The problem with age ORC
The subject of age allowance in rating systems has always been a thorny one. On the one hand, we like to recognise – if not preserve – the competitiveness of older designs of proven performance when well-campaigned. Yet we also need to acknowledge that new tech- nologies will inevitably outpace old ones… new yachts are simply faster and are more efficient than old ones. Plus the best sailors will always gravitate to the newest boats. Yet in the face of even this unplanned obsolescence there is
virtue in keeping older designs competitive – except in the real grand prix fleets – to maintain fleet numbers and preserve value. Most rules have some kind of age allowance, ORC’s is written thus: Age Allowance (AA) = Age (years) x 0.0325% The current upper limit is 15 years, a maximum age allowance
of 0.4875% which truthfully feels rather inadequate –many in the USA offshore fleet are now arguing that this is indeed not enough. The great majority of USA yachts in the ORC certificate database were designed and built before 2008. Many are much older, dating from the period 1980-2000 when production and custom boat - building were at their peak here.
For example, using this approach the age credit difference
between a five-year-old and 10-year-old boat is less than that between a 25-year-old and 30-year-old boat. Stewart developed these ideas based on his observed trends
for USA-based boats over 15 years old to designs that are actively raced in classic races around the world; in many cases much older boats are restored and repeating the same races now that they sailed when new or owned by next-generation owners. Stewart has also been asked specific questions relating to older
but well-known racing yachts, about why the Age Allowance of their Classic/Vintage yachts is the same as for a 15-year-old modern IMS or IRC design. So would Stewart’s proposed change be disruptive or just help compress the corrected times? l Running Tide, 1969 S&S 59ft sloop (54 years old) – in the 475nm 2023 Annapolis Newport Race. Elapsed time 3d 4h 56m. Option 2 Age Allowance would translate to a 1.28-hour corrected time credit and she would move up (only) one place. l Whitehawk, 1978 King 101ft ketch (45 years old) – in the 300nm Chicago Mackinac Race. Elapsed time 1d 22h 25m. The Option 2 proposed Age Allowance would be 1.4063% – an increase of 0.9188% – translating to 0.580 hours of corrected time credit. No change of finishing order. l Dorade, 1930 S&S 52ft ketch (93) – at the New York YC Queen’s Cup. Elapsed time 2h 12m. Option 2 proposed Age Allowance would be 4.0223% which is an increase of 3.5348% – this translates to 0.082 hours of corrected time. Dorade moves up five places in a very close race. Each of these owners appreciates older
There are times an older boat has no need of age allowance; this is the S&S centreboarder Sunstone, a 1964 offshore classic which later safely took Tom and Vicky Jackson cruising around the world. But the combination of a well-sailed, slippery-for-her era design with a big rig overwhelmed the rating systems, especially the lamentable IMS in the 1990s when she was basically unbeatable on offshore courses. In RORC racing she was six times IMS National Champion, won more races than you could count and topped her class at many big international events as well. Sunstone did not kill off the IMS system on her own, but it did a cracking job of turning the sailors against a rating system where you never knew how you were doing… whether on the race course or sometimes for a day or two after the finish
One option under discussion is simply to extend the present
formula further back in terms of years. For example, the Cal 40 – Bill Lapworth’s classic ocean racer first launched in 1965 and still raced today – would then receive a rating credit of 1.9%. Bill Lee’s Santa Cruz 70, launched in 1985 and still incredibly popular in the Great Lakes and US west coast, would get a credit of 1.24%. But while these allowances may be more generous than the current rule maximum of 0.4875%, would even this make these older designs competitive? Probably not is the honest answer. So Greg Stewart from Nelson/Marek Yacht Design in San Diego,
a specialist in rating optimisations, has another suggestion: try a polynomial formulation where the rate of percentage increase itself increases with age (higher-rate taxpayers will recognise the principle at work here… sorry). AA = 0.0002 x Age + 0.000004 x (Age)2 This formula would yield less Age Allowance in a yacht’s early
years but then increase at a faster rate in the later years – based on the assumption that the difference in performance potential between younger boats is less than between older boats. Something we tend to see whenever we go afloat.
30 SEAHORSE
boats and, like many others, they want to keep racing their boats for more than 15 years. So it seems logical that these boats should receive more ORC Age Allowance than the much younger boats they compete with. US Sailing’s Jim Teeters agrees: ‘In my opinion the last 30+ years have seen a maturing of boat design, meaning the designers became better versed in what made for fast boats and used better tools in that process. ‘The era that Greg focused on had many
outstanding designers, legends we all know, but their tools were rudimentary. ‘Additionally, I think the last 10 years
have seen the development of monohulls that spend most of their time sailing to
apparent winds much further forward, ie they can be explosive offwind. This has made a big impact on hull shapes. ‘The challenge for ORC is to properly handicap those shapes
alongside those that predated them. The current ORC VPP formu- lations are based on “contemporary” hull designs, and occasionally this is unfavourable to their older rivals. ‘However, I believe the allowance should also focus, perhaps
more, on today’s more efficient rigs and appendages. Keel and rudder foil shapes have much better lift/drag ratios these days and better planform shapes too. To model those effects in a VPP is a real challenge. Age allowance is a good alternative, especially when it comes to boats designed before the 1980s.’ But could this lead to another Sunstone ‘situation’, an old, very
heavy but well-sailed design that was frequently impossible to beat in the IMS era? Absolutely not, the VPP is much better these days. Nonetheless, a revision of age allowance is probably long over-
due. Would this see more boats leave their slips at weekends, who knows, but there seems no downside to offering a little extra to boats from the last century. Dobbs Davis
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