Rolex Sydney Hobart 2011 ORCi versus IRC as handicap rule
by Rob Kothe and the Sail-World Team on 29 Dec 2011
Ragamuffin - Rolex Sydney Hobart 2011 Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo
http://www.regattanews.com
Rolex Sydney Hobart 2011 and tomorrow the handicap winner for this year’s race will probably be decided. The overall IRC handicap rating winner will receive the prestigious Tattersalls Cup and there will be IRC results for 72 boats sailing in the fleet across four divisions.
At the same time there will be another set of handicap results for yachts sailing under the ORCi handicap rating, 38 boats in three divisions.
Over the years there have been a number of different rating systems for this race. Back in the 1980’s it was IOR, then came IMS, which gave way to IRC, the rule under which the Tattersalls Cup is decided.
With the introduction of the ORCi, offered by the Offshore Racing Council (ORC) as the replacement for IMS, a number of owners (amongst those Syd Fischer) have been in recent years expressing their preference for a measured, transparent rating rule.
Since 2009 under the watch of Past CYCA Commodore Matt Allen, entries under both IRC and ORCi have been accepted for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
It seems the number of boats entered under ORCi is slowly but surely growing, with 38 boats this year ticking both IRC and ORCi options.
The winner of the Sydney Hobart race has won in both IRC and ORC although they are two fundamentally different systems. It will be interesting to compare the two sets of results at the end of this year’s race.
We talked to Matt Allen pre-Hobart about the two rules.
He explained ‘ORCi addresses stability issues where IRC doesn’t. The ORCi stability index is derived from the old IMS stability index which is something that we all know and trust in a comprehensive fashion. It’s used today to determine whether boats meet the stability requires for the Hobart race.
‘ORCi is a transparent rule while IRC is not. There are pros and cons for each rule.
‘I think also measuring the stability is a good thing as long as stability is encouraged. We don’t want to go back to sailing tippy boats. IMS, people thought it was in some respects a good rule but didn’t encourage boats to be stable and didn’t move with the times and possibly didn’t encourage boats to be quick as much as one might have wanted them to be.
‘I think IRC encouraged quick boats at 50 foot plus and has traditionally not encouraged boats under 50 feet or under 45 feet to be all that fast.
‘There is a comment from a lot of countries where they believe that the racer cruiser is more fairly treated in ORCi than IRC.
'They tend to think that some production boats do well under IRC while other brands do not seem to be nearly as well handicapped. Under ORCi they are possibly more evenly treated.
'There is probably a majority of owners that are saying that IRC is working and therefore don’t upset the apple cart and there is also a large group of owners, probably a minority, who are saying well they are not overly happy with IRC and would like to have a look at ORCi.
'It’s the only other rating rule that is probably going to be on the horizon in the foreseeable future. It is something that Australia should keep track of development wise and so I am pleased to see the dual scoring this happens with the Rolex Sydney Hobart race.'
Dobbs Davis from the Offshore Rating Council commented ‘ORC seems to be doing a better job across a broader range of boat types than some of the other rating rules.
‘There is already a measurement protocol place for the category 1 offshore sailors in Australia to get stability measured and they use the IMS protocol to do that.
‘Back in the days of IMS in the late 90s and early 2000s the measurement of stability was there but it was not accurately modelled in the performance of the VPP so the designers have worked around it.
‘That's been gone since 2007 when the ORC invested heavily in better analysis to produce much more accurate results.
‘Under ORCi Fast boats do fine and slow boats do fine. That's the challenge of all these rules, to make them work across the range of boat types. It is a challenge for sure but based on the results that we saw from the recent World Championships where we had 119 boats from 16 countries and in which we had that broad range of boat types, it seems to be working and it seems to be fair.
‘Owners are dissatisfied with strong type forming in the rules. The analysis we did from the last Worlds results show, are not strong type forming tendencies that the ORC type system might work as a good alternative across boat types but most importantly is it offers flexibility.
‘The ORCi scoring can be done on a single number time on time basis if you like or you can choose amongst other options.
‘You can do an offshore single number option. You can do an inshore single number option. You can do a triple number option of time on time across three different wind speeds.
‘It’s a scientific based system with no politics, no guessing. The rule is downloadable.
‘Boats are entering ORCi because they get a certificate anyway to get the stability.
