33 ORCi entries for Rolex Sydney Hobart Race

by ORC Tech on 24 Dec 2009
Organizers at the Cruising YC of Australia (CYCA) have indicated that a total of 33 entries have formed the first-ever ORC International (ORCi) Division in the 65th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. This represents one-third of all entries divided among several divisions in the fleet, with most entries eligible to be scored in multiple divisions for the race.

The ORCi entries represent a wide range in age, size and boat type, from Atse Biel’s 1972 S&S-designed aluminum-built 41-foot Pinta-M competing to win on handicap, to Ludde Ingvall’s 2004 Simonis-Voogd-designed carbon-Nomex 90-foot YuuZoo (ex-Nicorette) contending for first-to-finish honors.

Results for the ORCi Division will be decided by the application of the Time-on-Time Simplified Scoring Option, using the ToT Offshore rating as printed on each boat’s ORCi Certificate, as a multiplier of elapsed time. The boat with the lowest corrected time (after application of any scoring penalties) will be the winner.

The range in ratings for the ORCi Division is from Pinta-M’s rating of 0.8881to YuuZoo’s rating of 1.5973.
'ORCi is really quite compatible with the Sydney Hobart race,' says ORC Chief Measurer Nicola Sironi, 'because the measurement of stability is compatible with the CYCA’s requirements for stability data for each entry in the race. Other international rating rules do not offer this.' Sironi had recently helped measurers and administrators from Yachting Australia establish the procedures for measurements and issuance of ORCi certificates in time for the Sydney Hobart fleet.

But another contributing reason for use of ORCi in this race is the growing desire among Australian owners to have access to a published, transparent rating rule. A meeting at CYCA of some 80 owners and sailors identified this as an important criteria for their interest in having an open and predictable outcome in the rating process, as well as a belief in ORCi to not be as favorable towards certain design types as other rating rules.

'We have a chance to do well in an offshore race where there are many variables at play, but we have little or no chance in inshore racing because our Farr 40 does not get treated at all well by IRC,' said Ed Psaltis of AFR Midnight Rambler. 'We’re looking forward to giving ORCi a try because we think it will treat a broader variety of boats better in our fleets.

'We also like the fact that there is a broad international representation on the technical side of the rule, so we feel as if we can have some input to how it is managed.'

In fact, Australia has long been represented by David Lyons as both a member of the ITC and the ORC Congress.

The 65th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will start on Boxing Day (26 December) and cover a course of 628 miles from the start line in Sydney Harbour to the finish in Hobart, Tasmania.

For more information on ORC news, events, rules, and rating systems, visit the ORC homepage at www.orc.org.