IRC competition tough at Acura Key West 2008

by Talbot Wilson on 15 Jan 2008 It's the second event of the 2008 Gulf Stream Series and 20 IRC entries in two classes will be on the starting line for Acura Key West 2008 and the second event of the third annual Gulf Stream Series January 21-25th.

Highland Fling, Irving Laidlaw's Wally 80, Dan Meyers new JV 66 Numbers and Rima 2, John Brim's new R/P 55, five TP52's and a Ker 50 make up IRC 1.

The remaining 10 boats in IRC 2 range from Murka, a Swan 45 from the UK owned by Mikhail Mouratov to a new Mark Mills 37, No Naked Flames, owned by Andrew and Carl Allen of Belfast Ireland. IRC 2 includes Jim Bishop's J44 Gold Digger, Greg Manning's X-41 Sarah, two J122's Christopher Dragon and Teamwork, Le Renard, a Farr 40 , Grateful Red a C&C 121, a X382 Cathexis and the Grand Soleil 37 Kalevala II.

The racing should be intense and exciting as it always is at Key West.

Also of interest to IRC and other offshore sailors is the Thursday seminar on handicapping systems from around the world. Moderator Dobbs Davis, Editor, Seahorse International, will lead the afternoon entertainment, 5:00 – 6:00 PM on Thursday, January 24 on LEWMAR DAY with the topic *Rating Rules: Single Number or Matrix, Science or Séance?

If you are in Key West, join Dobbs and his expert panelists for what promises to be a lively discussion on the relative merits of PHRF, IRC, ORR, and the newest edition of VPP-based handicaps, ORC International. They will explore the pros and cons of each, and offer some insight on how the results at Race Week may vary under different handicap systems.

The Panel includes:

Wolfgang Schaeffer (ORC Board)

Nicola Sironi (ORC Chief Measurer)

Barry Carroll (US IRC Technical Director)

Steve Benjamin (North Sails)

Bruce Bingman (Chairman, PHRF Consortium)

Jim Teeters (ORR)

Dan Nowlan (US Sailing Offshore Director)

Owners and Organizing Authorities wishing to adopt IRC for their events should contact US-IRC Executive Director John Mendez for help with the process info@us-irc.org.