Photo: Teamwork winning ORC Trophy in 2023 / Steve Cloutier

Entries for this year’s Block Island Race Week have the opportunity to race for the first ORC North American Championship. As past Race Weeks have shown, ORC ratings and scoring often produced an extremely high level of competition.

ORC competitors will follow the same format, and have the same fun, as most other classes: multiple inshore races and the iconic Round the Island Race. The only additional requirement will be that entries have valid ORCi certificates and comply with the requirements shown on those certificates.

“We envision this North American Championship as the right balance of serious racing without the rigorous compliance standards we had at last year’s Worlds,” said Storm Trysail Club Commodore Andrew Weiss. “And, except for the unrestricted Open class, we STC will be recognizing that those on the podium will represent the best of pro-am sailing on this continent.”

One pro-am entry that is a proven past performer and would have to be among the favorites is Robin Team’s J/122 TEAMWORK. In the 2023 BIRW, TEAMWORK won the event’s newly dedicated ORC Trophy- for their hard-earned victory in the tough ORC 3 class.

“We’re looking forward to coming back to Block Island to defend our ORC title,” said Team, “and fighting for the first ORC North American Championship title is an added incentive. It will be a great week of racing among many of the same solid teams we faced in the last event.”