Yachts racing is an activity where people compete on sailing yachts and large sailing boats. The first one to pass the specified route wins. Due to the peculiarities of the event, there are many factors that affect the course of the competition.

Weather conditions are beyond the control of the participants, so they can only adapt and try to use them as efficiently as possible. The key to success is the skills of the crew and the ability to use transport. Yachts and their power is the only thing that can be improved and this will have a significant impact.

But using this opportunity for fraud will not work. There are rules for participating in the race. They are clearly written and constantly updated. It also serves as a method of equalizing the participation of similar or different yachts.

Under these rules, the competition may have certain criteria for the participation of transport. There are inspection systems that distribute the vessels according to ratings. They will show which boat is suitable for the competition, whether a particular vessel meets the criteria or even recommend more profitable events with a higher win rate.

Usually, these classifications are used to determine the winning boat and compare it with other participants. Without a certificate of position in the rating, the boat will not be admitted to the competition.

Popular rating systems

All of them use scientific methods and their own measurement technologies to make an assessment. The most recommended and tested are: PHRF, IRC, ORC and ORR, MOCRA.

They recognize the value of a yacht or a particular yacht installation. This figure is then used to adjust the finish time after each race. All four systems use time-on-time (TOT) or time-over-distance (TOD) corrections.

The adjustment of this time limit takes into account how long it takes to race because the TOD formula looks at the race distance. It is worth noting that ORC and ORR sum up additional factors and have some flexibility for a special adjustment formula.

PHRF specializes in yacht types and predicts sail plans and crew performance. Accordingly, the results are more accurate and teams are assigned a corrected handicap coefficient. Races under PHRF rules also use TOT or TOD.

IRC, ORC and ORR have a more complex calculation system. Formulas are used there to assign a rating to each yacht. The calculation formulas for IRC and ORR are not available to users. There is only a guess as to how the rating is built and how various factors affect it.

Among the factors that the IRC closely considers are the size of the sails, the weight and the width of the boat. Then there is a comparison of yachts in percentages, and a ranking in the rating, which is adjusted using TOT.

The Multihull Offshore Cruising and Racing Association is Britain’s popular regatta classification. Specializes in multi-hull vessels. Allows you to adjust the time for catamarans and trimarans of various shapes and sizes. The regatta is evaluated according to the SI system or any other international certificate taking into account and calculating the TCF.

Change of vessel rating

If it is considered upgrading a yacht to increase the place on the list, the most popular and easiest way is to change the size of the sail. Smaller sails show a better rating in all indicators. Sails are often folded, raised or fixed during the route. Therefore, the material is also important. Dyneema sail designs tend to shrink more than carbon sails.

If you pay attention to the ratings, you should remember that points are calculated based on general indicators inherent to all ships. But, every boat is unique, so having the right data for the transport or rig can greatly increase the chances of winning.

Another option for increasing the position in the list is the optimization of the boat. There are usually companies that specialize in this. Upon request, they hire specialists who first do an inspection.

They will check the existing inventory, and find gaps or areas that should be improved. It is often advised to change the sails. It can also simply be a recommendation for setting up current sails.

Knowing about the boat rating lists and the specifics of their rules will help you choose the best representative for the competition.