I read Rob Weiland’s piece in the last edition with interest and some confusion. I have known Rob ever since the late 1980s when building IOR One Tonners with him as the owner’s rep. We have not always agreed, so I am not surprised that we don’t agree this time either. However, I do see where he is coming from, and prior to being involved day in, day out in the running of a Rating Office I probably had similar views.
In 2016 the Spinlock IRC Rating rule, administered by the RORC Rating Office and owned by RORC in partnership with UNCL in France, will be used to battle out no less than eleven regional and special championships around Great Britain and the Channel Islands, including the annual IRC National Championship.
This year’s regional venues stretch from Jersey in the Channel Islands to the Clyde in Scotland and from North Wales to Kent, providing a rich variety of racing and conditions. Specialist IRC Championships include the Small Boat Championship to be held in Weymouth and the Double Handed Championship organised by the Royal Southampton YC and RORC.
Most of the Championships are held over two to six days but the IRC Solent Championship offers racing over six weekends between May and October with different clubs, with the best four results to count. The Championship calendar for 2016 also boasts two brand new additions in Poole and Brighton, giving IRC sailors even more opportunities to join in and pit their skills against each other for the title of Champion!
Following on from the great success we are currently enjoying holding a series of regional seminars entitled "bringing more people to the sport", we have now added even more dates and venues. These now include Poole and Hamble. Please see below for more information and click on the PDF link for the full details of the dates/venues.
A series of winter seminars are being held around the UK, presented by James Dadd (RORC Rating Office Director) and a representative from the RYA Technical Department. Here is some feedback we have received so far...
"An excellent seminar that diffused any contentious issues that may otherwise have come up on handicaps by their approach. It set exactly the right tone for us, getting more people involved in racing and that it must be made fun! It most certainly made us all think about our approach to racing." - St Helier YC, Jersey.
"On behalf of us all thank you for taking timeout to include us in your nationwide series of seminars. It will only have done good and there were some faces from our club that I have not seen for months. We must now do something to get them racing again." - Blackpool & Fleetwood YC
Subjects for discussion include:
getting more people out racing
race planning
IRC/local handicap/NHC
Single Event Ratings
misconceptions about IRC (dispelling those bar talk rumours!)
any other points of interest relevant to cruiser racing
EVERYONE is invited whether you race under IRC or not, including those who currently race NHC or other local handicap, so please tell your friends!
Venues: Already visited are Jersey, Torbay, Cardiff, Kip (Scotland), Blackpool and Pwllheli; STILL TO COME: Brighton, Ramsgate, London, Harwich, Poole and Hamble.
