Measurement system: Controversy over time penalty for XR 41 - ORC validates its data
That the ORC has had a problem since it drastically expanded its formula and calculation method using neural networks three years ago, became clear at the General Assembly in Ireland at the beginning of November. Several members of the Executive Committee admitted that there were inconsistencies that needed to be rectified.
Time penalty for the XR 41: ten seconds per nautical mile
"We agree that we have a problem," conceded Bruno Finzi, Chairman of the Management Committee, after the Council had spent almost two hours discussing the performance of the XR 41 "Formula X" at the Garmin ORC World Championship in Tallinn this summer and a time penalty of 10 seconds per nautical mile imposed in October.
The penalty was to apply for the 2026 season. And it would have massively impaired the competitiveness of other boats of the same type. However, it was not just the XR 41 that was affected. The Judel/Vrolijk 43 and the First 30 from Beneteau, designed by Sam Manuard, were also penalised with time penalties.
Resistance came primarily from the X-Yachts camp and from affected owners of identical boats. This is because their chances of success in next year's regattas would have deteriorated so much with the change decreed by the ORC International Technical Committee that victories would be ruled out, at least for predominantly amateur crews.
The time corrections had been proposed by the ITC and decided in October because the XR 41 had won Group B of the World Championship by a clear margin; second place had also gone to an XR 41, as had fourth place to Jens Kuphal's German "Exciter". Because all the boats had been measured in accordance with the rules, the ORC technicians suspected that the shipyard and its designers had exploited one or more loopholes in the rules - a perfectly legitimate and normal procedure. X-Yachts itself had openly communicated from the outset that it had developed a boat that was "slow on paper but fast on the water".
Constriction of the hull shape makes AI hallucinate
Like practically all modern performance yachts, the XR 41 has significantly more volume in the foredeck than previous models, as well as a strongly constricted hull shape, particularly aft. According to Alessandro Nazareth, Deputy Chairman of the ITC, this means that it is in part "clearly outside the parameter space" that is usually used to calculate the racing values. Due to the vagueness of artificial intelligence in such borderline areas, the XR 41 could therefore have been favoured. Jason Ker, himself a renowned designer and member of the ITC, who selected and trained the ORC's neural networks, speaks of "hallucinations" that are typical of AI systems.
Instead of checking and correcting the algorithm, the ITC took the simpler route and presented reasonably plausible correction values. This contradicts the scientific methodology that is otherwise often propagated as an advantage and which the ORC otherwise rightly prides itself on. Alessandro Nazareth only promised a more thorough review of the calculation methods for 2026 at the General Assembly at the beginning of November; it should be incorporated into the ratings for the 2027 season. This is what the General Assembly decided - with just one abstention and zero votes against.
1000 hulls are recalculated
According to YACHT information, however, the public pressure on the ORC was so great that those responsible feared for the good reputation of the measurement system. The ITC therefore decided on Tuesday of this week to have 1000 hulls recalculated in an elaborate process to validate the system; Jason Ker was entrusted with the task. The data is still being analysed and will be completed next week at the earliest. This could be an early Christmas present for XR-41 owners.
