IRC Canadian Championship set for RCYC June 22-23

by Lake Ontario IRC Executive Committee on 12 Jun 2013 There is now less than two weeks until our first major IRC event of the season. The 2013 IRC Canadian Championship is being hosted by the RCYC on June 22/23 in conjunction with their annual Open Regatta. We expect a substantial turnout for this event and the current entry list includes boats from Rochester and other areas on the south shore. We have already divided the fleet into four divisions with the expectation of an IRC 4 division forming to make it five closely rated and competitive divisions. The IRC Canadians hosted by the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and the IRC Great Lakes hosted by National Yacht Club in conjunction with the LYRA annual regatta are our two major IRC championship events being hosted by IRC Lake Ontario this year so we encourage everyone to attend. Please contact our Chief Measurer John Crawley for information on IRC measurement, ratings and certificates. All information for the International IRC Owners Association - Lake Ontario Fleet is contained within the Lake Ontario Racing Council website or you may contact John directly by e-mail at jccrawley@gmail.com. ABYC Open There was a good early season turnout for our first IRC Lake Ontario Championship Series event, the ABYC Open Regatta, held on the May 25/25 weekend. In IRC 3 it was Patrick Flynn's Star 30 Starwatch in third, Sandy Steffen's Zoo2 in second and the J92 Switch owned by Andrew Sharp taking the win. Switch is new to our IRC fleet this year and I think he served notice with this win he will be a competitive force in the events to come. IRC 2 finished with Richard Huczek's A35 Great Escape in third, the IMX 38 Five Fifteen skippered by Jim McGuinness in second and the division win going to Stephen Trevitt's J35 Crime Scene. IRC 1 saw an early season appearance of John McLeod's J133 Hot Water which took the class win followed by Adam Farkas on his X35 Xoomer Xpress in second and the 'new' Press Gang, helmed by Roland van Hazel in third. For anyone who doesn't know the story, the previous Farr 30 Press Gang was hit by lightning last fall while on delivery back from the Bronte Rocks Regatta. No one was hurt, except for the boat, so a new but similarly painted Farr 30 is the 'new' Press Gang. We wish Christine and Roland the best of luck with their new Press Gang. Spitfire takes off at the Susan Hood The Susan Hood, first event in our three-race 2013 IRC Offshore Series, took place on May 31. Racers were greeted by cool conditions on Friday evening with a rain squall or two thrown in for added discomfort but it was a very pleasant race compared to many we have endured over the years. IRC featured three strong divisions this year with racing so close that corrected times left a number of boats mere seconds apart after 75 miles of racing. In IRC 3 the J92 Switch took third with Ian Struthers Beneteau 10R Plika in second and the division win going to last years IRC overall winner in the LO300 Leszek Siek's J35 Jaeger. In IRC 2 it was Joe MacDonald's consistently well sailed IMX38 IMXreme in third, with another strong showing by Robert Eckersley's J109 Blue Streak placing them in 2nd and the division win going to Stephen Trevitt's Crime Scene. Stephen was going so well that he was third boat around the Burlington mark behind Spitfire and Game Changer. Very impressive. In IRC 1 it was all about playing the shifts and keeping the pedal down with timely sail changes to get around the course far enough ahead of the chasing pack. In the light early morning breeze Gaucho and Spitfire slid slowly across the finish line virtually overlapped to set a very fast elapsed time of 11 hours and nine minutes. With Gaucho owing Spitfire over five minutes for this race, it was just a matter of waiting for the balance of the fleet to appear to determine division and overall positions. When all the numbers were crunched it was a well earned IRC division and fleet win for Jonathan Bamberger's J145 Spitfire. Crime Scene corrected out to just 49 seconds behind Spitfire with Jaeger a mere 10 seconds behind Crime Scene to round out the top three overall places on IRC. In IRC 1 Gaucho, skippered by 12 year old Maggie MacDonald, held on to second with Adam Farkas' X35 Xoomer Xpress taking third in division. Well done Maggie it must have been quite a jump going straight from an Opti to a Farr 44! Next Offshore Race Next up on the 2013 IRC Offshore Series schedule is the Lake Ontario 300 on July 13th with the third and final event the Freeman Cup Race scheduled for July 31st. Registration for all events is through Yacht Scoring. Competitors can still qualify for the 2013 IRC Offshore Series by participating in both the LO300 and Freeman Cup. It is a best two of three format with the Freeman Cup mandatory. IRC Measurer and Scorer for all these events is John Crawley. He may be contacted at jccrawley@gmail.com. Registration now open at LORC