Notes for IRC 2015 Applications

Thank you for applying for a 2015 IRC certificate, your ticket to another season’s great racing! 

The following notes will help you get the most from your IRC rating.

Endorsement:  A reminder that this is denoted by the ‘ENDORSED’ stamp at the bottom right of the certificate.   Non-endorsed certificates will just have the red IRC Rating Authority stamp. If you need Endorsement for an event you are entering, please contact the Rating Office as soon as possible for advice.

Heavy Weather Jib area  (for boats rated with single furling headsail):  The approximate HWJ area has been removed from the certificate to avoid confusion with Special Regulation requirements.

 

Seahorse Magazine free issues!   We are pleased to say that the extra value for your certification continues for 2015:  All IRC certificate holders have an automatic subscription to every other issue of Seahorse Magazine in digital format.   Activate it by clicking on the link on www.ircrating.org and use your certificate number and passcode (as it appears at the bottom your IRC certificate) to login.  

• Validity dates are shown at the bottom of the certificate. When your certificate expires you will receive an invitation to renew it, please make sure your contact details are kept up to date by emailing us with any changes to your postal or email address.

• Please check the data and details on the certificate.   If there is anything you think is incorrect please contact us; however for production designs remember some standard data may have been used which differs from that submitted (usually hull data).

• Ratings may go up, down or stay the same from year to year, depending on changes and developments in the maths behind the rating calculation.  This is developed on an annual basis and is generic for certain design characteristics.

• Age Allowance is automatically applied to boats over 3 years old, but it is a small part of the calculation. (It cannot be assumed that the rating will reduce each year because of age allowance).

• Crew limitations IRC Crew Number is not variable by a boat and has no effect on TCC (see also p.31 of the Yearbook).

Amended or Trial certificates:  If you need to amend your certificate, or wish to run a trial certificate(s), the relevant forms can be found on www.irc-sea.com in the Downloads section

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Please use the appropriate form to apply for a certificate as this reduces the risk of omissions in data, or inputting errors.   We cannot accept data by telephone. Please make sure you complete the ‘Source of Information’ to avoid any delays, thank you.

Note that there are limits to the number of trial certificates that are allowed, you can find details on the IRC website. http://www.ircrating.org/technical-a-certification/certificates-extra-info. 

We reserve the right to refuse to amend a certificate if we believe its purpose is to take advantage of a forecast eg. reducing sail for a race that is forecast to be windy.

If you have an Endorsed certificate, remember that any amendments to rated data will require official measurement, please refer to our website especially regarding sail data and talk to the Rating Office for advice if necessary.

Change of Ownership:  If you sell your boat and the new owner wishes to race it, or if you buy a boat with a current IRC certificate, then Re-Registration is required.  

Short-handed certificates:  If you do short-handed (1 or 2 people) racing, and your boat is in a different configuration for this, you can apply for a separate Short-Handed certificate, see IRC Rule 8.2.1.   The application form for this is on our website.   

STIX and AVS Stability data :  If you are planning to enter an event that is OSR Cat 3 or over you may need to have STIX & AVS (stability) data on your IRC certificate. Please check the specific events you are entering, to see if it is required. Information about STIX & AVS can be found on the IRC website: http://www.ircrating.org/technical-a-certification/sssn-a-stix. Once obtained, the information will be added to your certificate free of charge as long as there are no other changes.