Garmin ORC World Championship
Over the last few days teams and their boats entered in the 2025 Garmin ORC World Championship have been arriving at the new marina facilities at Kalev Yacht Club and the Tallinn Olympic Yachting Centre for their registration and inspection formalities to prepare for six action-packed days of inshore and offshore racing starting on Monday August 11th and concluding on Saturday August 16th.
In all there will be 548 sailors racing 65 yachts that range in length from 28 to 47 feet and represent 9 nations from throughout Europe. Nine teams will race in Class A, 22 yachts in Class B and 34 yachts in Class C. These teams will be competing within each of their respective classes with a racing program of two offshore races and up to six inshore windward/leeward races. Winners will be awarded the title 2025 ORC World Champion in each class, and all-amateur teams will be recognized with Corinthian division awards.
The competition in each class promises to be tough, but there are some favorites to watch for in each class.
In Class A there is a team to watch that is actually new to ORC competition but has a proven track record at numerous Grand Prix-level racing events. Niklas Zennstrom’s Carkeek Fast 40+ RAN is very much an international team: Zennstrom and his boat are flagged from Sweden, but the boat was built in the UK where it has spent much of its competitive life in the Fast 40 class since being launched in 2018, and the team is an assembly of some of the sport’s top talent from the US, UK and New Zealand.
Other contenders include Jani Lehti’s GP 42 MERCEDES BENZ (FIN), Bronze medallist in Class A at the 2021 ORC Worlds here at the same venue, and Mati Sepp’s innovative Matteo Polli-designed ECO 44 CLEAN ENERGY (EST), built locally with only sustainable materials used in its construction. Sepp is coming off a Gold medal-winning performance in Ubico Class B last week in his modified X-41 TECHNONICOL (EST) at the ORC European Championship held at Copa del Rey MAKFRE in Palma.
Class B in Tallinn may likely be a tough fight between several veteran teams with proven track records up against some promising talent that is racing an exciting new design making its ORC Worlds debut at this event.
Except during the 2020 pandemic pause, the ORC World Championship is an annual event held at various locations in Europe and in the USA. It attracts local and international professional and amateur teams to compete for a week of mixed inshore and offshore racing among offshore-capable yachts. Because the entries are of various boat sizes and types, the ORC’s measurement-based system is used to equalize the competition while racing under handicap.
This system is popular and in use around the world, with over 14,000 certificates issued in 40 countries, the largest international rating rule system recognized by World Sailing.
