Windward Passage (Sydney 1977)

Windward Passage on a reaching leg during the 1977 Southern Cross Cup series (photo Guy Gurney)

Following on from my recent article about Windward Passage, renowned photographer Guy Gurney has published some great close-up images of this famous Maxi, while she was racing as part of the US team in the 1977 Southern Cross Cup series, and in her original ketch configuration. She had teamed up for this series with Phantom as one of the two 2-boat US teams (Kialoa III and Bravura forming the other team). 

Windward Passage on a reaching leg during the 1977 Southern Cross Cup series (photo Guy Gurney)

The series was notable for a major collision between Windward Passage and Kialoa III in the first race of the regatta, with Windward Passage hitting Kialoa III on her port quarter during a leeward mark rounding, resulting in a large hole in Kialoa III’s hull above the waterline and significant deck damage, caused by a combination of the bow and the sawing action of Windward Passage’s heavy wire bobstay. This also put Windward Passage at serious risk of losing her main mast as the bowsprit and headstay were no longer supported. Kialoa III protested Windward Passage (and won), but was unable to race again until the Sydney-Hobart finale. Windward Passage had to sit out the second race, and finished 20th in the third race.

Windward Passage on a reaching leg during the 1977 Southern Cross Cup series (photo Guy Gurney)

Above and below, Windward Passage shows her power under spinnaker and blooper as she slides past the photographer (photo Guy Gurney)

Cascade (Milgram 38)

Cascade in her favoured reaching conditions

Cascade was radical cat-rigged ketch designed in 1972 by Professor Jerry Milgram (of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), which challenged the current status quo of yacht design in terms of both the yacht itself and its rig, and is of some interest as a result. The 38-footer featured a stepped deck profile with high topsides for’ard with a sharply raked stem that together had a somewhat ungainly appearance, described at the time as “the ugliest ocean racer in sailing memory”, and despite fears at the time, she fortunately had no future influence on yacht design.

Cascade sported two stayed cat rigs, with masts of 50 and 52 feet height, with the for’ard mast positioned quite close to the bow with little room for headsail. The use of a dual cat rig set up was a canny way of side-stepping some of the complex sail area measurements applicable under the then Mark II version of the IOR. While she was able to present up to 800m2 of sail area by flying an assortment of staysails between the two masts, her rated sail area was just 325m2 (for comparison, the S&S yacht Lightnin’ had a rated sail area of 550m2 and rated 27.2ft). This was combined with other advantages in the Engine and Propellor Factor of the rule, along with rating contrivances around the bow and stern profiles and a displacement of some 17,000lbs and a 52% ballast ratio. The overall result was that Cascade rated a very low 22ft, little more than a Half Tonner.

The aesthetically challenging profile view of Cascade

Cascade nearly swept the New York Yacht Club cruise (a series of races) in the late summer of 1972, winning two races, finishing second twice, before losing one of her masts. Milgram then took her to the SORC regatta in January 1973. However, by that stage the Offshore Racing Council (ORC) of the then International Yacht Racing Union which administered the IOR had taken note of the radical newcomer. The ORC was empowered under Rule 101 of the IOR to “deal with any peculiarity of design and to give such rating as they consider equitable” where a boat was deemed to be exploiting a rules loophole. On the recommendation of its International Technical Committee (ITC), the ORC summarily raised Cascade’s rating by 10%, to 24.2ft. Milgram was able to have this reduced to 22.8ft in time for the 1973 SORC by shortening the rig and making a few other smaller adjustments.

Cascade in her original configuration

Milgram was reported at the time to say that while Cascade's rating should possibly be higher, the sail area was not as effective as a sloop’s big spinnaker or big-boy genoa which work better on a reach and run than Cascade’s staysails. He was somewhat bitter towards the ITC: “They cite the first sentence of [Rule 101] which allows the IYRU to invoke a penalty in exceptional cases so as to cover any radical departures, but I cite the last rule, 866E, which specifically prescribes how to rate cat-rigged ketches”. Rule 866E was:

"A cat‐rig may not carry a spinnaker unless accepting this as a basis for foretriangle measurement, in which classification and measurement would be as for a sloop or cutter. Conversely, a schooner, yawl or ketch which carries neither head, sails nor spinnaker may be rated without fore‐triangle measurement by following normal procedures outlined in the foregoing but using zero for, the fore‐triangle rated area".

