Here is everything Californians always wanted to know about IRC, but didn’t know anyone to ask. Now US-IRC is taking their story on the road to three yacht clubs in Southern California. Sailors, owners, and interested yachties are invited to attend seminars at 6:00PM on Friday evening November 16th at the Los Angeles Yacht Club, at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning November 17th at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club or at 9:00AM on Sunday morning November 18th before the “Hot Rum” Race #2 at the San Diego Yacht Club.This is the perfect opportunity for owners, crew, race organizers, race managers and even the sailing media to learn how IRC works and why over 600 IRC certificates have been issued in the USA since the rule was introduced in 2004. Some East Coasters will be heading to California to tell the story. Barry Carroll, past Executive Director of US-IRC and now Technical Director, will explain the concept and how IRC works. Then Rich du Moulin, Chairman of the US-IRC Owners Association, and Luiz Kahl, US-IRC webmaster and owners representative, will tell the success story and explain why many sailors like using the rule.Meeting invitations, schedules and agendas will be posted on each club’s web site: In announcing the seminars, Southern Californian Jim Madden, owner of Stark Raving Mad and the local organizer of the tour said, “We want to introduce IRC to Southern California through a series of meetings and presentations at yacht clubs in Southern California. Present an opportunity for interested parties – owners, crew, race organizers and race managers to get an accurate understanding of IRC and to ask questions in an informal atmosphere.” Rich du Moulin, Chairman of the US-IRC Owners Association pointed out, “The rule was not designed to replace any existing rating system. It was developed to give competitors an international, single-number, time-on-time, measurement rule that rates the boat, not the crew. IRC certificates can be used locally, regionally, nationally and on the international level.””The rule,” du Moulin added, “comes from the RORC in England and ironically it was first introduced in the USA on the West coast at the St Francis Yacht Club’s Rolex Big Boat Series. It still flourishes there, and is also used extensively in New England and in the Great Lakes around Detroit and the Bayview Mac Race. The US-IRC North American Championship was a great success in 2007 at the Storm Trysail Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex.”In 2008 the third annual US-IRC Gulf Stream Series starts with the Ft. Lauderdale Key West Race in early January, followed by regattas or races in the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Florida, and up the Gulf Stream to South Carolina, Maryland, and New England and with distance races including Miami to Nassau, Ft. Lauderdale to Charleston, the STC Block Island Race, the SYC Vineyard Race, the Newport Bermuda Race (including the Onion Patch Series) and concludes in November in the STC US-IRC East coast Championship in Annapolis. The series continues to attract interest in a national and international level.Getting started with IRCOrganizing authorities wishing to adopt IRC for their events should contact US-IRC Executive Director John Mendez for help with the process. The US SAILING Offshore office administers the IRC rule in the US. Yacht owners should contact Nathan Titcomb at irc@ussailing.org for help with certificate application or with rating questions.
