One Ton Cup Revisited opened up to 'modern era' yachts
by Alan Sefton 4 Jan 2014 09:54 GMT
4 January 2014
Due to popular demand (as they say in show business), we have decided to open up the proposed "One Ton Cup Revisited" regatta to include all One Tonners that contested the Cup in the "modern era" (1965 to 1994*).
On 27 November, Chris Bouzaid and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron announced that they were seeking an indication of potential interest in a proposed "One Ton Cup Revisited" regatta, in Auckland, New Zealand, in February/March 2015.
The initial thinking was to cater for RORC and IOR One Tonners that were eligible for Cup competition between (and including) the years 1965 to 1983 inclusive. The immediate response was 10 serious intentions, including former winners Rainbow II and Wai-Aniwa.
That response, however, was accompanied by an even larger number of potentials from outside of the original year constraints. We have checked with several of the world's leading offshore racing designers who have advised that, should we open up the proposed event, the IRC Rule, under normal circumstances, would do a more-than-satisfactory job of rating the performances of what, after all, would be a fairly narrow range of race boats.
We have, therefore, decided to re-launch the initiative and seek expressions of intended entry from the full range of "modern" One Tonners (1965 to 1994* inclusive).
The time frame and venue for the proposed regatta remain the same – February/March 2015, in Auckland, New Zealand.
"We will do everything possible to ensure everyone has an equitable chance of success on the race course, regardless of the vintage or size of their boat," Bouzaid said today "so we will be seeking expert advice on how to divide the potential fleet into divisions to ensure best-possible racing - maybe the Classic Division (1965 to 1972 inclusive), Division Two (1973 to 1983 inclusive) and Division 3 (post 1983).
"The objective will be that everyone will enjoy the experience of racing these boats as a class again. A lot of us will have been lucky enough to have experienced that already, when One Tonners were the hottest offshore racers around.
"We know everyone will have a great time ashore in the City of Sails. It will be our job to ensure a similar experience racing in the Hauraki Gulf".
Could those interested in the above please communicate, by email, that interest, with detail (name, owner, design, LOA, year built, builder and construction) of the One Tonner that might/would be involved) to: Alan Sefton:
NB: * 1994 was the year of the last One Ton Cup regatta that we have been able to identify. In 2001, the Cup was presented to the winner of a Farr IC45 regatta in Pwllheli (North Wales) but we have not seen this event recognised as a One Ton Cup regatta and nor is the Farr IC45 considered an appropriate contender for the proposed "Revisited" regatta in Auckland.