IRC
Tangy prospect?
One of the virtues of now working independently of any specific rating rule and event organisation structure (in the normal world anyway) is that I find people seem to be far more open in discussing their plans and ideas with me than used to be the case. Not that I think people hide from the rating office or keep secrets, but they just become far more guarded with what they will discuss openly. So not only is my social life around the water far more enter-
taining, in that the first matter of the day is not always ‘why is my rating unfair?’, but the conversations that do develop are also far more free-formed and frankly more interesting. You are wondering where on earth am I going with this? Well,
there is one discussion that I have had several times in the last few months that I never expected, but that has also intrigued me. It is clear that spending time working with the International
Maxi Association (IMA) gives you access to a section of the community, and to a level of wealth, that I don’t tend to bump into down at the King’s Head in Lymington; but it also prompts conversations about raceboat options that I would not normally expect to get involved with. That conversation has been repeated a few times recently and I thought that all might find it interesting. In the good old days (whenever that was) if you wanted to have
a big boat and go racing you just went for an IOR Maxi. She was capable of anything and everything and was the weapon of choice. Move on a few years and you could go for an IOR or IMS Maxi, or a retired Whitbread racing yacht. Move on to the start of the 21st century and the choice had widened further, with options including an IRC Mini Maxi, Volvo Ocean 60 or IRC 100-footer, plus the first generation of Maxi72s and VO70s. The problem now is which boat do you go for if you want primarily
34 SEAHORSE
to be able to race offshore – where for many a TP52 simply isn’t big enough? Among the current options are a Maxi72 but, let’s be honest, they are all now optimised for inshore and short-course racing. They generally survive an offshore race, but when they get a bashing as in this year’s Caribbean 600 they return to the dock long before the owner’s grin gets anywhere near his or her ears. The VO70s have had a great resurgence in recent years. They
have gone from being considered fragile and extreme to where I have always felt they should stand: as great offshore toys. In the Volvo Ocean Race they may have reached the limit on how hard they can be pounded, but in the world of the offshore classics and trans-ocean races they have hit their stride. The problem is that only 19 were ever built and, after the loss of a few boats and with some of them being a little below par, there are only maybe half a dozen that really hit the mark. The next problem is that these examples very rarely come on to the market. Then there is the distinctive – and distinguished – looking Wally
fleet. These are great boats. However, they are configured for a combination of fast cruising (shorthanded) and inshore racing. Offshore races and oceanic races were never in the brief. That only leaves you with the choice of an old Imoca 60 (too
extreme and no bigger really than a TP52) or one of the few IRC 100-footers, which seem now all to reside in Australia and be focused on little other than that Boxing Day startline. So what do you buy? I am not just limiting this to existing boats.
If you have a few million to spend on a boat that you want to race offshore, have a crack at line honours and be able to get back to the office quickly after your fix, what would you set as the brief? Let’s start with size. The 52s are clearly too small. If you want
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