New Transition Program: From Bay Sailing to Cat 2 Offshore Racing

For those who are ready for the challenge, the ORCV has developed a new program to assist experienced skippers who wish to make the transition from active Bay Racing to Cat 2 off shore events with a view to competing in the forthcoming Standley Race or the Christmas events .

The program recognises that although many of the Cat 2 racing requirements involve little more than the installation of equipment, there are other requirements where, in the absence of prior experience, compliance can be unnecessarily difficult.

The program includes a half day briefing on 29 July 2018 which reviews Cat 2 racing requirements and provides practical advice on how those requirements are best met.

Ongoing advice and support is also offered focussing on the practicalities of some of the more technical areas such as certification of construction standards and stability.

For full details of the program, for which entry is on a selective basis click here

Sundance Yachts, the ORCV and the new Foiling Figaro3

The Figaro class yacht, manufactured by Beneteau, has been around since the early nineties in Europe and has provided the training platform for many serious ocean sailors over the years.

Recently, Beneteau announced the latest incarnation of this class, the Figaro 3, which incorporates a pair of lateral foils. The boat meets ISO Cat A requirements so is capable of ocean racing and will be an exciting addition to the Melbourne sailing scene.

Sundance and the ORCV have recently combined forces to establish a Figaro 3 fleet in Melbourne. Beneteau will supply the boats and the ORCV will organise the racing program, consisting primarily of the ORCV Winter Series and a selection of Bass Strait races.

See http://sundancemarine.com.au/the-hype-around-the-beneteau-figaro-3-just-got-real/ for more details.

See video below of the Beneteau Figaro 3 on the water.

2018 Victorian Sailing Awards

Last Friday at the Victorian Sailing Awards evening, the ORCV was awarded, jointly with Royal Geelong Yacht Club, the annual award for Media and Publicity. This award recognised the considerable efforts over many years of those who have produced material for all of our media outlets; the ORCV website, Facebook Page, newspapers, radio and TV and of course of all of our members who have contributed articles, photos and video content associated with our various events.

Thanks to all who have helped and well done!

Offshore Championship…..  further information

 Our previous article reported that although the racing is all done, and a few boats placed  themselves out of contention during the Apollo Bay race, we still do not have a result for the Offshore Championship and scoring procedure is under review. The problem to be addressed has its origins in changes made by ORCV during the past year.

First, the Offshore Championship was changed in two ways.  Competitors were encouraged to participate in longer distance events  - the Westcoaster, Melbourne Osaka and Noumea by introducing Championship eligibility requirements. In parallel with this, emphasis was placed on measurement handicap results where available. Specifically, if a yacht competed in Performance, IRC and/or AMS handicap categories, her score in that race would be drawn from the best measurement handicap result. This requirement is covered in Clause 2.4 of the Offshore Championship NOR.

In a separate initiative the Club also encouraged participation in Double Handed racing in all of our events. This was in part a precursor to the then upcoming Melbourne Osaka race but also reflects ORCV’s desire to support the growing interest in short-handed sailing. Short-handed boats have always been able to compete against fully crewed boats, but we created an additional entry category exclusively for Double Handed Boats.  Racing in the double handed division was however restricted to Performance Handicaps  -  reflecting IRC advice to race organisers and the fact that AMS ratings for Double Handed Boats were still not supported by adequate data.

The key issue is whether the NOR for the Offshore Championship permits results from the Double Handed Division to be included in the scoring. Can the Performance Handicap only Double Handed Division Results be used if a boat also competed as part of the main fleet ? Putting this another way, does a skipper’s decision to put in an extra entry against fully crewed boats rule out use of the Double Handed results for Offshore Championship scoring ? ….and this is where Clause 2.8 of the Championship NOR comes in.     

The wording is definitely “ticklish” and any ambiguity will be removed next year.

In the meantime the Club has to deal with the documentation as published.  Initial Rules advice has been received and the question is to be further considered by the Committee at its meeting next month, but the chances are that the matter will end up before the Jury to secure an independent decision.            

Offshore Championship….. so who won the award ?

Well the Racing is all done and a few boats, including Alien, took themselves out of contention with poor tactical decisions during the Apollo Bay race but……. we still don’t have a result and the scoring arrangements are under review.

The key issue is whether the NOR for the Offshore Championship permits results from the Double Handed Division to be included in the scoring. Can Double Handed Division Results, which are Performance Handicap only, be used if a boat also competed as part of the main fleet ? Putting this another way, does a skipper’s decision to put in an extra entry against fully crewed boats rule out use of the Double Handed results for Offshore Championship scoring ?      

In some races the question is irrelevant. In the case of the Westcoaster, Maverick scored fifth in both the Double Handed division and against the main fleet. In the King Island Race Maverick won the Double Handed Division and a 3^rd in IRC against the fully crewed boats. However not all conditions suit Double Handed racing and in the Stanley race Maverick came 9th against the fully crewed boats.

Which score counts? For those who are interested, the relevant clauses in the NOR for the Offshore Championship are 2.8 and 2.4. Initial Rules advice will be considered by the Committee at its meeting next month but the chances are that the matter will end up before the Jury.