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Editorial Andrew Hurst Come together


With comparable, modestly-international events run recently under IRC and ORC there are a few encouraging conclusions to be drawn. And if we are ever to reach the hallowed goal of a single international rating system then we all need some encouragement!


First off, the boats that succeed under the two


systems are becoming more similar. There is a gap in the data, as they say, because whether by accident or design bigger ORC events never seem to enjoy more than medium breezes – but the gap is not terminal to a casual analysis. Using IRC, below 38-40ft the winners still come from the medium to slightly heavier area of the displacement range, unless conditions are very light or the race is offwind-oriented and breezy. The ‘fun-to-sail’ small IRC boats plane readily but they are not yet all-round winners. Above this size – certainly above 42-foot lighter boats begin to enjoy increasing advantage, until you reach the 50-foot size where a good TP52 is very hard to beat. A blip in the ‘curve’ is the Fast40 which, because the boats are again well sailed will win IRC races before our ‘graph’ says they should! TP52s also win under ORC, in fact the same TP52 has won ORC’s last three big titles. There are currently not enough much larger ORC boats racing seriously for safe conclusions to be drawn there, but as in IRC the light displacement advantage should increase. Lastly, at the smaller sizes, similar boats succeed in ORC as under IRC though our ORC winner will be heavier. And our encouraging conclusion. Size for size, if similar types of boat succeed under two different systems then why have two different systems? Especially as whenever a race is dual-scored, both systems have always produced near-identical results. The problem is now only political. And sailors who want to race outside their home waters should start screaming for a resolution.


Easy fix


Ironically, the measurement furore around the winning boat at the ORC Europeans (page 12) may just suggest a rule coming of age. In recent years, very few big-boat sailors seem to have cared badly enough about winning a particular trophy to go so far as to attempt to seriously deceive the measurers. There are always minor examples of inconsistencies – though


one involving a Maxi72 last year definitely ruffled feathers. However we’ve come across few modern cases of people flirting with what I’d describe as the full-on I-Punkt approach (Google it) in pursuit of a big unfair advantage. But it seems an ORC championship is now regarded by some as fair game, a prize worth taking risks for (the I-Punkt crew were


originally banned for between 1-10 years). If true then this is a damaging development that the ORC should jump on both firmly and quickly. The team in question may be innocent... but the smell only gets worse until the truth is made public. This dispute revolves around the use of freeboard measurement to define displacement and that’s the first problem right there. The science of using freeboards may be adequate, but the risks are massive... though they can be subtle. Breezy measuring conditions, salinity, wet ropes, wet boat, rake change, concealed weight, full tanks, empty tanks, even a casual lean on a guard rail, the list is endless. Too many of us have seen for ourselves how much can go wrong with such an easy to cheat procedure (by accident and by design). In 2016 I wouldn’t give freeboard checks the time of day when there is a far superior alternative available. Today even large IRC boats are routinely weighed, using a rented crane and a $500 loadcell; the provision of the same tools should surely become a fundamental criteria for hosting any big regatta? In the case of our not universally-admired European champion, slung from a hook our friend would likely have hung dramatically down by the stern, making the truth impossible to ignore (in the water she did squat down by the stern, but that could always have been down to an errant squid).


Stretchy tape measures are behind us (hopefully), now it’s time to move boat ‘weighing’ into the 21st century.


Not shabby


Great to see the ½ Ton class pulling in 18 boats for its latest Classics Cup (buy now, they’re still about a third the cost of their glammed-up ¼ Tonner cousins).


Also great to see that, even with mods, under IRC these designs ‘


Watch out world… some of the GBR Under-23 Finn squad – in some cases a long way under 23. That little guy, third from left...


still enjoy some of the same tight racing that they originally did using IOR; at the finish of the 40nm coastal race at this year’s Classics Cup, the first two 1/2 Tonners were split by 6-seconds. Tweak some of the old formula’s more obsolete ratios and IOR would still be good to go today. Food for thought if you are one of those who still favours complexity over simplicity.


We deeply regret a pair of Canadian sailors dissolving in the waters of Rio, but at least they did not come back as radioactive monsters which is good


– Brazil’s Ministry of Sport has a (fine) sense of humour


DON’T MEDDLE The Deed of gift is a very longstanding document… I love sailing multihulls but it is very hard to lock into something like this for ever...


NEW TEST REQUIRED


and Mike Birch... – Loïck Peyron


because there have been adventurers like Walter Greene


ALL THE TOYS AND ALL THE MONEY


The stopwatch didn’t start properly


TALENT


– Glenn Ashby of Emirates TNZ ducks self-interest


My doping is Jesus – Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia takes 14 seconds (sic) off the women’s 10,000m world record in Rio


Today we can only fly in the America’s Cup


– a broken stopwatch ruins a pitstop for the 1,650-strong Mercedes F1 team


In engineering briefings he’s (Max Verstappen, 18) talking about bits of the car I know nothing about


– Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing


With Dani (Kvyat) I always felt I was on top. Then Max arrived – Ricciardo


Max is a racing nerd (but in a good way!) – Ricciardo


Seahorse magazine and our associate raceboatsonlybrokerage site are both at: seahorsemagazine.com The editor is contactable by email at: andrew@seahorse.co.uk


SEAHORSE 9


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JOHN HEYES


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