So how good is IRC

[ifoxwell]

We have just completed our first IRC regatta and I have to say I'm amazed by how close the times are when the rating is taken into account.

There were only eight boats in the fleet but they covered a host of different types, ages, styles etc and yet after 4 hours of racing all boats were generally within 10 min of each other. We lost two of the races by just fractions (one by 5 sec and the other by 13 sec !)

Coming from a dinghy background where handicaps always tend to favor one class or another with any given set of conditions I found this amazingly close, and lets not talk about NHC....

So I'm sold on the scheme or was this just lucky? what experience have others had.

Ian

 

[mrming]

Short version:

It's the best mainstream rating system we have in the UK.

It's not great at rating disparate boat types and sizes (no schemes are).

It works best if the boats are sorted into tight bands based on their ratings. It simply doesn't work across large size / speed gaps and shouldn't be expected to.

It has some quirks at different size ranges and tends to penalise more fun boats at smaller lengths. It's okay to plane if you're a TP-52 but it's frowned upon at smaller sizes.

All in all it's pretty good, but different boat types will often win in different conditions.

Also, it does reward boat preparation and tuning although that is also true of many one design keelboat classes such as Sonatas etc.

PS I sailed in the event too. Windy wasn't it!

 

[flaming]

mrming is correct.

When IRC is asked to rate boats that have broadly the same performance characteristics - i.e don't plane, are similar style of boat (cruiser racers or racers) even if the actual rating difference is fairly high. 2 years ago we were second in a regatta due to 2 races having 1 second deltas in the opposition favour. And we frequently get fabulously close racing like this.

When it is asked to rate planing boats against non planing ones then it becomes a nonsense, and it's possible to predict the winner before the start.

 

[uknij]

Its rubbish if your sitting on a Projection!

 

[Birdseye]

As with any handicap system for yachts, there is an element of luck but the spread you describe isnt unusual. IRC like other handicaps works best with boats of a similar performance, in non tidal conditions, in moderate winds. And thats before you get to different crew skills. But then it should work reasonably well since it is based on the same sort of VPP that is used in designing the yachts.

I've had a look though the corrected results figures for our IRC fleet and the usual spread between first and last in a fleet of 8 had been about 8%. but as an illustration of the issue of handicapping when boats arent similar, one boat ( the only one with an IRC beginning with an 8) won 9 out of the 11 races they turned up for and the other results were a second and a third. This boat is weighed by the way but his handicap is 850 when the rest of the fleet lies between 950 and 1050.

You might have expected the NHC corrected results to be closer given that the handicap adjusts to reflect performance. But that isnt how it works out. The typical spread is 25% between first and last. The handicap spread is much wider ( who races an old british bilge keeler under IRC?) but naturally enough so is the spread of skill levels. And committment. Sure the initial calculation is a less sophisticated version of the IRC one and hence less accurate but I dont believe thats the reason for the results spread. We NHC racers are simply less good!

As with dinghies, the best racing is non handicap in one make series. But unlike dinghies, yacht handicaps have to cope with tide and fleets that often dont have more than a couple an individual design.

 

[ifoxwell]

PS I sailed in the event too. Windy wasn't it!

Just a bit! although for us it may have been better if it was even winder! as we would just have put a reef in and sailed the conditions rather than hang on with a full main and No 3 still trying to sail fast. It worked but it was a bit sketchy at times. I wont forget the kit run down to 2A for a long time

Which boat were you in?

Ian

 

[xyachtdave]

Its rubbish if your sitting on a Projection!

'The Works'??

Looked wet...!

 

[mrming]

Just a bit! although for us it may have been better if it was even winder! as we would just have put a reef in and sailed the conditions rather than hang on with a full main and No 3 still trying to sail fast. It worked but it was a bit sketchy at times. I wont forget the kit run down to 2A for a long time

Which boat were you in?

Ian

We were on our small Beneteau in class three, flying downwind and then gritting our teeth on the way back up!