Chris Tillett offers some quickfire tips for racing under IRC or ORC.

The great Australian sailor from Adelaide, Chris Tillett has been on a journey from winning the 1970 International Cadet world championships, to competing in the 470 event at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and more recently a key person on the remarkably successful South Australian yacht Secret Mens Business. Chris offers some quick advice to make certain gains when racing under the IRC or ORC rating rules.

Success is not obtained by “rocket science” but preparation and practice.
1.    Sailing under any rating rule you must fully understand it to obtain the best rating possible and don’t hesitate to ask the experts how this can be achieved. Often it can be as easy as remeasuring sails.
2.    Ensure your boat is well maintained. Often you hear tales of unfortunate breakages effecting results at the bar after the race but rarely are they bad luck but usually a lack of maintenance and preparation.
3.    Put together a regular crew who know their job and practice regularly in all breezes, so maneuvers become second nature.
4.    Well before the race spend time knowing and understanding the expected weather and tidal conditions, there is an abundance of great apps these days which makes this easy.

Good Sailing!

For information on ratings go to https://www.sailingresources.org.au/ratingshome_2021_22ud/

By Glen Stanaway https://www.sailing.org.au/about/ourstaff/