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IRC never stops
The rating offices at RORC and UNCL have remained open and continue to process IRC certificates and answer technical and administrative questions from around the world.
Above: the Joubert-designed Archambault A35 was one of the first examples of the ‘French’ approach to IRC, with a slightly thicker slab keel replacing the previous bulb keels for big gains in drag. Stability is unmeasured in IRC and narrow-hull-plus-big-bulb had been a reliable formula for success on windward- leeward courses though less so offshore, but the new philosophy soon established itself as a better all round option – and more fun to sail on longer courses. Having been eclipsed by newer designs from Jeanneau, JPK and J/boats the A35 popped back up last month with a tidy overall win for Arcus(seen here) at this year’s UK IRC nationals
We are inching towards the conclusion of an extraordinary season with events cancelled and the international offshore circuit depleted beyond recognition. Social distancing makes multiple crews and overnight voyages difficult, if not impossible, with no immediate end to this requirement in sight at this time. This will not be news to you and in fact you are probably fed up of reading the same headlines, so I propose we look forward and consider the racing next year with a focus on the smaller boats that are currently doing particularly well in a shorthanded crew configuration. The Rolex Fastnet Race has in recent years seen the smaller French-sailed, French-designed IRC boats do well in this shorthanded configuration, except for 2019 where we saw Peter and David Askew and their team with an immaculately prepared VO70 Wizard win overall, but even so with some of the best smaller boats nibbling at their heels on corrected time. The 2021 Fastnet starting in just under a year’s time will see a new battle and a new challenge with the race finishing in Cherbourg, which will undoubtedly see even more French sailors joining the challenge – along with extra pressure in the shorthanded division. When I refer to more recent small French designs
Seahorse Issue 486 £6.50 US$8.50
I am referring to JPK, Sunfast, Archambault etc. from designers including Joubert Nivelt, Marc Lombard, Daniel Andrieu and Jacques Valer. So why are the French sailors in these boats doing so well? These newer-style IRC boats have appeared at the
request of those French sailors and they are designed for offshore racing with shorthanded crew in mind. These sailors have grown up and trained for offshore racing and from the start they configure their boat and learn to sail it with fewer crew, exploiting the fact that on a race of several days one extra crew member is considerable additional weight when taking account of the extra equipment, food and water. Nowadays we rarely see a French boat compete in
the Fastnet with a full crew. It should be noted, however, that for inshore racing the results are not as good. We also note that in the Mediterranean the results are similarly not anything special, with the influence of different ranges of conditions and different race courses. It is worth pointing out at this stage that the IRC
two-handed certificate is for a boat configuration change only, for example different sails, ballast or stored power. The formulation does not change due to fewer crew as there are both benefits and
Design
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goes Cableless
The creative talents of Infiniti Yachts and Doyle Sails – between them responsible for two of the biggest breakthroughs in modern performance yachting – have joined forces to produce something more than special
The Infiniti 52 is the first modern racing boat to be designed and engineered to take full advantage of Doyle Sails Cableless technology – built around a highly efficient, single transverse DSS foil, providing proven performance but without the cost of more complex class-driven foil solutions. The DSS foil provides significant righting moment which allows you to design the boat for a
– reducing pitching and making the ride more comfortable and faster!’ When looking for gaps in the market, popular wisdom would suggest that 52ft is a little crowded in the performance sector, so you need to bring your A-game – something that redefines the genre. Traditionally 52ft has been a good size for both inshore racing and coastal/offshore racing. It is is big
PAUL WYETH
CARLO BORLENG
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