IOR Revival, racing today between Classic Boat and IOR

Imperia International Sailing Week is a unique event, a world populated by hulls of rare beauty and equally rare “availability.”
Or rather, let’s say, seeing these sailing icons live is becoming increasingly difficult.
But Vele d’Epoca di Imperia is not just about 1930s hulls, auric arms and schooners of yesteryear. For the past couple of years, in fact, the IOR has become part of the scene, not only on the dock but also among the buoys.
With the classes
“One Tonner” e “Classic IOR” as well as, if desired, the “Spirit of Tradition” and “Classics” (encapsulating the last RORC phase and, until recently, even some early IORs) Vintage Sails have indeed offered us the chance to return to see classics on the water from the late 1960s to the very early 1980s. What does it mean, though, to race in IOR in 2024?

IOR Revival: Vintage Sails 2024

That the IOR is attempting a comeback now is not surprising news.
Already with the CIM circuit, with Aive-related initiatives, and with Vele d’Epoca 2023 we had seen this.
The difference, however, lies in the growing resourcefulness and exponential interest on the part of boat owners, enthusiasts and young people.
In this “revival,” signatures moving from Sparkman & Stephens to Vallicelli, via Chance and Carter, to name a few, have populated the docks of Imperia, which has also been well able to demonstrate the value of these hulls, different from the Epochs, certainly, but no less important to the history of sailing.

Revival

Forget about Code Zero, “flat” hulls, banging bows in the waves and, much less, foils.
Racing in IOR means gliding infrequently, managing, at that point, spinnakers and tangons gone mad while wrestling with hulls that, stern and wave, do not know what it means to be stable.
But, for so many, very little is better than this, for the satisfaction is great and the direct contact with the hull, alive and communicative as few are, is priceless.
What does it mean to race like this today, though?

Certainly, many IOR hulls still race in many of the regattas that populate the Mediterranean landscape, however, on closer inspection, these are late IOR, almost IMS designs, adapted to new needs, with bowsprits, genakers and certificates not exactly born for them.
Racing in IOR, versus IOR, however, is a different kettle of fish.
And it’s not bad.
Wandering around the docks in Imperia, we had a chance to talk with some of the owners, and although it is not a rosy world, it is one that is passionate and hardly disappoints.
Immediately jumps to attention the passion for the hulls, designs of yesteryear that, however, are still very valid at sea, both between the buoys and in pure sailing.
The passion/satisfaction front, then, is sometimes juxtaposed with the sustainability factor: to make a long story short, just think of the costs of an IOR hull, generally between 9 and 13 meters, and its equal-current hull, or even one that is only 5-10 years old… then there are the sail games, we talk about dacron… In short, the wallet wants its own, and as much as it may still require, the depths change.

But the main point, perhaps, is its ability to marry generations.
Imperia’s crews were in fact among the most diverse, a soupcon of young and veteran sailors serving each other, school benches for the new generations and an energizing and venting source even for the more “seasoned”-a potpourri of figures, professionalism and ages capable of generating a rare, perhaps inexplicable atmosphere.
Competitive on the water, but among the most appreciable as soon as you leave the buoys behind…try to believe.

|Simon Palfrader©Then of course, it’s not all about roses and flowers.
Even racing in the IOR, in these contexts, has its limitations, starting with the fact that, still, it is open only to one-offs (although, strictly speaking, small series, could also be allowed…) and that, in terms of ratings, it sees formulas yet to be refined (especially when pure racer clashes with cruiser-racer, just think about the weight of solid wood interiors…).
But, if the interest group increases, who knows?

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IOR & Co.

Dockside chatter aside, Imperia had hulls to offer, and she gave it her all.
We open the dances, in this sense, with the class winner, Sagittarius, a 41-foot pure racer.
Signed by Sparkman & Stephens in 1972 and built by Carlini Shipyards, she is first and foremost striking for her flush deck, clean and rational but with that hint of curved paramare so dear to the firm’s designs of that period.
She is joined by a sister in signature and style, but not in approach: Sandra.
A project from the same year, similar in size, Sandra is, however, conceived differently.
Unlike Sagittarius, she is a performance cruiser, has an excellent, mahogany interior, and does not discriminate against comfort.
A quality that obviously pays off among the buoys, but makes her an excellent example of 1970s elegance.
The fiberglass factor, here, adds up, because Sandra is yes a one-off, but she is also the prototype on which Sangermani (builder), then set a micro-series of 4 hulls.

Also doing battle with the two S&S signature hulls is Resolute Salmon, winner of the 1976 One Ton Cup.
Designed by Britton Chance, it was an innovative hull, made of strip-planking and strong with an ace up her sleeve, the retractable centreboard, which gave her a far superior pace in trials contested in formed waves and not excessive winds.
Also joining the chorus is Gemini, from the Navy, much more recent (1983) than the competition and born from the same pencil that designed Brava and Azzurra, Andrea Vallicelli.
Accompanying them in “One Tonner” are Arcadia II and Optimist, other hulls of caliber by Félix Silvestro and Dick Carter, respectively

Imperia, however, has not only seen pure IORs.
The late RORC is also part of this world, just as the Spirit of Tradition also want their share.
Midva, Leon Pancaldo, Valentina, and Orsa Maggiore thus populated Imperia’s docks, offering a pleasant glimpse into the past and history of sailing.
The same goes, of course, for hulls such as Artica II, Palynodie II, Penelope and Oliria, undisputed protagonists in the Classics category.