Inescapable question with dual scoring

The sport has survived several transitions on the international rating rule landscape, though it is hard to say there are not casualties with each shift. Trying to build a better mousetrap does not promise the world will beat a path to your door.

IRC and ORC have emerged as the global favorites, but don’t expect a consensus any time soon. If your boat does better under one system than the other, that’s the one you vote for. Whenever an event has dual scoring, there is the inescapable question: Do the differences reflect a better truth, or just a different truth?

Following ORC Ireland’s review of the results from Quintas Capital Calves Week 2026, ORC Ireland Rating Officer Pat Tanner says he went back through the individual race results to address what he describes as the “obvious issue” that the IRC and ORC fleets were not identical.

His subsequent like-for-like analysis concludes that 14 of 24 directly comparable boats — 58.3% — changed their overall finishing position between IRC and ORC, while two of the four class winners changed. – Full report