‘The interesting part will come in the next day or two when we will look at the IRC and ORCi results and compare the two.’
Yes it will be and yes we will.
Here is the current ORCi progressive data on the 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart race.
At racetime 03:04:20 - 29 December 2011, 5:20pm |
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EST. ELAPSED |
|
EST. CORR. |
|
YACHT NAME |
DIV |
LAT |
LONG |
DTG |
SOG |
COG |
|
TIME & SPEED |
H'CAP |
TIME & SPEED |
|
ORCI Overall |
|
1 |
Wild Rose |
3 |
42° 22' S |
148° 34' E |
98.8 |
4.5 |
210 |
|
03:18:06:40 |
7.0 |
1.003 |
03:18:22:53 |
7.0 |
|
|
R Hickman (34) NSW |
10nm E of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 7:06am |
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|
|
Time to Win |
03:18:41:25 30 Dec, 7:41am |
|
2 |
Victoire |
2 |
42° 54' S |
148° 10' E |
61.8 |
8.1 |
218 |
|
03:12:59:15 |
7.4 |
1.0689 |
03:18:50:35 |
6.9 |
|
|
Darryl Hodgkinson (1) NSW |
16nm S of Maria Island |
30 Dec, 1:59am |
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|
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Time to Win |
03:13:05:57 30 Dec, 2:05am |
|
3 |
Ragamuffin |
1 |
Finished |
|
03:00:04:42 |
8.7 |
1.262 |
03:18:57:46 |
6.9 |
|
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Syd Fischer (42) NSW |
|
29 Dec, 1:04pm |
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|
4 |
Jazz |
1 |
Finished |
|
02:23:53:56 |
8.7 |
1.2677 |
03:19:08:46 |
6.9 |
|
|
Chris Bull (4) NSW |
|
29 Dec, 12:53pm |
|
5 |
Balance |
2 |
42° 51' S |
148° 15' E |
66.6 |
7.2 |
208 |
|
03:13:09:55 |
7.4 |
1.0742 |
03:19:29:04 |
6.9 |
|
|
Paul Clitheroe (4) NSW |
13nm S of Maria Island |
30 Dec, 2:09am |
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|
|
Time to Win |
03:12:40:45 30 Dec, 1:40am |
|
6 |
Calm |
1 |
Finished |
|
02:23:42:55 |
8.8 |
1.2805 |
03:19:49:53 |
6.8 |
|
|
Jason Van der Slot (6) VIC |
|
29 Dec, 12:42pm |
|
|
7 |
Two True |
3 |
42° 33' S |
148° 31' E |
87.6 |
6.6 |
219 |
|
03:16:34:51 |
7.1 |
1.0384 |
03:19:58:56 |
6.8 |
|
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Andrew Saies (6) SA |
15nm SE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 5:34am |
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|
|
Time to Win |
03:15:35:55 30 Dec, 4:35am |
|
8 |
Lunchtime Legend |
3 |
42° 20' S |
148° 46' E |
104.8 |
6.9 |
223 |
|
03:18:05:05 |
7.0 |
1.0309 |
03:20:52:06 |
6.8 |
|
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Robbo Robertson (10) QLD |
19nm E of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 7:05am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:16:14:09 30 Dec, 5:14am |
|
9 |
Last Tango |
2 |
42° 28' S |
148° 28' E |
90.9 |
6.3 |
214 |
|
03:16:49:02 |
7.1 |
1.0555 |
03:21:44:48 |
6.7 |
|
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Phillip King (14) NSW |
10nm SE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 5:49am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:14:10:46 30 Dec, 3:10am |
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|
10 |
Patrice Six |
2 |
42° 30' S |
148° 33' E |
91.2 |
5.7 |
215 |
|
03:16:48:35 |
7.1 |
1.0573 |
03:21:53:55 |
6.7 |
|
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Tony Kirby (27) NSW |
14nm SE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 5:48am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:14:01:58 30 Dec, 3:01am |
|
11 |
Deloitte As One |
3 |
42° 11' S |
148° 45' E |
111.9 |
7.2 |
217 |
|
03:19:07:58 |
6.9 |
1.0338 |
03:22:12:47 |
6.7 |
|
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Chris Lewin (4) NSW |
21nm NE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 8:07am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:15:59:18 30 Dec, 4:59am |
