In rude health

We have reached the end of another successful maxi racing season culminating in our two biggest regattas. Large, diverse fleets are a feature of our events and 43 yachts competing at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and 41 at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez was impressive.

In Porto Cervo we had the first World Championship for our Maxi 1 division. Although the Maxi Yacht Cup is often known as the ‘Maxi Worlds’ (dating back to when it was the championship for the IOR A Class), the IMA has only been permitted by World Sailing officially to hold world championships since 2010. Since then, under the IMA’s auspices, Worlds have taken place for the Mini Maxi and Maxi 72 classes in conjunction with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and with the New York Yacht Club for the J Class Worlds in 2017.

The Maxi 1 fleet comprises yachts with a 1.700+ TCC and maximum 35m LH. A growth area of maxi yachting which this year delivered a fleet of 11 boats. Within this was a sub-group of 100- footers which like to race together separately for their own trophy. It was a hard-fought battle, the only disappointment being the weather: losing four days out of six with winds over the safety limits.

The Rolex IMA Maxi 1 overall winner, scored from just three races, was Joost Schuijff’s 2007-vintage 100ft Leopard 3. Since Mike Slade’s tenure Leopard 3 has had most accoutrements removed and is once again a thoroughbred racer. Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s 82ft Django HF (ex-Highland Fling XI) was second and Karel Komárek’s former Wallycento V (ex-Tango) third.

Maxi 2 was won by George Sakellaris and daughter Christina on Proteus. This class exclusively comprised former Maxi 72s – all highly developed with the exception, surprisingly, of the winner. Sadly on the final day Peter Dubens’ North Star dismasted.

Maxi 3 and 4 winners were Aldo Parisotto’s Mylius 65FD Oscar 3 (above) and Riccardo De Michele’s perennial victor, the 78ft H20, after just two races. The Multihull class competed for a second year, won by the smallest of the trio competing, the Gunboat 66 Gaetana, sailing her first regatta under her new owner Riccardo Pavoncelli.

Just two weeks later Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez was a complete contrast, blessed with better than average conditions and just one day lost – this time due to insufficient wind.

The Maxi fleet was in Baie de Pampelonne where all races, coastal and windward-leeward, started and finished. The Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez’s race committee made great use of MarkSetBots, enabling better courses to be set and marks to be located offshore in areas too deep for conventional buoys. The Maxi fleet was divided in four, all of which raced coastal and windward-leeward courses.

Maxi A was a combination of our Maxi 1 and 2 classes, there being only three of the former Maxi 72s entered; Peter Dubens was now racing his 60ft Frers ‘dayboat’ Spectre while a few of the 100s were at their own maxi regatta attached to the America’s Cup in Barcelona. Ultimately two ex-Maxi 72s, Jolt and Jethou, were first and second with Django third.

Impressively Terry Hui’s Wally 77 Lyra won Maxi B for a sixth time, while in Maxi C the IMA President Benoît de Froidmont’s 60ft Wallyño was beaten into second by Luigi Sala’s increasingly wellperforming Vismara 62 Yoru. Maxi D favoured vintage Swans and this year the winner was Anthony Ball, helmsman son George and a largely Spanish crew on their rare Swan 65 sloop Six Jaguar.

Boosted by some fine conditions and a high standard of race management, the maxi racing at this Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez was widely felt to have seen some the best competition ever.

Rating review
Currently our maxi fleet spans Swan 65s to the very fastest maxi yachts with IRC TCCs ranging from 1.100 to 2.000. While previously we have grouped genres using designations such as ‘racer’, ‘racercruiser’, ‘cruiser-racer’ and ‘cruiser’, we have now dispensed with these, instead rating Maxis based on performance (TCC) alone, leaving IRC to assess the necessary parameters.

In all fleets using rating systems there are always a few boats deemed ‘too successful’, while others seem well prepared and sailed but never seem to enjoy success. Typically the former are more race-oriented. For example, in the Maxi fleet the former Maxi 72s are the most developed machines; most heavily optimised for IRC; better equipped with newer sails; more professionals onboard and more training days than the rest of the fleet. If a rating system is designed to create a level playing field between boats, while rewarding crew work, it is no surprise these teams so often beat the cruiser-racers. The same is seen in smaller boats where TP52s/PAC52s/IRC52s regularly win under IRC, ORC (and ORR!).

Nonetheless this still causes intense frustration for other owners who have also invested heavily in their campaigns; as a result at our recent AGM our membership requested we review available rating systems. In the Mediterranean almost all maxi racing takes place under IRC, something the IMA promotes in order to protect maxi teams from the expense of constantly changing between rating systems. To date we attempt to resolve the Maxi 72 (superiority) issue, if fleet size permits, by separating them from the rest of the fleet. Our present examination will determine if ORC might handle them any better if they have to be integrated into the wider fleet…

Among smaller yachts we see only a few boats regularly doing better under IRC or ORC. Both systems work and when races are dual-scored differences between the two sets of results are few.

In percentage terms the majority have differences in calculated VPPs of just a couple of points, but a handful do vary by as much as 8-10%. How much can be corrected by optimising for either system at present remains unknown. What is certain is that a wholesale conversion to another system will be very expensive, although that rarely deters maxi owners used to carrying out major alterations to gain tiny increments in speed or rating. Recently this has included retro-fitting water ballast systems and trim tabs – neither of which are cheap undertakings.

We are planning a full review of rating options for maxis with a panel of designers and pro sailors with experience of all systems. They will consider the best options for the future – though we have to protect the existing fleet from having to make expensive modifications or we will soon lose majority support. At present no maxi has been designed to ORC, and we do not know how much change would be required simply to make the existing fleet ORC compliant.

Even if a change is made, crew performance would not be reflected in the rating. If maxi teams really wish for this then subjective handicapping such as Portsmouth yardstick/PHRF would be required… usually reserved for the most amateur areas of our sport.

We continue to work towards the best possible options.
Andrew McIrvine, Secretary General, IMA

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