Measurement seminar

Nicola Sironi heads down under for six day training session

At the invitation and organization of Australia’s Rating Office at Yachting Australia, ORC Chief Measurer Nicola Sironi just concluded the first-ever Australian ORC International measurement seminar in Sydney. The six days spent on training measurers, updating measurement techniques, measuring boats, and discussing the possibility of future ORC-scored events was deemed by all concerned valuable for establishing stability standards and the re-introduction of an international VPP-based rating rule back into Australian offshore yachting.

“It was a very productive trip,” said Sironi on his return. “I was impressed by the good understanding of the measurement process among the numerous people who attended the seminar, from measuring the hull to stability and all the rest. Its clear that they are very interested in a more sophisticated input to their handicapping needs.”

Ten measurers from all over the country - from Perth to Sydney, from Cairns to Melbourne and Hobart - shared ideas as well as demonstrated practical techniques on various forms of hull measurement, stability tests, and rig and spar measurements of the International Measurement System (IMS). This data is used to provide the necessary input to generating certificates in the ORC International rating system. But besides being used for handicapping purposes, the data is also invaluable as an accurate measure of a boat’s stability, a parameter of particular interest to Australian offshore yachtsmen, as entries in the upcoming Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race are required to submit a Stability Declaration certificate.

“The biggest benefit I gained from the training was the removal of the complication that had grown up around IMS measurement,” said John Duffin, a measurer from Melbourne. “I am glad to see the introduction of technology so that we may simplify and directly record the measurement data.”

Representatives from the Cruising YC of Australia (CYCA) have indicated a desire to offer parallel ORC scoring to eligible entries in the upcoming Rolex Trophy series, to be held in the weeks prior to the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. And once more boats are measured and certificates issued, it is hoped that ORC divisions will be offered in the next Gold Coast Race, the Hamilton Island Race and the 2009 Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race.

“We’re excited to be able to soon be able offer ORC as a handicap alternative,” said Matt Allen, Commodore of CYCA. “It represents a fair and transparent system of rating and measurement, one that many of our owners are wanting to try in order to get better results in their yachting.”

Technical staff at Yachting Australia are now equipped with all the tools necessary to generate ORCi certificates, and a network of qualified measurers is being organized.
“We are certainly very excited that the CYCA and other Australian yachtsmen are keen to try the ORC rating system, and we will give them strong support to assist them in their use of this system,” said ORC Chairman Bruno Finzi. “We feel confident they will see its value as the world’s most accurate and fair system for rating offshore yachts.”