Cascade seen here prior to a start in the 1975 SORC (photo Facebook)

At the start of the 1973 SORC it seemed the issue was something of a storm in a teacup. Cascade did not do very well in the opening St Petersburg-Venice Race and then, although finishing strongly in the St Petersburg-Fort Lauderdale Race, she missed a course marker and was penalised just over 3 hours. With four races to go, she lay 27th in a fleet of 125 boats. Conditions had been in Cascade’s favour, as she was very quick on a reach, but less impressive upwind or dead downwind. With reaching legs prevalent, Milgram could afford to take a very conservative approach to the starts, and then proceed to reel in his competitors.

Cascade seen here at the 1983 SORC (Yachting magazine)

In this fashion Cascade went on to win the Miami-Lucaya Race, and then the Lipton Cup off Miami. For the 176-mile Miami-Nassau Race, the SORC’s premier event, Cascade meandered off the startline last as usual, but as her staysail was hoisted and filled with a south-easterly on her beam she leapt ahead. Within 10 minutes she had Lightnin’ abeam in her own Class E and was fast catching up with Munequita which had started a full 15 minutes earlier in Class D and went on to cruise across the Gulf Stream and went on to take overall honours. But by then, Cascade’s crew knew there were not enough points available in the last race, the Nassau Cup, to overcome the Fort Lauderdale error.

Cascade competing in the 1983 SORC and now sporting a headsail, of sorts

The final epic contest in the Nassau Cup between Munequita, Lightnin’ and Robin for the top honours did not distract the ocean racing community for long from their preoccupation with Cascade, which had a poor showing in the final race to finish fifth overall. At its April 1973 meeting the ITC subsequently closed the measurement loophole exploited by Milgram on the basis of the newly issued Mark III version of the IOR. This version dropped the provisions of Rule 866E and Cascade’s rating shot up to 27.2ft.

Cascade during the 1983 SORC, note the backstay bumpkin, and the mizzen staysail being tacked to the weather rail - the tack of the mizzen also appears to be fixed to the bottom of the mast (photo Phil Uhl | Facebook)

Comments from a former Class E competitor in a ‘Scuttlebutt’ article about Milgrim (following his passing in December 2021) and Cascade is instructive, noting that upwind, Cascade was about as fast as a Half-Tonner, but when reaching, Cascade made good use of mizzen staysails and was about as fast as the One Tonners, which were about her same length overall but Cascade probably had an extra foot or so waterline length. As far as ‘design break-through’, the boat was considered a big step backwards. Although no genoas or spinnakers meant much less work for crew, her speed was considered poor to average for a 38-footer and the boat’s success was primarily due to its low rating. Others have described Cascade as a 38-footer that sailed like a 33-footer but rated like a 30-footer, and could not be described as a good boat. It is understood that Cascade also lost the US Half Ton championship around this time against a Scampi 30, due to damaged rigging in one race, and being beaten in light airs in another.

Cascade on an upwind leg during the 1983 SORC, with an unusually full shape to the lower part of the mizzen (photo Phil Uhl)

Ten years on, Cascade reappeared for the 1983 SORC, on charter to Russell Long, with changes that had reduced her rating to 24.0ft, the minimum allowed for the series. This was further reduced to 23.3ft through the age allowance factor used for the SORC regatta. Cascade's new set up included a headsail with a LP measurement of just 3.5ft, and it appeared to have a larger mizzen that necessitated the addition of a bumpkin to support the backstay. She remained able to sail much faster than her rating on reaching courses, but in the first and third races with their high proportion of windward work, she suffered badly. After a tenth place in Class F in the opening Boca Grande Race, she revelled in the heavy downwind conditions of the St Petersburg - Ft Lauderdale Race and won the race overall by nearly two hours on corrected time, from Locura. She went on to finish 16th (Lipton Cup) and 2nd (Ocean Triangle) but did not finish the Miami-Nassau Race and was unable to start the Nassau Cup finale, so finished up ninth in class and 55th overall.

Another view of Cascade sailing upwind during the 1983 SORC (photo Phil Uhl)

Later in 1983 the SORC administrators announced the removal of its specific age allowance and moved to limit the minimum rating for future entries to 24.5ft (Three-Quarter Ton size). This effectively disqualified Cascade from the series, although no doubt she could have been altered to reach this new rating limit.

Cascade being craned prior to relaunch as a cruiser (photo Facebook)

It is understood that Cascade later ended up at Even Keel in Yarmouth, Maine after being resurrected as a cruiser circa 1991. From there she was taken to the Caribbean and may have ended up in the Rio Dulce. 

