Bayview Yacht Club announced today that they will be racing under IRC rule beginning in 2005. The handicap rule will be used exclusively for monohulls racing on the Southampton Course (253NM) of their Bayview Port Huron Mackinac Race which begins on July 23, 2005.

The IRC Rating rule is owned and administered by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) Rating Office in Lymington, UK, and Union National pour la Course au Large (UNCL) in Paris. With over 6,000 yachts rated and racing in over 30 countries, IRC is proving to be a popular yacht racing handicap rule for today and in the future we should see a majority of the world’s big sailing regattas embracing this rule.

“We wanted to look at alternatives to improve and reinvigorate the handicap racing in our event” said Luiz E. Kahl, 2005 Bayview Mackinac Race Chairman. “With the simplicity and popularity of IRC worldwide, we hope that this move will boost the competitiveness in our event and provide another high level venue for international participation in USA Regattas. We are now on the same rating system with other major events from around the World. Boats can travel around the World and know that their rating will be the same at every venue.”

Bayview Port Huron Mackinac Race is one of the longest fresh water races in the World at 253NM and 2005 will present its 81st consecutive edition of the event. With participation from yachts and sailors from around the World, the race counts with over 275 entries. We will once again start racing on Saturday morning, July 23, 2005 a few miles north of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and finish in Mackinac Island, located at the tip of the Michigan lower peninsula.

More information about the race can be found at www.byc.com/mack05

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