The Royal Ocean Racing Club is delighted to announce fantastic opportunities for sailors wanting to race double handed in 2023 for aspiring rookies to top offshore racers. The RORC's Griffin Fund and its generous supporter, the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour organized by Difesa Servizi S.p.A. e Sui Events, have exciting projects in place, supporting teams in world class events across the spectrum of double handed racing in France and Italy.
2023 Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour – Beneteau Figaro 3 RORC Wildcard 

The RORC invite applications from individuals or pairs for five exciting events racing in the one-design Beneteau Figaro3. Riccardo Simoneschi, Chairman of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour has confirmed an entry for the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The Figaro3 is provided to the RORC as a free charter and regatta entry. It is highly likely that a RORC Squad will be formed for the Tour, which spans five world-class events from April – November 2023.  

"RORC is a benchmark in offshore sailing, delivering top sailing, promotion, and culture," commented Riccardo Simoneschi leader of SSI Events, the organizer of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour. "The MMNRT share the vision of active promotion of offshore sailing in any way possible and we support the idea to bring it within Olympic sailing. Both the MMNRT and the RORC want to promote double-handed offshore sailing, a format that is now widely recognized, is constantly growing, and worthy of attention. The MMNRT have seized the opportunity to develop the discipline for the last four years, adding to the current panorama of international offshore sailing that offers many high-calibre events, where skills such as seamanship, navigation and endurance should prevail. This agreement with RORC stems precisely from the awareness that it is necessary to find common values and innovation."

20th April – 1st May 2023 Female Offshore Mediterranean Two-Handed Championship 
Female Offshore Mediterranean Two-Handed Championship by RAN 630 organised by Yacht Club Livorno. The 630nm race starts and finishes in Livorno Tuscany with marks off the Italian islands of Sardinia and Capri. Sailors can apply as an individual or pair and because of the short timescale a RORC selection panel will assess applications. 

29 May – 06 June 2023 Mixed Double European Championships 
The Mixed Double European Championships, organised as part of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour, will be raced in the one-design Figaro3. The Mixed Double European Championships will be held in conjunction with the IRC European Championships hosted by the Yacht Club de Cannes, France. Sailors can apply as an individual or pair and because of the short timescale a RORC selection panel will assess applications. 

30 June – 28 July 2023 Giro dell'Italia a Vela 
The Giro dell'Italia a Vela has eight stages around Italy over a 28 day period. Starting in Genoa and ending in Venice, the Figaro3 class will race offshore from race village to race village. The Giro Tour gives young sailors the opportunity to compete in one of more 200nm legs around Italy's beautiful coastline. The RORC envisage different crews doing different stages and applications are open to sailors who were 30 or under on 1st January 2023. 

07-13 October 2023 -  Double Mixed Offshore World Championship
Organised by the ASD Nastro Rosa in collaboration with LNI Taranto. A maximum of ten Figaro3 boats will contest the World Championship ratified by World Sailing. The third edition of the World Championship will feature a non-stop race of approximately 330-340nm will start and finish in Taranto, the coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy.

November 2023 Round Italy Race – Nastro Rosa Veloce (5th Nov – 19th Nov) 
From Venice to Genoa, the non-stop 1500-mile Round Italy Race is the longest and arguably most challenging race in the Mediterranean. The record to be beaten is 8 days, 8 hours 27 minutes and 23 sec. Part of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour, the RORC will be offering a place in The Veloce to the U30 sailors who perform best in the Giro Tour.

RORC Rear Commodore Deb Fish is the lead on the Griffin Initiative. Deb has won the RORC IRC Two-Handed season three times in the past five years, racing on Rob Craigie's Sun Fast 3600 Bellino.

"RORC's partnership with Marina Militaire Nastro Rosa offers a fantastic opportunity to RORC members and non-members to race double handed in high performance Figaro3 boats against international competition in stunning surroundings," commented Deb Fish. "The series supports so many of RORC's aims; offering high quality international racing, developing the next generation of young sailors, and increasing diversity by broadening the pool of female sailors able to compete on equal terms in short-handed racing."