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IC-24 PROVES
A WINNER FOR ONE-DESIGN RACING
by Carol M. Bareuther
Preprinted from "The
St Thomas Source"
©DeanBarnes |
Dec. 9, 2001
- The easy-to-sail nature of
the IC-24 proved itself this weekend when
Tortola's Robbie Hirst stepped aboard one of
the unique-design vessels for the first time
Saturday and ultimately skippered it to a
first-place finish in the first-ever IC-24
Invitational Regatta at the St. Thomas Yacht
Club.
"It's comfortable and user friendly but still
competitive, and it was close racing," Hirst,
who shared skipper duties with brother Michael Hirst, said. "The
key to our
win was consistency. We were always in the top three."
Twelve teams of five sailors each competed in six IC-24s in a
total of
eight races during the Saturday-Sunday event. "This was our
first invitational
regatta, and we invited teams from St. Croix and Tortola to participate,"
Chris Rosenberg said. He and boat-builder Morgan Avery were the
brains
behind the IC-24 design.
The idea for the IC-24, or Inter-Club 24, came about a year and
a half
ago when STYC members pondered how to jump-start keelboat racing
and
instruction after successive hurricanes has decimated the sailing
fleet.
Essentially, the IC-24 has a Melges 24-style cockpit in a J/24
body. The IC
has no spinnaker and the transom is closed. Stanchions are lower
and are
covered to make the cockpit more comfortable.
But comfort doesn't mean any less competitive, as near bumper-car
mark roundings in the regatta proved.
Winds started out light and shifty but turned more blustery with
squalls
as the weekend progressed. "The challenge was to get a good
start with the
short courses," Rosenberg, who finished behind the Hirsts,
said. The
courses in Cowpet Bay were windward-leeward in design, with two
roundings taking the fleet less than 20 minutes to complete.
"The boats were really fun. Chris Schreiber of St. Croix,
who came in
third overall, said. "Equal boats make good racing."
Rosenberg said the purpose of the event "was to get guest
teams from
other islands to see the boat and help push forward the idea of
Inter Club
racing. Ultimately, it would be great to see everyone travel to
different
islands for a few weekends each year and race in a series of one-design
regattas."
The yacht club will host anotner IC-24 invitational regatta Jan.
18-20.
"There will be a few changes, like we'll figure out a way
to have eliminations
on Saturday and finals on Sunday to intensify the competition,"
Rosenberg
said.
Robbie Hirst said he'll be back. "I think this is great and
hope to get the
design going on Tortola, preferable three to four, as having someone
to race
against is the whole idea," he said. An avid laser, J/24
and Melges 24 sailor,
Hirst said he appreciated the broad appeal of the IC-24 and one-design
racing. "I think it's the future."
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