We issue a newsletter called 'Poolside' (due to our location), approximately once a month, which includes advice and technical information about IRC and snippets about what is going on here and any staff news.

Ocean Safety IRC - Notes and reminders regarding sails

Sail data requests

Sail sizes are among many rated parameters that are checked when we get new applications & revalidations.

On occasion the sail data may be flagged up as possibly erroneous; this often applies to headsail widths now that we are using the actual sizes rather than default data.

In these circumstances it is not unusual for the Rating Office to ask for confirmation from yourself or your sail maker, so please do not take personal offence if we contact you – and it may well be beneficial for your rating!

The RORC Rating Office is pleased to announce that following successful trials at Medina Yard, Cowes, that weighing of boats on pressure pads for IRC purposes is now available on a restricted basis to boats in GBR.

Several Sailmakers have intentionally attempted to circumvent IRC rules 2.4 and 2.5 by developing headsail foot shelf profiles that artificially reduce the headsail measurements, reducing the IRC rating without a corresponding reduction in performance. To do this the curve of the foot is exaggerated to create a far larger foot shelf than required. This means that the measured tack point and clew point are not extended, and therefore move up the luff and leech, artificially reducing the sail’s dimensions.

IRC Rule Notice 2012/02 addresses this issue with the introduction of Headsail Foot Shelf

Previous IRC Notices and Interpretations

“What is headsail LLmax?”

We sometimes encounter some confusion about what LLmax is, and when it needs to be declared. One of the common misconceptions is that LLmax is the length of the longest possible headsail luff that would fit on the forestay; this is NOT the case!  

Please download this PDF for further explanation and a sketch

Have you looked at the IRC website?   Here you can see information on new designs, technical IRC information including advice for race organisers, and much more.

Concentric cIRCles contains periodic articles about IRC racing around the world, why not take a look?