Clipper Cup 1978

New Zealand's Monique, a Farr 42-footer (rating just under the Two Ton limit at 31.9ft IOR) was the top individual yacht of the inaugural 1978 Clipper Cup (photo Phil Uhl)

Forty-one yachts, representing Australia, France (Tahiti), New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan and the United States, competed in the inaugural Clipper Cup regatta held in 5-12 August 1978. The series incorporated a 100-mile race around Oahu, three 30-mile offshore Olympic Triangle courses and the 775-mile Around the State race (the latter race had been held six times since 1972).

Kialoa III with all extras set during one of the offshore races during the 1978 Clipper Cup (photo Phil Uhl)

Fortunately renowned marine photographer Phil Uhl was there to capture the action, and this article features a number of his photos from the series.

One Tonners Country Boy (left) and Magic Pudding (ex-B195) enjoy a close battle during the 1978 Clipper Cup - Magic Pudding went on to finish as third yacht overall in the individual standings, and Country Boy was 10th (photo Phil Uhl)

Leeward mark action, with New Zealand's Inca (1730) visible (photo Phil Uhl)

Adding prestige to the regatta were two of the world’s fastest Maxi yachts, Jim Kilroy’s 79-foot ketch Kialoa III and Huey Long’s 79-foot sloop Ondine. Ondine completed the Around Oahu Race in a record 13 hours and 18 minutes, edging out Kialoa by a scant six seconds, in one of the then closest boat-for-boat finishes in yacht racing history (although Ondine owed Kialoa time on handicap due to a 3.2ft difference in rating). The balance of the fleet completed the course during the night and the following morning. Taiwan’s small 30-foot Don Quixote (a Farr Half Tonner rating 21.6ft IOR), stole the show with an overall win on handicap (though team results were limited to yachts with a minimum rating of 27ft).

The Farr Half Tonner Don Quixote won the Around Oahu Race, and finished as 12th yacht overall

The New Zealand Farr-designed One Tonner Lovelace finished ninth overall and formed part of the third placed New Zealand 'B' team (photo Phil Uhl)

The next three Olympic course races held of Waikiki resulted in the finest exhibition of offshore racing ever seen in Hawaii. With blustery trade winds of 20-25 knots with a warm Hawaiian sun, competition amongst the fleet was outstanding. Particularly keen was the racing among the One Tonners, New Zealand’s Country Boy and Lovelace, Hawaii’s Carrie Ann V and Australia’s Magic Pudding (ex-B195). Australia’s Ragamuffin (Syd Fischer), a Frers 47-footer and New Zealand’s Monique (Jim Dowell), a Farr Two Tonner, each dominated their respective Class A and Class B divisions by sweeping all three Olympic events.

Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin, second yacht overall and part of the winning Australian team (photo Phil Uhl)

Big Schott, a Peterson 41 Two Tonner (rating 32.1ft), finished seventh overall and helped the Australian 'A' Team to win the King Kamehameha Trophy 

The Around the State Race presented the fleet with every sailing condition known to sailors. A light but steady breeze gave some hope that Phantom’s record set in 1977 would be bettered. On the 300-mile reach from Niihau to South Point on the Big Island, conditions varied from heavy winds to almost nothing as they approached the Point. After rounding South Point, the fleet immediately hit strong winds and began beating up the treacherous Ka’u Coast. 

The Bruce King-designed 48-foot bilgeboarder Hawkeye (part of the US 'Blue' team) carried a high 42.3ft rating and struggled upwind but nevertheless finished 14th overall (photo Phil Uhl)

Ondine with spinnaker and blooper set (photo Phil Uhl)

Finally Ondine, after battling Kialoa for nearly five days, claimed line honours off Waikiki, with Kialoa finishing three hours later. Magic Pudding had showed great speed in the light air stages, allowing her to finish six hours ahead of the next One Tonner, Carrie Ann, and was the handicap winner.

Magic Pudding sails upwind past South Point on her way to winning the Round the State Race (photo Phil Uhl)

Monique took first place overall on handicap for the series, winning the Clipper Cup, with Ragamuffin second and Magic Pudding third. Australia’s ‘A’ Team of Ragamuffin, Big Schott and Magic Pudding won the King Kamehameha Trophy for the top team. The New Zealand ‘A’ Team (Monique, Country Boy and Gerontius) were second, and New Zealand ‘B’ (Inca, Lovelace and Anticipation) were third. In the battle of the Maxis, Kialoa edged out Ondine in the overall results, finishing 17th and 18th respectively.

