carry onboard more headsails than declared – follows the same model as for spinnakers and flying headsails. The important exception is for Special Regs-
IRC European Championship
10-15 September 2024 Royal Irish YC, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
https://www.riyc.ie in association with RORC
https://rorc.org
You can also follow updates at
https://ircrating.org/irc- news-articles/
compliant safety sails: one heavy-weather jib and one storm jib are exempt from the new headsail count (here it is worth noting that OSR sails are not just defined by size alone, there are additional OSR technical requirements). Boats previously rated with a single furling headsail plus heavy-weather jib may now carry an OSR heavy-weather jib without declaration and therefore it will not be rated. While some may consider the new rule stringent, it aims to increase fairness and the rating formulation takes into account various factors including boat size. For instance, classic boats often carry more headsails, and the rating formulation considers this. The maximum number of headsails before each boat’s rating is bumped up depends upon more than just the size of the boat; the IRC Technical Committee published a notice in autumn 2023 with approximate rating effects for some example designs. So far this year we see most boats declaring headsails close to the ‘no rating change’ number, though there are variations within designs reflecting different choices and configurations. For example, the headsail declarations for some popular designs are: J/109 1-3 headsails; First 40 2-3; JPK 10.80 2-5; Ker 40 3-4; Sun Fast 3300 1-4; TP52 4-5; X- 41 2-5. Boats that comply as IRC One Designs are rated for the maximum number of headsails allowed by their class rules. All rating rules have the same aim of rating
diverse boat types as fairly as possible. But the responsibility for influencing design, technology development and even social behaviours cannot be ignored. The decision to rate the number of headsails was made not only to reflect performance benefits but to consider how IRC can promote longterm sustainable practices within our sport, such as careful consideration of manufacturing quantities and resource consumption as well as reduced disposal. According to sail recycling company Sustainable Sailing, global production of sails is now upwards of 2,000 tonnes per year; as well as the environmental impacts of the production of modern materials there is the issue that around 99 per cent of those sails will end their lives in landfill. There are various options for owners when their sails reach end-of-life including recutting/reselling, upcycling into other items, and recycling; and many owners already consider these resources when
Seahorse Issue 506 £6.50 US$8.50
their sails are replaced.
Rating the number of headsails in IRC should also encourage owners and sail designers to focus on optimising the performance of a limited number of headsails but with wider performance bands, which can ultimately drive forward development in sail design and technology and steadily reduce the number of sails produced and discarded each year.
Sticky In a move towards greater transparency IRC has introduced a new requirement for sail measurement stickers or stamps on all sails certified after 2023; currently this only applies to boats holding an Endorsed IRC certificate. This significant rule change works alongside increasing equipment inspection at IRC events and is introduced in response to requests from event organisers and measurers. A measurement stamp on a sail serves as visual confirmation that a sail is properly measured, making it easier for event organisers, measurers and sailors to quickly verify that a boat’s sails comply with its rating certificate. Another primary goal is for sails to carry standardised information in a recognised format to reduce ambiguity. Of course, the question we receive is: does the rule apply to every sail, or only the largest? Although IRC only requests the largest sizes for calculating a rating the sail sticker requirement does apply to every sail used on the boat. The reasoning is that every sail, even if designed to be smaller, needs to be certified (measured) to confirm its size, and the new rule reflects the importance of data accuracy across all sail sizes. On smaller jibs measurements may also be made to check whether the size complies as an OSR heavy-weather or storm jib. This new sail measurement sticker does not replace existing numbered certification stickers from IRC-approved authorities such as World Sailing In-House Certification (IHC); measurement stickers complement these by displaying the measured data. By introducing sail measurement stickers IRC is committing to increasing accountability in our sport by establishing a clear framework for easy verification. There are other new resources relating to sails
on
ircrating.org in the Measurement section, including FAQs on headsail numbers and sail stickers. I encourage you to take a look at these…
Jenny Howells, Technical Manager, RORC Rating Office
News Around the World A chance to see what you are missing….
The Jeppesen-designed Okyalos during the 1990 One Ton Cup which she won by 4pt from the Judel-Vrolijk designed Amsterdamed. In the hands of Jochen Visser and Dee Smith Amsterdamed almost had the title in the bag before a costly mistake when caught out by a luff from their Greek rival (which had a man up the mast at the time) in the final inshore. In the late 1980s and early ’90s X-Yachts did very well by modelling some of their production designs on their very much ‘non-production’ one-off raceboats. There were many semi-production IOR level raters also sold by the yard, which from the outside looked the same as their one-off racers, but tap the hull or look at the huge quantities of internal ballast on those ‘specials’ and it was obvious that was where any similarity ended. It was clever marketing for a new yard, the raceboats giving their production yachts more pizzazz than rivals without a racing pedigree
And again they led the cup after the inshore and coastal races. But in the long offshore race they sail themselves into a patch of no wind and lose their lead. So they end up only third or fourth overall. ‘Later the boat is chartered by the Corum Admiral’s Cup team. With a French crew they end up winning the 1993 Admiral’s Cup.’
A step up
‘The whole thing started because the owner, Ioannis Kostopoulos, had sailed with us at the ¾ Ton Cup in 1988 and 1989. We won on both occasions, the last time even in his own hometown, at his own sailing club. And right after that we held a meeting with Kostopoulos in Greece, and told him that there would be a One Ton
Birger’s sauna
He makes little drawings on a piece of paper while talking, to demonstrate what things looked like. ‘Down in our development department,’ he says, ‘I had this room, 3x3m, that I could heat up to 80°C. I had a sauna oven installed in there. In that room I
‘We also worked in close collaboration with SP Systems,’ he continues. ‘They were supplying the composite materials, and were also engineering many of the leading raceboat projects at the time – all over the world. But we also developed a lot of things ourselves here, during which we undertook all sorts of practical experiments into what you could do with the new materials.’
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