IRC YEARBOOK 2010
IN CLOSE PURSUIT
Why not try a pursuit race, with staggered starts and the aim of finishing all boats at the same time?
IRC has a system for Race Committees to calculate starting times and total race time to get you started
I
n a ‘normal’ race, all the boats start together and at the end of the race the As with any handicap race, reasonably stable conditions will produce
Race Committee calculates the corrected times and posts the results. the fairest result. Plainly, if there is less (or more) wind when the first boats
A variation on this, which is equally possible under IRC and which can start, those boats will be disadvantaged (or advantaged).
provide a change for competitors is a pursuit race. One potential advantage is that, for evening races, when the wind is
The fundamental difference with this is that the Race Committee cal- often expected to decrease, all the boats should finish at the same time,
culates the time allowances before the race and posts different starting removing the advantage otherwise enjoyed by the faster boats in a con-
times for each boat. First past the post is then the winner! ventional race.
Try it. It might be fun!
How does this work in practice?
Firstly, the Race Committee needs to decide the starting time for the first
(slowest) boat and the total race time. Each boat’s starting time is then cal-
culated based on this and her IRC TCC. Sounds complicated? Courtesy
of Luiz Kahl, Executive Director of US-IRC, it couldn’t be simpler! Just go
to www.us-irc.org/files/pursuit_race_starting_times_calculation.
xls, download the spreadsheet and follow the simple instructions.
What else does a Race Committee need to do to make this work?
A key point is to finish the race as close as possible to the target time, ie,
the planned start time of the first boat plus the total race time. The best
way to do this is to set a course which is longer than the Race Committee
expects the boats to complete. The last few marks are set close together.
The Race Committee then monitors the progress of the race and sets up a
shortened course finish at whichever mark they predict the leader will be
closest to at the target finish time.
IRC Pursuit Race – example of a typical calculation of individual starting times
Expected Finish Time : 11:00:00
Individual
Class Sail Number Yacht Name Yacht Design Rating Start Time
1 IRC 3 USA 60003 Pugwash J/122 1.093 08:00:00
2 IRC 3 USA 52919 Catapult J/122 1.099 08:00:59
3 IRC 3 USA 39531 Upgrade Farr 395 1.113 08:03:14
4 IRC 3 USA 52915 White Heat King 40 1.125 08:05:07
5 IRC 3 CAN 099 Galilée Bénéteau First 44.7 1.134 08:06:30
6 IRC 3 USA 52496 Convictus Maximus Farr 42 IRC 1.160 08:10:24
7 IRC 3 USA 208 Celeritas Melges 32 1.175 08:12:34
8 IRC 3 USA 60432 Cool Breeze Mills 43 Custom 1.182 08:13:33
9 IRC 2 - Farr 40 USA 40029 Endorphin Farr 40 1.192 08:14:57
10 IRC 2 - Farr 40 USA 40076 Nightshift Farr 40 1.192 08:14:57
11 IRC 2 - Farr 40 USA 888 Seawolf Farr 40 1.192 08:14:57
12 IRC 2 - Farr 40 USA 51313 Sundance Farr 40 1.192 08:14:57
13 IRC 2 - Farr 40 USA 5095 Tsunami Farr 40 1.192 08:14:57
14 IRC 2 - Farr 40 USA 92 Yellow Jacket Farr 40 1.192 08:14:57
15 IRC 1 USA 45045 Sjambok Reichel Pugh 45 1.307 08:29:28
16 IRC 1 USA 38008 Anema & Core JV 52 1.361 08:35:27
17 IRC 1 USA 61300 Decision IV Botin-Carkeek 52 1.364 08:35:46
18 IRC 1 CAN 84248 Vela Veloce Southern Cross 52 1.365 08:35:52
19 IRC 1 USA 50009 Privateer Cookson 50 1.376 08:37:01
20 IRC 1 USA 5206 Interlodge JV 52 1.379 08:37:20
21 IRC 1 USA 53560 Bella PITA Tripp 75 Custom 1.485 08:47:31
22 IRC 1 USA 65002 Vanquish STC 65 1.519 08:50:29
Calculator to be found at: www.us-irc.org/files/pursuit_race_starting_times_calculation.xls
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