Big Schott in fresh upwind conditions (photo Phil Uhl)

Inca, a 45-footer rating a low 32.7ft, off the North Shore of Molokai - she finished fifth overall (photo Phil Uhl)

Hawkeye seen here to the lee of Oahu during the Round the State Race (photo Phil Uhl)

Japan's Sunbird V, a S&S 54-footer (with a low 39.0ft rating) finished 24th overall (photo Phil Uhl)

Kialoa III charges her way through some white water (photo Phil Uhl)

Another view of Hawkeye on a reaching leg (photo Phil Uhl)

Gekko V from Japan (above and below), a Frers 41-footer, finished 19th overall (photos Phil Uhl)

Another photo of Australian yacht Big Schott (photo Phil Uhl) 

Checkmate (left), which finished in seventh place overall, and Hawkeye in close proximity after a windward mark during the 1978 Clipper Cup (photo Phil Uhl)

Article updated April 2026

International Offshore Rule - Part 4: Level Rating and Handicapping

Earlier articles about the International Offshore Rule ('IOR') have looked at some of the key components of measuring a yacht under the rule, and deriving a handicap with the aim of allowing different size yachts to compete against each other at any venue around the world (Part 1 is here). Level rating was the non-handicap form of racing under the IOR, where each boat was designed to the same handicap rating, or ‘Ton’ class. 

Part of the big 43-boat fleet that contested the 1976 One Ton Cup in Marseille, France (photo Bateaux magazine)

Looking at the level rating classes first, the glamour fleet were the One Tonners, which had the ‘Coupe Internationale du Cercle de la Voile de Paris’, or the One Ton Cup, as their holy grail. The Cup was so named because it was presented in 1899 by the Cercle de la Voile de Paris ('CVP') for competition by boats with fixed keels, rated at one ton or less under the French tonnage rule of 1892. These small boats, approximately 5m on the waterline, raced in Cowes or on the Siene until 6-metre class yachts were used for the trophy following the advent of the IYRU International Rule. The impressive trophy was just under a metre high and was carved out of a 10kg block of solid silver by a Parisian goldsmith.

The One Ton Cup

The last One Ton Cup in 6-metres was held in 1962. In 1965 the CVP declared that it should be used for yachts racing boat for boat at a maximum specified RORC rating (22ft). The clubs at La Rochelle soon after gave the Half Ton Cup for boats with an 18ft rating, and the Quarter Ton Cup for boats with a 15ft rating. The additional international racing that occurred under this arrangement became a major influence on the whole process for a change towards an international rating rule. With the arrival of IOR, it was agreed to use the same level rating concept. Thus in 1971 the One Ton class was defined at 27.5ft IOR, Half Ton at 21.7ft, and Quarter Ton at 18ft. There was also a Two Ton class which was not well supported at a 33ft rating and was changed to 32ft in 1974 (and later to 34.5ft). In 1974 the US delegates to the ORC presented a Three-Quarter Ton Cup for racing at 24.5ft, and the Mini Ton class was introduced in 1978 for racing at 16.0ft. In 1983 the rating limit for One Tonners was raised to 30.5ft, after a drop in support for the One Ton Cup at the old limit, and giving the class a dual purpose as they would now meet the lower rating limit for the Admiral's Cup.

The popularity of the Half Ton Class was evident from this photograph of a start during the 1976 Half Ton Cup in Trieste (photo Bateaux magazine)

These limits were further adjusted to two decimal figures as measurement techniques became more precise (e.g., the One Ton limit became 30.54ft). The 50-Foot Class, followed a similar model using a limit of 40ft (increased slightly to 40.54ft in 1991), but used individual and variable ratings within this limit for some regattas, and no ‘Ton’ classification was applied to this fleet. 

The 50-Footers enjoyed close racing on a level-rating basis for many years (photo Guy Gurney)

In the same vein, Maxi yachts were those that raced under the IOR's rating limit of 70.0ft (which was subsequently eased in the late 1980s), but given the sometimes large variance in actual ratings for these large yachts their racing was usually based on handicap results, although line honours remained a keen focus. 

Part of the Maxi fleet competing in the 1988 Kenwood Cup in Hawaii, with Sorcery (70.82ft IOR) leading Il Moro di Venezia (70.05ft), Ondine VII (70.04ft) and Matador (69.99ft)

Associated with the Quarter, Half and One Ton Cups were race-specific trophies. For the One Ton Cup, these included the Trophee de la Societe Nautique de Marseilles, for the winner of the short offshore race, and the White Horse Trophy, for the winner of the long offshore race.

