Yachts & Yachting – April 2018

T

hisseasonissettobeabig

year in northern Europe for

IRC, the Union Nationale

pour la Course au Large

(UNCL) and RORC’s all-

encompassing yacht rating system, IRC.

DespitebeingbornoftheChannel

Handicap System in the early 1980s

andrelaunchedinitspresentformin

2000, IRC has only recently upped its

game when it comes to championships.

Formanyyearstherehavebeenannual

IRC national championships, not just

in its founding countries, the UK and

France, but as far afield as Australia, New

Zealand, Brazil, USA, Canada and China.

Two years ago the first ever IRC

European Championship was held as

2018 is set to be a big year for IRC racing.JAMES BOYDlooks ahead

to the Commodores’ Cup, IRC Euros and other must-do events

part of Volvo Cork Week. Last year there

was a stand-alone event, run by the

UNCL in conjunction with a triumvirate

of local clubs in Marseille. Competing

in this event were 53 boats, from 30

footers to TP52s from 12 nations, as

far afield as Turkey, the UK and the

Netherlands. It was won by one of its

smallest boats: Guy Claeys’ St Tropez-

based JPK 10.10 Expresso 2 racing in

IRC Four, proving that these amazing

Jacques Valer-designed speedsters

work just as well round the cans as

they do offshore (Pascal and Alexis

Loison’s 10.10 Night & Day won the

2013 Rolex Fastnet Race outright). As

thesoleentryfromourshoresSimon

Henning’s Mumm 36 Alice represented

IRC SEASON

PREVIEW

PREVIEW IRC SEASON

ALL PHOTOS: PAUL WYETH/RORC

April 2018 Yachts & Yachting 23