ORC saamassa jalansijan Australiassa, IRC vahvistuu Saksassa.
Australia, joka avomeripurjehduksessa on ollut perinteinen IRC-alue, on nyt osoittanut vahvaa kiinnostusta ORC-sääntöä kohtaan.
Australialaiset purjehtijat ovat ilmaisseet haluavansa säännön, joka mittaa veneet oikeudenmukaisesti, ennustettavasti ja läpinäkyvästi. Sääntöön liittyvät käytännön asiat tulisi pystyä hallinnoimaan paikallisesti.
ORC:in tekninen asiantuntija Dobbs Davis kävi syyskuussa Sydneyssä luennoimassa ORC-säännöstä The Cruising YC of Australia:n kutsumana. Seura, joka on Sydney-Hobart Racen järjestäjä on jo tehnyt päätöksen kokeilla ORC-sääntöä seuraavassa kisassa, jonka lähtö on 26.12.2008. Edellytyksenä on, että vähintään 10 venettä ilmoittaa halunsa purjehtia ORC-luokassa. Myös muissa kisoissa on tarkoitus kokeilla ORC-sääntöä rinnan IRC-säännön kanssa jo tulevan kauden aikana.
Seuraava askel on kouluttaa mittamiehiä ja perustaa toimisto mittakirjojen myöntämiseksi. Tarkoituksena on aloittaa veneiden mittaaminen mahdollisimman pian. Lue lisää ORC:in uutissivuilla. Lue myös Syd Fisherin haastattelu alla.
Saksan IRC järjestö German Offshore Owner´s Association (GER-OO) on ilmoittanut järjestävänsä ensimmäiset Saksan avoimet IRC-mestaruuskisat 6-12.7.2009 Waremunder Wochen yhteydessä. Kilpailukutsu julkaistaan viimeistään tammikuussa 2009.
Saksalaisten IRC-veneiden lukumäärä on vuoden 2008 aikana lisääntynyt useita kymmeniä ja on nyt 64 kappaletta.
ORC-veneiden lukumäärä Saksassa on edelleen huomattavan suuri, noin 700 venettä. Lukumäärä on vuoden aikana lähtenyt laskuun.
Saksassa ORC ja IRC hallinnoidaan kahden toisistaan riippumattoman järjestön toimesta. ORC asiat hoidetaan Saksan Purjehtijaliitossa (DSV).
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An interview with Syd Fisher
As ORC racing around the Mediterranean basin and Baltic regions has shown great acceptance and progress with introduction of the new ORC International and ORC Club rules this year, it is significant to note that other regions of the world have also been embracing these new rules. Seminars held in South Korea, Portugal, and Brasil have thusfar provided valuable feedback on both the methods and mechanisms of the rules as used in those countries, and in general sailors, race managers, and event organizers have been pleased with the upgrades in the VPP, the scoring options, and certificate formats used for both rules.
Thusfar, the use of ORC rules has been primarily in non-English speaking cultures, with little traction yet made into the Anglo communities for any VPP-based rule, other than the limited use of ORR in the US.
This situation is now changing, and in one of the more influential sailing constituencies in the racing world. The Cruising YC of Australia, organizers of the annual Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race, has invited ORC to a test drive in its races, as their members have shown a desire for a more scientific and transparent rating rule system which can generate predictable results through the rating process.
There is also a strong desire to have less centralized control of the certification process, so that measurement data can be processed and certificates issued by the national rating authority rather than having to wait in the processing queue.
These sentiments have been expressed clearly by an iconic figure in Australian sailing, Syd Fischer, whose various Ragamuffins have raced with success both at home and abroad, and besides 7 Admiral’s Cups he has been involved with 5 America’s Cups as well. Fischer has been recently outspoken in his dissatisfaction for use of IRC, and the need for a more responsive, transparent rating rule system.
The following interview with Fischer outlines the reasons ORC is being tried Down Under.
ORC: What attracts you to trying ORC International versus the system you’re using now?
Fischer: It is my belief that the IRC Rating System, if you could call it that, has a secret fudge factor which, I believe, is applied indiscriminately. When the ratings of many boats are compared, it is apparent that there is a total lack of transparency and consistency between the ratings of the yachts, which begs the question of credibility. The problem is there appears to be no direct way for an owner to challenge the anomalies they believe are in the rating of their yacht, except to have to go through the RORC Rating Office.
ORC: So you like the transparency of ORC. But doesn’t IRC offer an appeals process to contest their ratings?
Fischer: This process of appeal can be similar to what Sir Frank Packer described when commenting on a collision that occurred some years back in the America’s Cup match between Intrepid and Gretel. When it was announced that the protest would be heard by the New York Yacht Club, Packer commented: “…. a protest….. would be like complaining to your Mother-in-Law about your wife.
ORC: OK, but do others here share this view? Isn’t IRC promoted to be both a Grand Prix rule and suitable for all boats?
Fischer: I believe that many people in Australia have indicated their total dissatisfaction with the IRC Rating System as I believe it is a system that promotes mediocrity and on the admission of Mike Irwin at a lecture he gave in Sydney, IRC is simply a club rule and should not be used for Grand Prix Racing. Why then should yachts worth billions of dollars need to be racing under a club rule? Of course the corollary to that is that this IRC rule has been promoted very strongly in Seahorse by the RORC as a rule that is growing world-wide, which may be an exaggeration of that fact.
ORC: Are there other features which make the ORC rule appealing?
Fischer: The ORC International Rule has been sanctioned by ISAF and is based on scientific rating systems that have been used and updated for 40 years and is now the only rule that can be used for an Offshore World Championship. The main factor that all yacht racing owners require is a rating system that is fair to all types of boats and will be totally transparent, objective and non-biased, simple to use and understand, not too expensive and rewards those that sail well, without the frustrating anomalies that occur in IRC and its black box with no transparency. We think its also appropriate to have some kind of age allowance to try and keep older yachts competitive.
ORC: But have you not recently tried other non-black box rules in Australia?
Fischer: In Australia, a group of ocean-racing yacht owners formed the Offshore Yacht Owners Association (OYOA) a few years ago and had been pursuing the use of the IRM Rating System and had approximately 20 yachts measured under IRM and in conjunction with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia had been comparing results in long races. However, when the RORC and its Rating Office became aware of our intense interest in using this fully measured system, they then pulled the plug on it, which was a great disappointment to many owners.
ORC: Are you confident that ORC International will perform to your expectations?
Fischer: I firmly believe that the ORC International Rule would be the answer to the nonsense that owners have had to endure and bring back the tight, enjoyable and fair racing that was apparent at the Admiral’s Cup and other world-wide regattas that we all enjoyed.What must be realised is that billions of dollars are invested in yachts that the ORC rating rules do and would apply to, and therefore this fully measured and transparent rating system administered by an independent world body would be a fair and stable system so that owners could enjoy without frustration their racing in any part of the world.
ORC: When will you first try out the ORC rule?
Fischer: The CYCA plans to use ORC scoring in its upcoming Bluewater Point Series, the Rolex Rating Series, and the Rolex Sydney-Hobart. With the first race in the Bluewater series approaching, the challenge now is to quickly train measurers and start measuring boats.
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