One challenge in changing Pendragon from her original configuration as a Three-Quarter Tonner to a One Tonner in 1979 was meeting the increased accommodation requirements for One Tonners stipulated by the ORC 'Green Book' regulations (photo Paul Mello)

Each level rating class was subject to specific ORC regulations that governed the world championships (the ‘Ton Cups’) for each of the level rating classes (the ‘Green Book’). This set out the rating limits for each class, the rules under which each championship would be raced (such as the length and type of courses to be raced) and the maximum number of entries for any given championship. The Green Book also specified certain design parameters not otherwise covered by the IOR rule itself, such as the minimum height and area of headroom, freshwater capacity, the minimum number of berths, and even the minimum thickness of squabs to be carried.

A closely packed fleet of One Tonners during the 1984 One Ton Cup, the first held under the new rating limit of 30.5ft

Level-rating yachts were also campaigned in mixed fleet regattas (where they might further optimise performance and fall in or out of the class limit), which necessitated the use of handicapping and the application of time correction factors.

Close racing between a group of One Tonners during the 1987 Admiral's Cup (photo Bateaux magazine)

A yacht’s IOR rating was a length measurement, expressed in feet. For a yacht designed with an eye to the rule, its rating might typically be around 8-10ft less than its LOA. In a handicapped race, the IOR rating was used to compute either a Time Correction Factor ('TCF') expressed as a decimal figure, and which for 'Time-on-Time' handicapping was computed against elapsed time to provide a corrected time; or as a Time-on-Distance allowance, expressed in seconds per nautical mile. Time-on-Time is similar to a general handicap or PHRF system. Time-on-Distance was used by multiplying the distance of the race by a time factor, and subtracting from the boat's actual time, to compute the boat's corrected time (the current IRC rule dispenses with the conversion between rating and handicap, by simply expressing a yacht’s rating by way of a TCF).

A crowded start line at the 1985 Admiral's Cup, with 57 yachts (representing 19 national teams) rating between 30 - 40ft IOR in a single fleet (photo Guy Gurney)

This was a further complication in the level of acceptance achieved by the IOR, at least in mixed-fleet racing. This is because no matter how accurate the measurement system, if the time correction formula was seen to unduly favour one size of yacht over another, the system would lose support.

Startline action during the 1978 Quarter Ton Cup in 1978, held in Japan (photo Guy Gurney)

Under IOR, and as with the former CCA and RORC, the USA continued to use Time-on-Distance while others used a single figure TCF, and this also resulted in different perceptions of the rule. A committee of ORC sat for several years attempting to reach a single compromise on time allowances, and duly dissolved itself without finding a solution. However, both approaches were based on the same principle, in that a higher rating gave a smaller time allowance, and vice versa.

The diminutive Farr-designed KevFlyer, rating just 20.0ft, racing in the 1980 Clipper Cup (photo Phil Uhl)

The generally adopted formula for the TCF adopted by the RORC for IOR racing was, at least initially, a relatively simple calculation: TCF = (R1/2 + 2.6) / 10. For example, a One Tonner, with a rating of 27.5ft, had a TCF of 0.774, while a Half Tonner, with a rating of 21.7ft, had a TCF of 0.716.

International mixed fleet racing under IOR, with Half Tonners (eg Swuzzlebubble, KZ3494) racing alongside the Maxi Kialoa III (background) during the 1977 Southern Cross Cup (photo Phil Uhl)

As with the IOR rule itself, the TCF formula underwent further evolution, with yacht clubs able to adjust the formula to suit their preferences. For example, in 1975 the RORC produced the following amendment: TCF = 0.2424(R)1/2/1 + 0.567(R)1/2. The only significance of this was to create a ‘hard point’ in the time correction factor graph at the place of a ‘base’ yacht of 29ft rating (TCF of 1.000). This formula withstood pressure for further change until the mid-1980s, where bigger yachts were given some easement following the dominance of One Tonners in the 1985 and 1987 editions of the Admiral’s Cup, but the swing of the pendulum lead to something of a rout by the fastest 50-footers in 1989. Such problems with finding the 'perfect' formula were, at least for the Admiral's Cup, subsequently avoided by changes to the regatta format from 1991 with boats racing in level rating divisions. 

Changes to the RORC's TCF in 1989 saw the ascendancy of the 50-footers in that year's Admiral's Cup, with Jamarella taking individual honours overall, followed by Will (second) and Stockbrokers Container in fourth (photo Peter Ludlow)

The Farr-designed Shockwave on her way to winning the 1992 Two Ton Cup (held in conjunction with the 1992 Kenwood Cup in Hawaii)

Part of the text used for this article is adapted from the book A Lighter Ton - The Champion NZ Yachts of the 1970s, 2012