The peasants are revolting

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

The Farr 40 Owner's Association didn't want their class to be included in the Admiral's Cup

Though upset by the change, Morton is a realist and can see good reasons for running the Commodore's Cup under IRC. "They state that it is a Corinthian event and IRC is a Corinthian rule, so I suppose that is fine," he says. It is what leads on from this that so baffles Morton and one suspects, many others.

Why, just three months later, was it decided that for the Admiral's Cup, RORC's grand prix event, the professional class will be raced under IRC? "What story does that give to you average IRC sailor. I think they are going to put IRC under so much pressure that it will now be seen to be the grand prix rule because it is the rule for the Admiral's Cup."

Rutter has an answer to these criticisms too. By selecting a large IRC boat outside the confines of normal club racing he is confident that the impact on the wider world of IRC will be minimal. "We feel that for the average club racer a 50ft IRC boat is almost like a planet separated."

The impact of an IRC 50 footer is likely to be all too minimal according to Morton, who is dubious that there will be much of a take up of the IRC class outside the core countries already using this rule. "An American is not going to build an IRC boat to come here because when he takes it back to his country it will be completely uncompetitive," he says. If he is right, the same problem applies to most of the Mediterranean and Baltic countries.

Morton's strongest criticism is however reserved for the smaller yacht in the two-boat team. "Why go and choose an IMS 600, a class that does not exist, and reintroduce a rule that has failed the Admiral's Cup in the past - a rule that has no interest in Ireland, the UK or France?" Equally significant is the unanswered question surrounding the willingness of people who have spent £140,000 on a Beneteau 40.7 to invest another £200,000 on an Admiral's Cup campaign. "It's just completely nuts," he maintains.

Rutter has a simple answer to this too. Outside the UK there is not one single IRM boat. "We are looking for boats that exist. What we went for was a class that did not disenfranchise anybody," he maintains.

With no apparent place for any Farr designs in the Admiral's Cup, some will argue that Morton's role as the representative of Farr International in Europe has clouded his judgement. In something of an unholy alliance, Rutter refutes this, pointing out that, "Morty's opinions, impassionately put as they are, are not trying to be destructive. He is just trying to make sure that we have thought about it and he thinks we haven't made the right decision and is quite open about that, but he is actually trying to help the club. It's not warfare."

Remarkably Rutter also confirms that the Farr 40 Class Association specifically asked that their boat - thought most likely to end up in the Admiral's Cup - not be considered as they could not reconcile competing in a grand prix event with their owner-driver rule.

The health of the IRC seems to interest Morton at least as much as the exact details of the Admiral's Cup. Though critical of early versions of the IRC, he now believes it is a good rule offering good quality competition in a range of high performance boats. "My desire to see IRM [succeed] is hugely influenced by the need to see IRC survive," he says. "If the new boats start winning all the IRC trophies then the majority of the IRC owners will drop out."

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