SDYC moves to add IRC to Leukemia & Yachting Cup

by San Diego Yacht Club on 7 Dec 2007 Some changes are coming to Southern California yachting in 2008. Leading those changes will be San Diego Yacht Club as they offer a first, the addition of IRC to the line-up for the Leukemia Cup and the Yachting Cup Regatta coming up in May. The races will be single scored, and will offer distinct classes for IRC with class and division prizes.

Wayne Terry, SDYC Commodore for 2008, is excited about the opportunity to be the first yacht club to offer stand-alone IRC racing in Southern California. 'San Diego Yacht Club,' Terry commented, 'is pleased to be able to take a very exciting step into the future of West Coast yacht racing by adopting an IRC Division at the 2008 Yachting Cup Regatta; we are looking forward to seeing this addition bring us increased participation and more exciting and competitive racing'

The Leukemia Cup race will be sailed on Friday May 2nd in 2008 and is open to both monohull and multihull boats 20 ft plus LOA. The course is a random leg course located in San Diego Bay. Proceeds from this race benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Details of how sailors will be able to 'buy down' their IRC ratings to contribute to the Leukemia fund have yet to be decided.

The Yachting Cup will be sailed on May 3rd & 4th, the subsequent Saturday and Sunday. It has been open to monohull PHRF and One Design classes in past years. IRC classes will be added for 2008. The courses are generally in the Ocean off of Zuniga Jetty and west of Point Loma. These races are run in conjunction with the Leukemia Cup and benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

In November a group of US-IRC owners and rule gurus made a whirlwind tour of four Southern California yacht clubs. The tour included the Del Rey Yacht Club, the Los Angeles Yacht Club, the Newport Harbor Yacht Club and the San Diego Yacht Club. The series of presentations on IRC were a resounding success and the announcement of the addition of IRC to the Leukemia Cup and the Yachting Cup Regatta is the first evidence.

According to Luiz Kahl, owner of Yacht Scoring out of Detroit, who was instrumental in organizing an IRC fleet on Lake Michigan and who was 'on the tour' this is a major event in California and one of the first officially offering an IRC class. 'We aren't ready to make formal announcements yet,' said Kahl, 'but there are a few more events in California that have already inquired for help from US-IRC and will be offering IRC also. This is good news resulting from the seminars we put together there a couple of weeks ago.'

Southern California sailor Jim Madden who helped bring the tour to the state added, 'The Southern California IRC tour was extremely helpful in allowing owners, crew, and race organizers a firsthand opportunity to understand the rule and ask questions. The feedback to date has been extremely positive. It looks like there will be many events in 2008 adopting IRC.'

For information about the SDYC Leukemia Cup and the Yachting Cup Regatta contact
Karen Yingling karen@jconcierge.com