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The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) is promoting its inaugural European IRC Championship as part of Cork Week. The London club says the event will 'bring countries together'. 

The International IRC Rating Rule, jointly owned by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and l’Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL) will be attracting boats from all over the world to the port of Crosshaven in Ireland this year. From 10th to 15th July 2016 the Inaugural European IRC Championship will be take place during the already well-established and popular Volvo Cork Week hosted by the Royal Cork YC, the world’s oldest yacht club.

This exciting addition to the global IRC racing calendar promises to bring boats together from all corners of Europe, where over 4300 boats are IRC rated annually, but is open to all 6000 boats IRC rated worldwide. The Championship invites entries from boats with a valid 2016 IRC rating between 0.850 and 1.320 and the RCYC is expecting entries from 'around the globe'. Early entries include boats from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK, France, the USA and Australia, with interest from South Africa, making it a truly international event.

Back in 1990 Cork Week was the first regatta in the world to use the now ubiquitous windward/leeward race format, but even then the regatta included an innovative and varied mix of racing and 2016 is no exception: courses at the European IRC Championship will include Olympic, trapezoid, slalom and windward/leeward buoy courses plus an 8 hour coastal race, so every boat has a chance to shine on their preferred course type. Results will be calculated using the simple time-on-time IRC time corrector, so competitors can easily see how they are performing around the course.

Another addition to the Week this year is the inaugural International Inter Services Sailing Competition, the Beaufort Cup. Volvo Cork Week 2016 is shaping up to be another unforgettable regatta, and if you have a 2016 IRC rating you can be part of it!

Published in Cork Week

#lifeboat – Cork Harbour lifeboat volunteers were paged at 5.35pm yesterday afternoon to reports of a disabled boat with two persons on board between Fennels bay and Weavers point. The casualty vessel had deployed an anchor, but were dragging towards the shoreline.

Crosshaven Lifeboat helm Vincent Fleming, with crew Harry O'Rourke and Paddy Quinlan were soon in the area , but could not locate the casualty boat. Valentia Coast Guard Radio managed to establish Mobile contact with the boat, which had restarted its engine and sailed back to Ringaskiddy without informing anyone!

On returning towards Crosshaven, the crew came across another small vessel with two people on board which had broken down. The crew established a tow to the Point slipway before returning to station.

Published in RNLI Lifeboats
Tagged under

The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."

When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.

After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.

The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.

Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium. 

At A Glance – Half Ton Classics Cup Winners

  • 2017 – Kinsale – Swuzzlebubble – Phil Plumtree – Farr 1977
  • 2016 – Falmouth – Swuzzlebubble – Greg Peck – Farr 1977
  • 2015 – Nieuwport – Checkmate XV – David Cullen – Humphreys 1985
  • 2014 – St Quay Portrieux – Swuzzlebubble – Peter Morton – Farr 1977
  • 2013 – Boulogne – Checkmate XV – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1985
  • 2011 – Cowes – Chimp – Michael Kershaw – Berret 1978
  • 2009 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978
  • 2007 – Dun Laoghaire – Henri-Lloyd Harmony – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1980~
  • 2005 – Dinard – Gingko – Patrick Lobrichon – Mauric 1968
  • 2003 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978

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