The peasants are revolting

RORC on a PR offensive as discord mounts over the new Admiral’s Cup format

A vocal minority within RORC have started to express strong concerns about their club's plans for a rejuvenated Admiral's Cup in 2003. Just one week after the announcement of the event's new format the RORC Main Committee is now on the defensive, fending off vigorous criticism of its plans.

Acting as the spokesman for a collection of RORC members based around the IRM Owners Association, long-time RORC member Peter Morton presented his views to the committee for over three hours on Wednesday night. "I am the messenger for a number of people and a number of them are important people in the sailing world and the RORC need to explain what they have done and where they are going in the future," said Morton after the meeting.

It is a message that the RORC have clearly picked up. Commodore, Peter Rutter (left) is concerned that the message about why the RORC has made the changes it has to its flagship event, has not been put across effectively. "We had to see it in the light of the fact that the Admiral's Cup did not happen last time," he explains. "If we are going to have the event continue we have to make sure the event occurs this time around. We could have one disaster and a one no-show but if we had two no-shows the Admiral's Cup would cease to exist."

And Rutter is quite clear about the consequences for RORC if the event doesn't happen: "The success of the Admirals Cup is critical to the status of the club as we know it."

It appears the move to Dublin has been brought about by two major factors. On the one hand the RORC has a desire to internationalise the event with countries bidding for the event every two years in a similar way to the Olympics. On the other, various Irish government agencies offered substantial financial assistance. "One of the reasons to change out of the Solent is to show that we do intend to make it an international event," say Rutter. Though some have questioned the apparent lack of facilities available for an international regatta in Dun Laoghaire, Rutter is confident that the new 400-berth marina and associated infrastructure are more than adequate.

Morton's unease is not limited simply to the direct issues surrounding the Admiral's Cup. He and his group have wide ranging concerns that encompass the Commodore's Cup and the broader impact of the RORC's actions on the future of the IRM and IRC rating rules.

Pointing out that last year's RORC programme clearly stated that the Commodore's Cup would be run under IRM, Morton and his fellow IRM owners are aggrieved that the event is now to be run under IRC. "People have already built and modified boats," says Morton. "Lots of Ker 11.3s were ordered. I refitted Mandrake to IRM configuration. Bingo - all of a sudden its IRC. No discussion, no consultation, it's done."

The suggestion that the changes were made without consultation is firmly refuted by Rutter. "The steering committee looked at the Admiral's Cup and the Commodore's Cup and how they relate to one another. Over the last nine months there have been a minimum of six meetings and also a major consultation exercise both within and outside the UK," he says.

Continued on page 2...