The Bosun
The Notice of Race for the Sydney-Hobart Race in December is now available on the event website. It is much the same as it has been for the past few years. Two-handers can use auto-helm, fully crewed boats cannot.
The only notable change in the NoR seems to be the addition of a division for “IRC Cruiser/Racer Boats”. To qualify, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia rules now state that a Cruiser/Racer must be:
“Fully fitted out for comfortable cruising and normally contains a full complement of private cabins, a fully fitted out galley, heads and onboard refrigeration and has a LH [hull length] not less 13.90m [45’6”].”
Apart from the minimum length, that could be a rather subjective definition. No surprise, then, that the Race Committee’s determination as to whether a boat meets those criteria cannot be the subject of a protest, or grounds for redress.
Previous attempts by the club to swell the fleet by establishing a Cruising Class have failed. The event is a race, after all, not a wander South for motor-sailors.
So why make another attempt to create a division? Presumably, because owners of big, comfortable cruising yachts in the 70-to-100-foot range have taken to entering the Hobart as a ‘bucket list’ item. Those boats rate so badly in relation to their performance that they have little chance of scoring a divisional win, let alone the overall trophy. But their owners apparently resent not appearing on the podium, so the CYCA has now created an IRC class just for them.
There’s an unintended consequence of this decision that looks a lot like snobbery. The race has always had plenty of entrants in the 30-45-foot range that are genuine cruiser/racers. Without those honest amateur battlers, total fleet numbers in recent years would have been modest. Yet they, too, are “fully fitted out” and have minimal chances of major honours. Most are shunted down into the Corinthian PHS (Performance Handicap) division. It is a mystery why they should be excluded from the new IRC Cruiser/Racer category.
Meanwhile, the Cruising Yacht Club has persisted with its contentious “Diversity Allowance” rule. This is the variation to IRC 22.4.1 (crew number) and 22.4.2 (crew weight) that allows boats to take – without rating penalty – one more person than is declared on their IRC certificate if the crew includes two females, or two under-23 sailors, or one of each.
The flaws in this attempt at social engineering have been exposed previously, as have its practical loopholes. It is a classic cure for which there is no disease. The rule was introduced by the CYCA for last year’s Hobart but nobody seems to know how many – if any – entrants applied to take that extra crew member.
AC
And finally in sailing news South of the Equator, things seem to have gone awfully quiet with the last-minute (but much-ballyhooed) Team Australia challenge for the America’s Cup.
After the flashy media launch on May 13 their website assured us “further sailor signings and team announcements will be made in the coming weeks.” That was six weeks ago. Since then, nothing heard. The AC38 preliminary regatta begins in Naples just 90 days from now. It will be interesting to see whether the Aussies – or the Americans – will be ready to take part.
The Bosun
