RORC
Club page The silly season (of meetings)
Autumn is the silly season of meetings. Cowes Week review, IRC Congress, ISAF Congress, World Yacht Racing Forum and so on all fall into this autumn/winter period. I had initially written ‘the season of silly meetings’, but that would demean the importance of the work done during this period to advance our sport, increase its attractiveness and popularity and try to make it simpler… but I often have to question that last point.
At RORC we had our season debrief with the focus on a very successful Rolex Fastnet Race – a record entry, challenging but not too tough conditions and a huge party to end it all. What’s not to like? Which all puts pressure on making the next edition even better. If only we could control the weather.
Keeping offshore racing simple, safe and fun must be our aim but I sometimes wonder whether the various committees that meet during this period often invent new ideas and safety features because they feel they have to. ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ is a maxim that I remain fully in favour of.
The RORC has a special regulations sub-committee that meets
Nautique de Marseille who were very congenial hosts. Fourteen countries were represented and lively discussion was had on a variety of relevant technical topics.
One worrying item that came up that had nothing to do with the IRC rule was the result of a survey by Yachting Australia on RRS 51 – the movement of ballast to adjust trim – or in old English ‘stacking’. This has been a hot topic in Australia and the subject of much discussion at the RORC from time to time. The survey was sent to Australian IRC certificate holders and YA received 144 responses. The questions posed were specifically around RRS 51 ‘Movable Ballast’; the responses were enlightening, especially the candour of answers to questions such as ‘Do you move sails to different positions below deck to achieve the most advantageous trim of your boat while offshore racing?’
Not surprisingly, 68 per cent said no, but to my surprise and the surprise of most at the IRC Congress the rest of the respondents said, yes, they did move sails. When asked if they had read RRS 51, 41 per cent said they had not while no less than 31 per cent claimed to be unaware that it was illegal to move sails while racing!
I have drawn attention to stacking in
previous Seahorse columns to remind each individual crew that they have a duty to race fairly. The RORC sends all certifi- cate holders our well-known ‘no stacking’ diagram, which we ask owners to affix in a prominent position; we also ask every crewmember to sign a declaration that they have raced according to the Racing Rules of Sailing.
We all know that RRS 51 is impossible to police, so as an organisation should we be turning a blind eye to the practice? Or should we agree that it is common practice and so allow stacking to ensure that every boat has an equal opportunity to win? It will be interesting to see what Yachting Australia do with these results – the RORC will certainly keep in close contact to ensure that we make the right decision.
Many readers will instantly know where this is going… That 31 per cent of those responding to a survey by Yachting Australia claimed not to know that moving sails for boat trim purposes is illegal is a shocker. Perhaps it’s cyclical and that 31 per cent is unaware of how this issue once exploded. Suffice to say that for many readers any picture of the One Tonner I Punkt, seen trailing Jamarella in the 1987 Admiral’s Cup, will immediately prompt thoughts of Rule 51 and the fact that concealed below deck I Punkt carried an electrically driven water-ballast system
a few times a year to review safety rules and, especially before the ISAF conference, to study the submissions from around the world. It makes interesting reading as often a particular country will require a more stringent safety regime than in other parts of the world. One particular development I was pleased to see was the draft rewrite of the ISAF Special Regulations. Over time the original regs had been added to and altered in a fairly haphazard way, making it difficult to find the regulations that govern a particular category of offshore race. The rewrite is well thought out and is also now accessible via a smartphone or tablet.
Meanwhile, all of the recommendations that permeated the original regs have been collated in a separate manual – Guide to Offshore Personal Safety– that will remain a useful reference for owners, inspectors and race organisers. There is still some way to go but what’s been done so far is a good step forward.
IRC Congress
The world of IRC gathered in the beautiful city of Marseille as guests of UNCL, our partners in the IRC rating system, and the Société
56 SEAHORSE
RORC Transatlantic Race Our second edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race starts shortly from Lanzarote, heading for the beautiful island of Grenada. This year’s fleet packs a lot of extra punch with two MOD70s
participating. Lloyd Thornberg has been breaking records in his MOD70 Phaedosince his arrival in the UK earlier this summer. His rival will be the new (to multihulls) young team led by Ned Collier- Wakefield on Tony Lawson’s Concise X and the contest between these two will be interesting to watch. Phaedo, with Brian Thompson onboard, may have the greater experience but the Concise team have been logging up the miles and increasing in confidence as they push their machine closer to its limits. Also of interest will be the new Hugh Welbourn-designed Infiniti 46, which incorporates Welbourn’s Dynamic Stability System. As this is predominantly a downwind race in trade winds the performance of this boat will be revealing – the Infiniti 46 will also have a brace of good Class 40s to measure itself against. Host port for the start of the race is the new Marina Lanzarote in Arrecife. There will be a full social programme prior to the start and a warm Caribbean welcome from Grenada Tourism and Camper and Nicholson’s Port Louis Marina at the finish. Not a bad way to start the ‘winter’.
Eddie Warden-Owen, CEO q
BARRY PICKTHALL
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