New IRC Trophy

With good take-up for the RORC's rule in America, so the Royal Bermuda YC make a fresh donation

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club has unveiled plans for a new major trophy for the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race. The North Rock Trophy is a scale replica of the original North Rock Light Tower that once warned mariners by marking the rocky approach to Bermuda from the North.  It will be awarded to the first IRC boat on corrected time in the St. David’s Lighthouse and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Divisions.
 
“With IRC a popular rule particularly on the East Coast of the U.S. we wanted to give something worthy to race for,” said Andy Cox, Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. “The yacht club is donating the new trophy modeled after the original North Rock Light Tower. “
 
“The same silversmiths in the UK who make the coveted Lighthouse Trophies have been commissioned to design and craft the silver tower and bronze ‘rock’ base” Cox noted. “All boats sailing in the St. David’s Lighthouse and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Divisions with endorsed IRC certificates will be eligible to race for it.”
 
The Newport Bermuda Race starts June 20, 2008 and is jointly organized by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Cruising Club of America. The 2006 centennial fleet had a record 264 starters. Hopes are high for a fleet that approaches that record.
 
“We don’t expect to break the record numbers we had for the Centennial” Commodore Cox concluded. “However we do expect that this new trophy will attract high interest with East Coast sailors who like the IRC rule”.
 
In the 2008 race, all boats must have a “fully measured” ORR (Offshore Rating Rule) certificate and meet the requirements for the race based on the ORR rule which will be used to determine the winners of the prestigious St David’s and Gibb’s Hill Lighthouses.