, Cian Guilfoyle, Edward Myers, Fredric Shanks, Luke Muller, Neal MacDonald, Pete Cumming, Simon Johnson, Stefano Nava, and Stu Bannatyne.

Mordaunt is also the Boat Captain for Tschüss 2, responsible for amongst many things, making sure the boat is in good shape for the race.

“We broke one little thing, which I kind of take personally, and I actually broke it, so I have to take that on the chin,” admitted Mordaunt. “I’ve always been pretty good in the sense that I’ve got confidence in the boat and the guys around me.

“I know that our preparation has been good; I try not to leave anything to chance. When you’re coming up that last beat, knowing that you can just keep sending it in there and nothing’s going to break, that brings the value of that preparation to fruition.”

This was Zugel’s first RORC Caribbean 600, but it certainly will not be his last.

“The RORC Caribbean 600 is clearly an amazing race,” he offered. “You read about it, you hear about it, it’s in the Caribbean with beautiful islands and great trade winds. I think it is a must on every sailor’s list. It is an incredible race and I can only recommend it to anybody out there in the sailing world to do it at least once.

“When I first decided to get into offshore racing, I didn’t quite know what to expect, I think that the RORC run fantastic sailing events. I can only express my compliments and congratulations. In my opinion, the RORC is clearly the best organized sailing club in the world.”

The next big race for the Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 will be the 2025 Transatlantic Race organized by the New York Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The race starts from Newport, RI on the June 18 and will finish in Cowes, UK.

Event information – Race details – Results – Tracker

THE RORC CARIBBEAN 600 SERIES:
• The 16th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 started from Antigua on February 24, 2025. The 600nm course circumnavigates 11 Caribbean Islands starting from Fort Charlotte at English Harbour and heads north as far as St Martin and south to Guadeloupe taking in Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, Saba and St Barth’s

RORC Caribbean 600 Records
• Multihull Record: 01 days 05 hrs 48 mins 45 secs in 2022 by MOD70 Argo (Jason Carroll)
• Monohull Record: 01 days 13 hrs 41 mins 45 secs in 2018 by Rambler 88 (George David)
• IRC Corrected Record: 03 days 10 hrs 09 mins 41 secs in 2022 by Pac52 Warrior Won (Christopher Sheehan)

RORC CARIBBEAN 600 – PAST IRC OVERALL WINNERS:
2024 – Joost Schuijff, Farr100, Leopard 3 (MON)
2023 – Roy P. Disney, Volvo 70, Pyewacket (USA)
2022 – Christopher Sheehan, Warrior Won, Pac52 (USA)
2020 – Tilmar Hansen, Outsider, TP52 (GER)
2019 – David and Peter Askew, Wizard, Volvo 70 (USA)
2018 – George David, Rambler 88, Maxi (USA)
2017 – Hap Fauth, Bella Mente, JV72 (USA)
2016 – George Sakellaris, Maxi 72, Proteus (USA)
2015 – Hap Fauth, JV72, Bella Mente (USA)
2014 – George Sakellaris, RP72, Shockwave (USA)
2013 – Ron O’Hanley, Privateer, Cookson 50 (USA)
2012 – Niklas Zennström’s JV72, Rán (GBR)
2011 – George David, Rambler 100, JK 100 (USA)
2010 – Karl C L Kwok, Beau Geste, Farr 80 (HKG)
2009 – Adrian Lee, Lee Overlay Partners, Cookson 50 (IRL)