With a new man at the helm, the first ever IRC Worlds and a foiling revolution all on the cards, it’s an interesting time for IRC.
Seventeen years on from when it was first unveiled, IRC has transformed beyond all recognition. In 2000 it was launched alongside IRM as part of IR2000, the rating system and rule administered jointly by the Royal Ocean Racing Club and its French equivalent, the Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL). While IRC was the replacement for the Channel Handicap System, IRM was a published rule aimed at grand prix yachts.
In the intervening years IRM has ceased, while IRC has gone from strength to strength. Incredibly, the present reach of IRC spans super yachts to compact family cruisers, from club racers to Maxi 72s and other ultra grand prix classes, from inshore races to transatlantic races and the ‘classic 600 milers’ like the Rolex Fastnet Race and Sydney Hobart. Geographically IRC is used in 49 countries from Chile to China to Canada. Such take-up and such a wide range of demands were not anticipated when IRC was originally conceived as a mere rating system for cruiser-racers.
Yet it has stood up well. That today IRC can cope with almost the complete range of boat types, in different race formats and sailing areas about the globe and has endured, despite the great scrutiny it has been put under by well-resourced professional racing teams looking to gain an edge, is testament to the maturity of the rule.
Bu hikaye Yachts & Yachting dergisinin September 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Yachts & Yachting dergisinin September 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
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