UK Sportsboat owners and crew unite in new class association

Sportsboats on day 7 of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week © Rick Tomlinson / www.rick-tomlinson.com

After the success of earlier mixed Sports Boat events, like in Plymouth Race Week & Cowes week, owners and supporters have united their interest in a new class. The newly formed UK Sports Boat Association will be working hard to rally these fun and fast boats together.

One of the class initiators, Jochem Visser, said "It's a growing group of boats which is currently badly represented. Many new owners are attracted by their fun & speedy character coupled with the smaller crew and easier logistics. Even though many of them have One Design racing it is becoming ever more apparent that on a local level there is a urgent need for a rating platform which provides fair racing and rewards the better sailors".

The class has simple objectives:

• Promote & support a fair rating system for mixed fleet racing which rewards the better sailors.
• Respect & promote the one-design character within the fleet.
• Represent the class interest to, and affiliate with, local clubs and national sailing authorities.
• Organise an annual Sports Boats Nationals, Season Point Series and local events.

The class is aimed at any Sports Boat with a LOA between 5 and 9.15 meters with aim to include successful boats like the Seascape 18 at the lower end and the Farr 280 at the top end of the class.

Jochem commented further "We had a recent meeting with the IRC rating office and they are making their best efforts to equalise the current rating anomalies for these kind of boats. By uniting these boats, which all have very similar performance characteristics, in their own class away from pure displacement type of boats will also make racing much closer and fairer". It will also allow race officers to set a course more suited for these kind of boats.

We will endeavour to create One Design rating certificates for the majority of the boats eligible.

The Sports Boat class definitions are simple and transparent:

• Ballasted keel boat which caries an asymmetric kite on centreline based pole
• Maximum length overall of 30'(9.15 m)
• Maximum displacement of 2000kg
• Maximum DLR of 100 in which DLR=27.87x(Boat Weight)/Length Waterline^3
• A minimum limit of positive stability of 60 degrees

The UK SBA is aiming to include a Fast30 division to provide near level rating racing for the typical new breed of 30''s like the C&C 30, Farr 280, MC 31, Soto 30 with an upper limit in length (9.15 meters and a lower limit defined by a minimum rating) in a similar way the popular Fast40+ have gained momentum

Membership for sportsboats owners will be £ 10,- and free for crew and associate members. Membership registration is now open and early birds can sign up for only £5.

www.theuksba.co.uk