Hardly midgets
In the UK there is the still strong fleet of concours-standard IOR Quarter Tonners, re-purposed with simplified rigs and enjoying fun and close racing in IRC. In the US there is something of a steady rebirth of the original MORC class of ‘Midget Ocean Racers’. Proper pocket yachts, rather than outsized dayboats, Dobbs Davis revisits an old stomping ground…
We marvel at the French and other Euro- pean teams who design, build and race the Mini 6.50 class yachts, darting around northern Europe and every two years making longer passages across the Atlantic. The class was started in 1977 by English- man Bob Salmon and has seen constant evolution ever since. All the innovations in hull design, spars, rigging and sails, along with the steering and other systems that can keep one or two people functioning in
42 SEAHORSE
gruelling conditions for days and weeks at a time, are nothing short of remarkable. Meanwhile, a generation earlier and an
ocean away in 1954 the Midget Ocean Racing Club was founded by a small group in Long Island Sound who were inspired by the successful Atlantic crossing of Patrick Ellam’s legendary Laurent Giles- designed 19-footer Sopranino (issue 499). Just as in the UK Ellam’s exploits helped
to inspire the creation of the Junior Off- shore Group (JOG), so in the US the founders of MORC sought similar recogni- tion among those who wanted to enjoy safe offshore racing among yachts under 24ft (a little later in 1958 the upper length limit was increased to 30ft). In these days small cruising yachts were excluded from racing due to size, so the group sought guidance from Bill Shaw at Pearson Yachts to help devise a simple handicap system for these boats that stressed safety yet would still promote competitive racing. The original concept of MORC was not
just as a rating rule system but as a true club of owners and sailors who shared the same passion for racing boats of small sizes. Their founding principles were: 1. Inshore and offshore racing and cruising and to encourage the development of suitable yachts for these purposes. 2. Formulating and administering rules for measuring, rating and equipping them.
3. Encouraging good seamanship and safety at sea. 4. Collecting and disseminating informa- tion related to these goals. With modest annual dues MORC was
open to accepting membership from any- body who shared its goals. As for club structure, anyone with three or more active members could band together and form a Station, usually regionally based, that would handle the administrative and functional tasks of measurement, rating and scoring. Stations could elect officers, organise races and perform like any class racing association. National club adminis- tration was run by a board of governors made up of the commodores of the local Stations plus elected national officers. The board served an important function in directing ‘club’ policy, selecting members of the MORC rule committee and approv- ing all rule modifications and other regula- tions, such as mandatory equipment lists. This was significant: the MORC
members had a say on what should be onboard to meet the safety standards that they deemed suitable, long before there was universal or even national agreement on these standards. The MORC ‘commodores’ of the club
diversified as MORC grew outside its roots on Long Island Sound: from 1970 onward there were commodores representing
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