Please select your home edition
Edition
A+T Instruments 2024 Leaderboard

52nd ORC Congress looks forward to 2022…and beyond

by Offshore Racing Congress 14 Nov 2021 19:36 PST 6-8 & 12-14 November 2021
52nd Annual General Meeting of the ORC Congress © Offshore Racing Congress

The 52nd Annual Meeting of the Offshore Racing Congress was held in two parts: Zoom committee meetings held over 6-8 November followed by both in-person meetings in Athens and Zoom conferences held over 12-14 November. Minutes for these meetings can be found at www.orc.org/meetings.

Today in the concluding meeting of the ORC Congress a thorough overview was given of the 2021 season and what improvements and events lie ahead in 2022 and beyond. Delegates from among the 45 countries that use the ORC Rating System heard reports from among several Committees that have met in the last week to give their recommendations on several important items:

  • Submissions from national rating authorities to changes rules and policies
  • Changes in membership of the Committees
  • Improvements to the ORC VPP in formulating ratings for 2022
  • Locations and dates of major 2022 and 2023 ORC championship events
  • Report from Treasurer Patrick Lindqvist on the strong financial health of the organization
Notable among decisions approved by the Congress are the following:

The Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) changes made by the International Technical Committee (ITC) led by Andy Claughton focused on mostly small adjustments to improve accuracy, with a significant review made of the aerodynamic model. Improvements to the wind gradient model and better force coefficients for asymmetric spinnakers predict a closer match of observed upwind and downwind performance among 25 sample designs evaluated within the 1800 boats in the ORC test fleet.

Overseen by ORC Management Committee members Ecky van der Mosel & Jose Frers, ORC Chairman Bruno Finzi receives from ORC VPP programmer Davide Battistin a hard copy of the Fortran code of ORC VPP Mark I. This is now replaced by Mark II that is faster & more flexible to handle multihulls and boats with foils and other modern design features.

Overall the change in ratings in the 2021 fleet for 2022 is anticipated to be only <0.5%.

ITC has also helped confirm that a new scoring concept introduced last year called the All Purpose Handicap (APH) does better at providing a single-number representation of a boat's performance averaged across the entire range of windspeeds. ORC has not yet eliminated the General Purpose Handicap (GPH) on certificates, but is moving towards phasing this out of supported use.

Another interesting item related to scoring is the adoption of the new terms "Polar Curve Scoring" and "Scoring Wind" to replace Performance Curve Scoring and Implied Wind, respectively. The reason is to encourage broader adoption of PCS as a scoring method since it is the most accurate of all offered by ORC.

After three years of development work, ITC expects this year to finally roll out for more general use the new ORC Multihull Rule (ORCmh), beta-tested this year and slated for further testing in the first half of 2022.

ITC Chairman Andy Claughton has also been approved to devide of the Committee into a technical production group and an expansion of designers to oversee suggested changes to the VPP. These include Quentin Lucet from VPLP (FRA), Mark Mills (IRL), Adolfo Carrau from Botin Partners (ESP), and Bruce Nelson (USA).

The Congress also approved the adoption of a recommended upgrade to the Aerodynamic model based on a more modern wind gradient model and new force coefficients for asymmetric sails. They also listened to an explanation of the ongoing work on the hydrodynamic research on residuary resistance, expected to be adopted into the VPP in 2023.

Overall, Chairman Bruno Finzi reported the ORC system has done well in 2021, coming close to returning to pre-pandemic levels of certificates and boats in the fleets that use the system. At this time in 2020 there were 7413 ORC Club and ORCi certificates issued, compared to 9326 issued thus far in 2021 now...an increase of 26%.

The largest spike in ORC statistics in 2021 was in the USA, where in 2020 there were only 346 certificates issued compared to 1040 now - a 300% increase!

Finzi also expects an even better year in 2022 with next year's ORC championship events to include the ORC Mediterranean Championship in Sarrento, Italy in May, the 2022 ORC World Championship in Porto Cervo, Italy in June, the ORC European Double-Handed Championship in Sweden in July, the 2022 ORCi European Championship in Hanko, Norway in August.

Bids for 2023 ORC championship events were approved for the 2023 ORC Worlds in Kiel, Germany the 2023 ORC Europeans in Malta, and 2023 ORC DH Europeans in Barcelona, which may be upgraded to the latest World Sailing-approved event in the ORC portfolio, the ORC Double Handed World Championship. An expression of interest was also received for the 2024 ORC Worlds to return to the USA since being cancelled in 2020.

For more detailed information on the discussions and decisions made at the ORC Annual Meeting, visit www.orc.org/meetings.

Related Articles

Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy 2025 Preview
International sailing & ocean conservation unite in Cascais From July 4 to 6, Cascais hosts the biggest sailing regatta of the year with a strong focus on sustainability. The Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy celebrates six years of diversity, competition, and environmental commitment. Posted on 30 Jun
From ORC to DH: The XR 41 Delivers Again
All eyes were on the new XR 41 during the Maior Regatta in Kiel All eyes were on the new XR 41 during the Maior Regatta in Kiel, where she convincingly won under ORC. The boat has proven her versatility by taking on Denmark's Fyn Cup — and winning again. Posted on 29 Jun
First-ever ORC North American champions crowned
Fox, Zammermoos and Teamwork win at Block Island Race Week 2025 After completing the full schedule of races - 9 in the ORC 1 class and 10 in the ORC 2 and 3 classes - three new ORC North American Champion teams have been crowned on Friday at the Storm Trysail Club's 31st biennial Block Island Race Week. Posted on 28 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 5
IHG Hotels and Resorts Race Day concludes the event Block Island Race Week's final tent party was abuzz with anticipation and excitement Friday evening, as sailors and spectators awaited the announcement of cumulative awards for the regatta's 60th anniversary. Posted on 27 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 4
Round The Island Race on Mount Gay Rum Race Day Mount Gay Rum Race Day featured everyone's favorite race of Block Island Race Week: the Regatta Craft Mixers Round The Island Race. The breaking of the recent heatwave made for a fast and furious counter-clockwise lap. Posted on 26 Jun
Tight racing at ORC North American Championship
Two days of racing remain before titles awarded in three classes With three days of racing completed over 7 Windward-Leeward courses, the scorelines are filling up for all three classes competing in the first ORC North American Championship at Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week. Posted on 26 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 3
Soaring temperatures on Risk Strategies Race Day Risk Strategies Race Day at Block Island Race Week featured another day of champagne conditions and soaring temperatures. To give sailors a brief reprieve, the Race Committee called for an "early" end to racing (only 2 long races instead of 3). Posted on 25 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 2
Regatta Craft Mixers Race Day turns up the heat Regatta Craft Mixers Race Day turned up the heat at Block Island Race Week—literally. The Island was not spared from the heat wave sweeping the East Coast this week, but that did not put a stop to the action out on the water. Posted on 25 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 4
IDM Inshore Gold to Flensburg and Denmark The weather conditions during Kieler Woche on Tuesday continued just as they had on Monday: sustained winds well over 20 knots and gusts exceeding 30. Posted on 24 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 1
The wind fills in after a short delay on North Sails Race Day Racing in the 31st Block Island Race Week got under way on Monday with the North Sails Race Day. After a one hour wind delay, the three fleets motored through "The Cut" to their respective race courses for a 12:00 p.m. start as the sea breeze filled in. Posted on 23 Jun
Mackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOMAllen Dynamic 40 FooterPalm Beach Motor Yachts