Registration open for ORC Sportboat European Championship

by ORC Media on 26 Apr 2017 The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) and the Yacht Club Auda are pleased to announce that Registration is open now for the 2017 ORC Sportboat European Championship to be held over 7-13 August in Riga, Latvia.

The event is open to entry for boats that are 6.0 to 9.15 m in length, weigh less than 2000 kg, and have a Displacement/Length ratio (DSPM/LSM03) of less than 6.00.

Combining the power of the ORC VPP with an application specified to small, light and fast keelboats, the ORC Sportboat class is attracting attention throughout the world as a fair and transparent handicap solution for these style boats. This year's edition is expected to draw on both the local fleets in Latvia and from among active Sportboat sailors throughout the Baltic region and beyond.

According to the new 2017 ORC Sportboat rules, three divisions are planned, where Division A will be for boats with DSPM/LSM03 of <3.70 and have only asymmetric spinnakers, Division B will be for boats with DSPM/LSM03 of <6.00 that have no trapezes, and Division C will be for boats with DSPM/LSM03 of <6.00 and are equipped with trapezes.

Entries are open to competitors from all countries, with pre-registration open until 7 June 2017. Entries received before 1 May will have a discounted fee rate of €300, and afterwards €500.

Led by an international race management team, the regatta will feature two days of measurement and practice, followed by a Coastal race and three days of inshore racing. The top three finishers in each division will receive trophies in both the Open and Corinthian divisions.

'ORC sportboats are an important segment of our ORC rating system,' says Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. 'Our technical committee members made many changes to the system in the last few months to improve the measurements, ratings and scoring of this class, so we look forward to this year's championship to be better than ever.'