|
12 |
Ella Bache |
3 |
42° 11' S |
148° 46' E |
112.7 |
6.8 |
212 |
|
03:19:16:15 |
6.9 |
1.0362 |
03:22:34:29 |
6.6 |
|
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Jessica Watson NSW |
21nm NE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 8:16am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:15:47:04 30 Dec, 4:47am |
|
|
13 |
Minerva |
1 |
42° 41' S |
148° 18' E |
76.8 |
5.0 |
224 |
|
03:14:32:50 |
7.3 |
1.1015 |
03:23:19:54 |
6.6 |
|
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Edward Cox (1) NSW |
6nm E of Maria Island |
30 Dec, 3:32am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:10:34:50 29 Dec, 11:34pm |
|
14 |
Carina |
3 |
41° 43' S |
149° 05' E |
143.4 |
7.0 |
200 |
|
03:22:44:05 |
6.6 |
1.0083 |
03:23:31:16 |
6.6 |
|
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Rives Potts USA |
41nm SE of St Helens Point |
30 Dec, 11:44am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:18:12:49 30 Dec, 7:12am |
|
15 |
Copernicus |
3 |
41° 25' S |
148° 56' E |
157.8 |
7.0 |
203 |
|
04:01:00:19 |
6.5 |
0.9894 |
03:23:58:37 |
6.5 |
|
|
Greg Zyner (4) NSW |
27nm E of St Helens Point |
30 Dec, 2:00pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:19:56:13 30 Dec, 8:56am |
|
|
16 |
AFR Midnight Rambler |
1 |
42° 51' S |
148° 17' E |
67.4 |
7.4 |
205 |
|
03:13:15:54 |
7.4 |
1.1297 |
04:00:19:26 |
6.5 |
|
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Ed Psaltis (30) NSW |
13nm SE of Maria Island |
30 Dec, 2:15am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:08:31:08 29 Dec, 9:31pm |
|
17 |
Martela |
3 |
41° 31' S |
149° 10' E |
156.3 |
7.2 |
211 |
|
04:02:06:30 |
6.4 |
0.984 |
04:00:32:19 |
6.5 |
|
|
Anthony Williams (4) TAS |
39nm E of St Helens Point |
30 Dec, 3:06pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:20:26:29 30 Dec, 9:26am |
|
18 |
Kiss Goodbye to MS |
2 |
41° 59' S |
148° 37' E |
120.6 |
6.1 |
207 |
|
03:20:58:20 |
6.8 |
1.0417 |
04:00:50:57 |
6.5 |
|
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Tony Warren (3) VIC |
25nm NE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 9:58am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:15:19:16 30 Dec, 4:19am |
|
|
19 |
Sweethart |
3 |
41° 53' S |
148° 52' E |
130.2 |
5.3 |
207 |
|
03:23:23:57 |
6.6 |
1.0194 |
04:01:15:00 |
6.5 |
|
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Laurence Pidgeon (4) QLD |
36nm NE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 12:23pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:17:13:53 30 Dec, 6:13am |
|
20 |
Lahana |
1 |
Finished |
|
02:12:34:26 |
10.4 |
1.6175 |
04:01:58:42 |
6.4 |
|
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Peter Millard (2) NSW |
|
29 Dec, 1:34am |
|
21 |
Patrice IV |
2 |
41° 59' S |
148° 53' E |
125.5 |
5.9 |
213 |
|
03:21:50:22 |
6.7 |
1.0457 |
04:02:07:40 |
6.4 |
|
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Shane Wiseman SA |
32nm NE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 10:50am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:14:59:13 30 Dec, 3:59am |
|
|
22 |
Jazz Player |
2 |
42° 10' S |
148° 56' E |
117.0 |
7.9 |
214 |
|
03:19:44:09 |
6.8 |
1.072 |
04:02:20:27 |
6.4 |
|
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Andrew Lawrence (2) VIC |
28nm E of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 8:44am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:12:51:11 30 Dec, 1:51am |
|
23 |
One For The Road |
3 |
41° 58' S |
148° 49' E |
124.9 |
6.5 |
210 |
|
03:23:03:25 |
6.6 |
1.0361 |
04:02:29:19 |
6.4 |
|
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Kym Butler (3) NSW |
31nm NE of Cape Sonnerat |
