The gray skies turned to blue and the sun emerged as the starting signal was displayed for the third edition of the ORC Double-Handed World Championship, organized by Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening – KNS) in collaboration with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC).
On Tuesday, June 11, at precisely 3 PM, Race Officer Kristian Fæste signaled the start from the RC boat just outside the Fram Museum in Oslo for the 15 boats in Class A. Ten minutes later, Class B with 26 boats followed, and another ten minutes later, Class C with 27 boats. Despite initial struggles due to very light winds, the boats soon caught favorable breezes, allowing them to speed up majestically under filled sails.
Course Description and Weather Prediction
Based on the lighter wind predictions, the chosen course takes the boats out of the Oslofjord, down to Arendal, across to Lysekil/Marstrand, up to Struten, down to Tristein, further to Persgrunnen west of Grebbestad, and back up to Struten before finishing in Tønsberg. It is estimated that the first boats will finish at around 11PM on Thursday evening, with the slower boats arriving by Friday morning. Hear Kristian Fæste's course description
The Class A course is approximately 340 nautical miles long, while the Class B course covers around 320 nautical miles, following a similar route to Class A but with a slightly shorter path. Class C participants will sail a course of approximately 300 nautical miles.
Innovative Scoring Method
ORC Chief Measurer Zoran Grubisa explained the innovative scoring method used at the ORC DH Worlds 2024 in Norway. This year's event introduces the ORC’s Weather Routing Scoring (WRS) method, a novel approach for offshore races in ORC European and World Championship events.
The WRS method utilizes each entry’s polar performance data, combined with the latest high-resolution weather models, to determine a Time-on-Time rating for each boat. Grubisa stated, “The ORC VPP and ORC rating provide the theoretical performance of each boat under various wind speeds and conditions. Each boat is rated based on predicted conditions for the entire course. This method is an improvement over our previous system, which was based on the average of average wind conditions.
"We believe that this new method will set the standard for the future of offshore race scoring. It is newly developed and will be further improved in the years to come. We believe it is the fairest method, utilizing the power and potential of the ORC VPP and the science behind it, to offer more accurate and fair ratings by leveraging advanced weather predictions and performance data.” See the explanation by Zoran Grubisa
Live Tracking and Real-Time Scoring
The implementation of a real-time scoring system for the ORC DH Worlds is made possible through collaboration with TracTrac. This system, supported by advanced tracking units provided by KNS, offers enhanced live, real-time corrected time calculations. By integrating TracTrac's tracking technology with ORC's scoring methods, the system can utilize both Time-On-Time and Time-On-Distance methods, ensuring precise and engaging race results throughout the event.
This advancement in offshore racing allows fans and participants to follow the boats live and view dynamic result lists during the races. The journey of the boats can be tracked in real-time via the following link: TracTrac
The first boat to reach Drøbak after 4.5 hours of sailing was A Class boat Landmark 43 GAME (NOR) with Calle Andersen and Espen Guttormsen, both seasoned and experienced sailors from KNS.
The ORC DH World Championship is supported by Turkish Airlines, Helly Hansen, and Grundig, with major support from the Ministry of Culture and Equality – Norway.