December 5, 2025
1 minute reading time
Race day 4 with all sailors under the postponement flag waiting for the breeze to settle in.
The 2024 ORC World Championship brings the top sailing teams from around the globe to battle on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay for one of four coveted world titles. It is the first time in over two decades that this regatta, which will be held out of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court from September 27 to October 5, 2024, will be run. The event will include the standard ORC A, ORC B and ORC C divisions, but will also include Class 0 for the first time opening up the event to boats with CDL values up to 17.400.
The 2024 ORC World Championship will include a mix of buoy racing and offshore courses testing the mettle of all competitors. This ORC World Championship is incorporating the Maxi North American Championship [ORC].
©Paul Todd/OUTSIDEIMAGES.COM
World Sailing publishes new Offshore Special Regulations for 2026-2027
World Sailing has published the latest version of the Offshore Special Regulations (OSR), with the changes effective from 1 January 2026 and valid through until 31 December 2027.
“The Offshore Special Regulations are, and always will be, a work in progress. The sub-committee members all work hard to ensure that this document continues to evolve as our sport does, whilst ensuring that offshore racing is accessible, exciting and creates the life-long bonds in our sport whilst keeping us all safe. We hope that the latest edition continues this trend and with more work ahead, this remains our focus,” said James Dadd, Chair of the Special Regulations Sub-Committee.
Amendments to the OSR have been made after careful consideration by the Special Regulations Sub-Committee and the Oceanic and Offshore Committee.
Significant Changes (highlighted in red in the document) include:
- OSR 3.02 – Watertight and Structural Integrity of a Boat & Keel and Rudder Inspection
- OSR 3.03 – Hull Construction Standards (Scantlings)
- OSR 3.04 – Stability – Monohulls
- OSR 3.29 – Communications Equipment, GPS, Radar, AIS
- OSR 4.02 – Search and Rescue Visibility
- OSR 4.07 – Flashlights and Searchlights
- OSR 4.19 – EPIRBs
- OSR 4.27 – Storm & Heavy Weather Sail Specifications
- OSR 5.01 – Lifejacket
- Appendix B – Special Regulations for Inshore Racing
- Appendix C – Special Regulations for Inshore Dinghy Racing
- Appendix L – Model Keel and Rudder Inspection Procedure
- Appendix M – Optional Wording for Organising Authorities’ NoRs or SIs
The regulations featuring significant changes since the last edition are marked in red in the document, which is available to download here.
To see all changes, please refer the study version available online.
Following World Sailing’s recent governance reforms, the sailing community can now follow the progress of proposals going forward via the online proposal portal.