The mission of the Fair Racing / Handicapping Committee is to address all fair racing issues and to evaluate the handicapping/rating systems currently being used in superyacht racing, identifying the positive and negative aspects of each rule. The committee is to report back to the SYRA Executive Committee with recommendations on the viability of the rules being used as they pertain to fair racing, how they can be improved for superyacht racing and whether a new superyacht rule should be considered. Other fair racing issues such as class breaks, the owner/driver issue and course composition will be addressed.
Race Committee Plays a Vital Role
When considering ‘fair racing’ for anything other than one design racing, the Handicap Rule invariably come to the fore. That is certainly true in superyacht racing. The current handicap rule, the ORCsy, receives close scrutiny by participants, yacht designers, builders and program managers. “This handicap is unfair!” has been heard many times over many years and under different rules.
The ORCsy has been the handicap rule of choice for superyacht regatta organizers since 2015. Over that time frame this transparent rule and VPP have evolved, and by all accounts significant improvements and refinements have been realized.
It is however, important to note that there are other factors that come into play when one evaluates race results. Performance on the race course, yacht preparation (sails, bottom condition, etc.) and class breaks are three obvious ones. We delved into class breaks and all that entails in the February 2019 issue of the SYRA Newsletter.
A fourth, important factor that does not garner as much attention, is the role the race committee has in providing as level a playing field as possible. Read more
Committee Members
Membership as of 1 January 2024
| Peter Craig Chair | Bucket Regatta Director |
| Jim Taylor | SYRA Technical Representative |
| Nacho Postigo | Ibiza JoySail |
| Ruurt Meulemans | Hoek Design Naval Architects |
| Ken Keefe | Program Manager |
| Shirley Robertson | SYRA Manager |