30 Dec, 12:03pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:15:47:35 30 Dec, 4:47am |
|
24 |
Not Negotiable |
3 |
40° 11' S |
149° 32' E |
236.2 |
7.4 |
206 |
|
04:17:30:51 |
5.5 |
0.8688 |
04:02:37:16 |
6.4 |
|
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John Rayner TAS |
56nm E of Flinders Island |
31 Dec, 6:30am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
04:08:41:56 30 Dec, 9:41pm |
|
|
25 |
Knee Deep |
1 |
43° 00' S |
148° 01' E |
55.1 |
7.9 |
202 |
|
03:11:58:32 |
7.5 |
1.1766 |
04:02:48:20 |
6.4 |
|
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Philip Childs (4) WA |
14nm N of Tasman Island |
30 Dec, 12:58am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:05:18:34 29 Dec, 6:18pm |
|
26 |
Chutzpah |
1 |
42° 43' S |
148° 15' E |
73.8 |
6.5 |
203 |
|
03:14:32:48 |
7.3 |
1.1589 |
04:04:17:56 |
6.3 |
|
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Bruce Taylor (30) VIC |
6nm SE of Maria Island |
30 Dec, 3:32am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:06:29:25 29 Dec, 7:29pm |
|
27 |
Outrageous Fortune |
2 |
41° 41' S |
149° 00' E |
144.0 |
5.8 |
189 |
|
03:22:40:45 |
6.6 |
1.0617 |
04:04:31:15 |
6.3 |
|
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Quintin Fowler New Zealand |
37nm SE of St Helens Point |
30 Dec, 11:40am |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:13:40:34 30 Dec, 2:40am |
|
|
28 |
Nutcracker |
3 |
41° 00' S |
149° 00' E |
182.1 |
7.5 |
208 |
|
04:05:41:55 |
6.2 |
0.99 |
04:04:40:54 |
6.2 |
|
|
Robert Davis / David Clancy VIC |
29nm E of Eddystone Pt |
30 Dec, 6:41pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:19:52:52 30 Dec, 8:52am |
|
29 |
Chancellor |
3 |
41° 10' S |
148° 42' E |
168.9 |
6.4 |
200 |
|
04:03:52:44 |
6.3 |
1.0191 |
04:05:47:12 |
6.2 |
|
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Ted Tooher (6) NSW |
17nm NE of St Helens Point |
30 Dec, 4:52pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:17:15:27 30 Dec, 6:15am |
|
30 |
Optimus Prime |
1 |
43° 00' S |
148° 12' E |
57.6 |
7.4 |
195 |
|
03:13:08:09 |
7.4 |
1.2058 |
04:06:39:24 |
6.1 |
|
|
Trevor Taylor (3) WA |
17nm NE of Tasman Island |
30 Dec, 2:08am |
|
|
31 |
Samurai Jack |
2 |
41° 12' S |
149° 02' E |
171.5 |
7.7 |
198 |
|
04:03:02:46 |
6.3 |
1.0744 |
04:10:24:55 |
5.9 |
|
|
Michael Lazzarini (1) QLD |
31nm E of St Helens Point |
30 Dec, 4:02pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:12:39:48 30 Dec, 1:39am |
|
32 |
Brindabella |
1 |
Finished |
|
03:03:27:00 |
8.3 |
1.4139 |
04:10:40:44 |
5.9 |
|
|
Jim Cooney (1) NSW |
|
29 Dec, 4:27pm |
|
33 |
Fullynpushing |
3 |
40° 40' S |
149° 08' E |
203.5 |
7.4 |
201 |
|
04:08:21:28 |
6.0 |
1.0356 |
04:12:04:22 |
5.8 |
|
|
Andrew Griffiths VIC |
41nm NE of Eddystone Pt |
30 Dec, 9:21pm |
|
|
|
Time to Win |
03:15:50:07 30 Dec, 4:50am |
|
|
|
Accenture Yeah Baby* |
1 |
Retired - at Port |
|
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Marc Ryckmans (5) NSW |
|
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|
Alacrity* |
2 |
Retired - at Port |
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Chris Percy QLD |
|
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Celestial* |
1 |
Retired - at Port |
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Sam Haynes (1) NSW |
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Duende* |
1 |
Retired - at Port |
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Damien Parkes (24) NSW |
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Pretty Fly III* |
1 |
Retired - at Port |
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Colin Woods (5) NSW |
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