RORC Caribbean 600. Black Jack 100 Wins Monohull Line Honours After Classic 100-Foot Duel

RP100 Black Jack 100, owner Remon Vos and skippered by Tristan Le Brun, has taken Monohull Line Honours in the 2026 RORC Caribbean 600, completing the 600-mile course in an elapsed time of 01 Day 20 Hrs 31 Mins 36 Secs.

Behind that finishing time lies one of the finest 100-foot match races the event has seen. On one side, the Farr 100 Leopard 3, helmed by Joost Schuijff and skippered by Chris Sherlock, a boat etched within the history of the RORC Caribbean 600 since its inception. On the other, RP100 Black Jack 100, originally the legendary Alfa Romeo II reborn and refined for more offshore speed. Black Jack 100 was making her Caribbean 600 debut under a new team following monohull line honours victories in the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Remon Vos made his intentions clear. “We come to win,” he said. “The crew is very competitive. A lot of young people. Very driven. I’m happy to be part of that group.” But victory, he insisted, is only part of the picture. “It’s important to have a battle,” Vos added. “That’s what makes it fantastic.”

Early Exchanges - The RORC Caribbean 600 had Leopard 3 on top at the start. Judging their pace to the line with power and perfection. Climbing all over Black Jack 100 upwind, which is now Leopard’s weapon, honed with new daggerboards by Green Island, Leopard led by 17 seconds. “Leopard is heavier with more righting moment,” Le Brun explained. “From 15 to 20 knots upwind she will be faster, we knew this would be the reality.”

By Barbuda, however, Black Jack’s prowess downwind had reversed the margin, leading by 2:14 minutes. At Nevis the gap extended dramatically to 12:22 minutes before compressing again at Saba (3:59 minutes) and St. Barts (1:33 minutes). The race was already tight and would remain so for the northern part of the course.

“We almost had three starts,” Le Brun said. “The main start. Then a restart at St Kitts and Nevis when the wind shadow slowed the fleet. And another restart at Guadeloupe.”

The northern leg proved tactical rather than decisive. At St. Maarten and Tintamarre, Black Jack 100’s advantage hovered around two minutes. At Des Saintes it was just 1:20 minutes. The boats were never separated by more than small deltas, until Guadeloupe intervened.

Guadeloupe: Precision in the Lee - The wind shadow west of Guadeloupe has shaped many RORC Caribbean 600 results. This year it looked to have shaped another. Black Jack 100’s Navigator Max Deckers had a clear plan.

“Max wanted to stay close to the coastline,” Le Brun said. “The shortest route, the quickest transition, sometimes wind falling off the land.” The strategy paid off. Black Jack positioned precisely and restarted cleanly in fading breeze. Leopard slowed further inshore and lost ground. However upwind behind Guadeloupe, Leopard’s upwind prowess came to the fore and by La Desirade, Leopard briefly led by 6:29 minutes. The swing underscored how quickly fortunes could reverse. But the reach to Barbuda would favour the lighter boat Black Jack 100 and the loss of the lead at Guadeloupe became just a setback.

Bow Down, Full Power - From La Desirade to Barbuda, Black Jack 100 demonstrated her offshore weapon. The triple headed combo of two staysails inside the ‘Fr0J0’ (Fractional J-Zero).

“As soon as we start to put the bow down, she is lit up,” Le Brun said. “Reaching at 110–120 degrees true wind angle, Black Jack deployed a long sprit from the rig with the triple-headed sail combinations. The RP100 accelerated decisively. By Barbuda, the lead had grown to 22 minutes. With the same sail set up on the other tack to Redonda, the lead had grown to over 35 minutes. This sustained power reaching defined Black Jack 100s race victory.

“That’s the beauty of Black Jack,” Le Brun said . “She’s light. When we reach, she’s significantly faster. Leopard’s strength remained upwind. Downwind and reaching, the advantage shifted to Black Jack.”

Chris Sherlock acknowledged the dynamic. “Black Jack can put their bow down and boot it,” he said. “We put our bow down and we don’t actually go that much faster. That’s something we’ll look at in the data.”

The Final Beat to Antigua - With nearly 36 minutes in hand at Redonda, Black Jack 100 controlled the final upwind leg to Antigua. “We were confident we had pulled away enough,” Le Brun said. “So we focused on driving the boat well, safely but fast. Not taking anything super risky during manoeuvres.”

Black Jack 100 crossed the line to take Monohull Line Honours in 01 Day 20 Hrs 31 Mins 36 Secs. Leopard 3 followed as second monohull, close enough to ensure the duel remained honest to the end.

Leopard’s Sherlock was quick to offer congratulations. “It was probably the best boat-for-boat we’ve had in this race” he said. “Black Jack sailed fantastically. Hats off to those guys.”

For Vos, the battle itself carried meaning beyond the trophy. “We met Leopard before at Fastnet,” he said. “It’s fantastic when you’re head to head with similar boats. Who wins? You don’t know. That’s important.” He spoke not of dominance but of collective growth for the Black Jack project. “It’s all about people,” Vos said . “Young sailors, experienced sailors, different backgrounds. Passion and talent together that’s what makes it work.”

Le Brun echoed that sentiment. “We go beyond expectation,” he said. “Half of sailing is mechanical. The other half is weather. We focus on performance. The result is the consequence.” Le Brun also credits preparation. “We are well hydrated, we eat well, we sleep the best we can. The boat is reliable. And then you need the luck of the right weather window.”

For Leopard 3, the result reinforces her enduring presence in the race. Chris Sherlock has now raced in 11 RORC Caribbean 600 campaigns. “It raises the intensity,” Sherlock said. “When you’re racing boats like Black Jack, it makes a big difference.” Even in defeat, Leopard’s benchmark upwind performance forced Black Jack to refine. “They pushed us further than ever upwind,” Le Brun admitted. “We kept tweaking setup all race long.” That mutual evolution is part of what defines elite offshore competition.

The Bigger Picture for Black Jack - For Vos, the Caribbean 600 is part of a broader programme: a global campaign. “We chose this race because it’s the beginning of the season,” he said. “The Caribbean is a beautiful place with good wind. Also, the RORC Caribbean 600 is very well organised. When you spend time and money to bring a boat here, you want it to work, and it does.”

The 2026 RORC Caribbean 600 Monohull Line Honours contest distilled offshore racing to its essentials: preparation, performance, and handling relentless pressure.

From a 17-second Leopard lead at Green Island, through wind shadows and power reaches, to a commanding 35-minute margin at Redonda, Black Jack 100 executed with precision. In the end, the delta that mattered was at the finish.

(Race report: Louay Habb / RORC)

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