RORC heads ‘South’ to meet sailors

James Dadd, Director of the Rating Office in Lymington UK which is the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, will be travelling to the other side of the world this month to meet with boat owners and race organisers in New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia and talk about the International IRC rating rule. IRC Owners’ Forums will be hosted by Yachting New Zealand, Yachting Australia and IRC South-East Asia, giving sailors the chance to join in discussion and question/answer sessions about IRC racing.

Quikpoint Azzurro, 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Kurt Arrigo; Kurt Arrigo / Rolex

James Dadd is looking forward to meeting owners as well as race organisers and measurers during his trip. “I’m keen to meet up again with those involved in IRC racing in the Antipodes and South East Asia which are both important regions to us,” says Dadd. “It will be good to have the opportunity to hear new ideas and address any questions people may have about IRC racing both locally and internationally.”

The venues and dates are as follows:
• Monday May 16th Yachting New Zealand in Auckland at 1800 www.yachtingnz.org.nz/news/201604/irc-expert-to-visit-new-zealand-for-irc-forum 
• Sunday May 22nd Yachting Western Australia at Royal Perth YC at 1800 http://tinyurl.com/ywa-irc-owners 
• Thursday May 26th IRC South East Asia at Samui Regatta, Thailand, at 1200 www.samuiregatta.com 

All ahead to Samui Regatta.

Boat owners and sailors from across Asia and around the world already have Samui Regatta 2016 on the sailing calendars. Boats ranging in size from 23 to 72 feet will compete in the waters around Thailand's second largest island during the 15th edition of the Samui Regatta, scheduled for 21st to 28th May and hosted by Centara Grand Breach Resort Samui, on Chaweng Beach.

A notable component of the Samui Regatta since day one has been the IRC racing classes. Expect another heavy dose of Hong Kong-based entries this year that feature many new designs among the boats racing. While there may not be the number of classes that were commonplace a decade ago, the significance of a class win is unchanged and in many cases provides the victor of the AsianYachting Grand Prix.

"It feels fantastic to win the AYGP Championship here in Samui," said Bill Bremner after winning the 2015 regatta and 2014/15 championship on his King 40 Foxy Lady VI. “Everybody is so ecstatic. We can't wait to get the whole crew up on stage at the awards Gala Dinner."

Read More about Samui Regatta http://newsletters.getresponse.com/…/Latest-News-from-Samui…#

Event Check Measurement

A common cause of discontent is complaints suggesting that a boat’s rated data is incorrect. How can this be simply dealt with? Get your club to do some inspections! It’s not hard and the benefits can be enormous. And not just at major events, even club racing can be spoiled by complaints of this sort. It doesn’t need to be complicated or difficult.

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New IRC Measurers appointed for Singapore

Changi Sailing Club hosted Singapore’s first IRC Measurers Seminar over the weekend of 16^th – 18^th October 2015.

Lead by Ross Chisholm (IRC Measurer AUS) and Simon James (IRC Rule Authority – South East Asia), the event was enthusiastically attended by members of Singapore Sailing, Changi and Raffles Marina Sailing Clubs, the seminar covered all practical aspects of being an IRC Measurer from the first call from an owner to sails, rigs, hulls, keels right through to administering the applications and certificates.

Lead by Australian Measurer Ross Chisholm, the participants, weighed and measured a range different boats and suits of sails to enable club owners to obtain valid IRC ratings for future club racing. 

Introducing IRC Ratings to the course, Simon James – IRC Rule Authority for South East Asia said:

IRC is a rating rule to handicap different designs of keelboats allowing them to race together; unlike a performance handicap a rating is not altered between races according to the individual boat's performance, but is based on the physical measurements of the boat. 

It is open to all types, sizes and ages of boats. The diverse range of boats available in Singapore illustrates the need for a consistent measurement for a scheme such as IRC to work well. 

Although IRC is basically a self measurement rule, by training local measurers, we hope to provide consistency at yacht clubs and encourage the development of handicap racing in the region.

With the successful completion of the seminar, IRC - South East Asia has appointed the following participants as an IRC Measurer for SE Asia:

Rohaizan bin Mohamed Zain

Paul Kendall

Edwin Low

Choy Yi Hong

Joe Lombardo

To help achieve training and consistency of measurement standards, principle SE Asia regattas are encouraged to invite measurers from the region to work alongside their own measurers.

It is the intention of IRC SEA to run additional seminars throughout the region during 2016. For further information contact mailto:info@irc-sea.com

Simon James

IRC Rule Authority – South East Asia

15^th January, 2016

Establishing bulb weight

For several years now we have required bulb weight to be provided for keel types 10, 11 and 12. There are several methods which may be used to establish this, with varying levels of accuracy and reliability....

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