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The Royal Ocean Racing Club Opens Reservations for Its New Model, the Class 30

Good news for those who want to perfect their sailing skills on a premium boat for beginners – the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in the UK has officially opened reservations for its new models, the Class 30 Club, and the advanced Class 30 One Design.
RORC has opened reservations for the Class 30, its newest racing boat 7 photos
Photo: RORC
Yacht RacingYacht RacingYacht RacingYacht RacingClass 30Class 30
Few things are as elegant as professional yacht racing, and RORC is the perfect expression of that. With a history going back to 1925, the original club was granted royal approval in 1931, thus becoming the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Together with the National Offshore Racing Union (UNCL) in France, and the Storm Trysail Club in the U.S., the prestigious UK Club organized an international architecture competition, with the goal of developing a new sailing boat, with two versions.

The winners, the VPLP naval architecture firm and the Multiplast shipyard, will be the ones to build the new Class 30, with a Club and One Design version. Class 30 was meant to be a professional sailing boat with contemporary lines, a focus on eco-design, a deck layout that’s “light, effective and accessible,” and overall increased maneuverability. Most importantly, the price for the entry-level version had to stay under €100,000 ($113,000) so that more people could have the chance to purchase it.

The Class 30 Club is the basic version, meant for training racing crew. With a simplified design, yet still highly performant, this basic model is a ready-to-sail boat that comes at what is considered “an introductory price” – it may seem like a lot to outsiders, but professional yacht racing is known as one of the most expensive sports.

On the other hand, the Class 30 One Design is fully-equipped for offshore racing, including the electronics, navigation, and galley modules, plus ballast tanks. As its name suggests, it was meant for duo or crew participation in one-design competitions (where boats are identical or very similar).

An innovation brought by VPLP and Multiplast is designing the boat so that it can fit, along with its rig, in a 40-foot container, which makes future transportation much easier.

Production of the Class 30 is set to begin in 2023, with hopes that the first boats will be out competing by Easter that same year.
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Editor's note: Gallery showing images from various RORC competitions.

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About the author: Otilia Drăgan
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Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
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