IRC

The 7th Hamble Classics Regatta will be held on 10-11 September 2022, co-hosted by Hamble River Sailing Club and the Royal Air Force Yacht Club. The founding mission of Hamble Classics in 2016 was for a fun and inclusive event where owners of classic yachts and their crews celebrate their shared passion for sailing. The Classics are an important and growing fleet and the RORC Rating Office wishes to encourage future participation of classic boats in IRC racing.

An outstanding long weekend of yacht racing, where the full program was sailed under brilliant sunshine in 10-20+ knot winds and a mix of tidal states on one of the world’s most challenging stretches of water – the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 2022 IRC National Championship was a resounding success.

One of the pinnacle events of the IRC rating system in the UK, will take place over 10-12 June from Cowes. This year’s edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s IRC National Championship will be its 24th and as usual will feature a mixed line-up of yachts from across the size and age spectrum, allowing the IRC rating system to create a level playing field between them.

The 2022 IRC European Championship will be held at in Breskens, Netherlands alongside the Breskens Sailing Weekend. The 7th edition of the IRC European Championship will take place over four days of racing in late August 2022. The championship is expected to attract a record fleet of highly competitive IRC rated boats vying for the overall win and class honours.

For decades record-setting in sailing has been dominated by adventurers, pioneers, eccentrics and, in recent years, pro-sailing teams in custom built machines.

The new season has got off to a positive start with applications coming in for 2021 IRC rating certificates and a steady stream of enquiries to the RORC Rating Office, the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club.  There was a record flood of entries for the RORC’s flagship event, the Rolex Fastnet Race, when entries opened in mid-January, as well as enthusiasm from club racers around the UK and overseas.

Representatives of the International Rating Certificate (IRC) from around the world met at the beginning of October for the annual IRC Congress to discuss the past IRC season and future developments. This year the planned gathering in London was not possible due to Coronavirus so the meeting was held online with delegates joining the meeting from varied time zones as far apart as the East Coast USA and Japan. One IRC representative joined the meeting from aboard his boat in autumnal Finland.

Mid-September it may be, but conditions for the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 2020 IRC championships felt more like June this weekend, with shorts and T-shirts conditions and allowing a full schedule of racing to be laid on by PRO Stuart Childerley and his team. The event concluded today with two windward-leeward races on the central-eastern Solent in more variable and generally lighter winds than on Friday or Saturday.

The central Solent delivered on the opening day of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s IRC National Championship. The westerly wind started off light but built to a solid 18 knots, the September sun even putting in an appearance, as the three class fleet progressed through two windward-leeward races and one round the cans.

The 2020 IRC European Championship will be held at Cork Week as part of the unique celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Royal Cork Yacht Club. The 5th edition of the IRC European Championship will take place over five days of racing from Monday 13th July to Friday 17th July 2020. The championship is expected to attract a record fleet of highly competitive IRC rated boats vying for the overall win and class honours.