Bandits!

Originally posted by Medway Maniac Originally posted by Guest#260 But  - really seems to me HC racing is just for fun  - class racing is what you should care about. No! Race for your boat/class's sake, not your ego!

I don't understand the point you are trying to make?

there is one topaz tres at our club but it never races so we dont get returns for it. apparently it is a pig to trapeze off because it has a smoothe hull for people to hike from when it has a different rig and there are no kick bars.

i would say anything that's part of toppers "rotomoulded revolution" has a screwed up handicap  especially; topaz (duo with a light crew it easily beats other supposedly faster boats) magno, vibe and taz (duo rig is the same as a cadet allthough it has similar performance to a pico or topper) 

Originally posted by turnturtle Tony- I think you've got it the wrong way around mate... handicap racing is eptiome of ego-centric sailing- it's not like you can easily compare your performance like in a fleet race; quite the contrary, all you've got to ratify performance is how you 'feel' the boat is going compared to the last lap, last time you went sailing....  this is why I despise handicap yacht racing with a mediocre crew; you spend all your time critising each other onboard, rather than having a like-for-like competitive boat to trully compare speed over the ground and get on with sailing the boat- simply and effectively. For me handicap racing is just a welcome excuse to get out on the water and practice...   I wouldn't have been the first person who's retired from a handicap race because the course is crap and, actually, going for a blast off-track is far more fun and a better way to spend my limited on-water time. Surely the goal is always fleet racing- or why do well all spend so much energy bigging-up our own classes if it's not to encourage larger fleets at club, circuit, national & international level?

I quite agree TT.

I think the UK situation with all these classes means that most sailing gets done on handicap ... which sees people lose sight of where the real issues are with there own performance as they can blame it on the weather or course not suiting their handicap or that their boat has a poor handicap.

Fleet racing is not about ego it's about enjoying level competition.

Rick

 

Perhaps this topic of handicap racing should be a separate thread.  I don't doubt Rick's point that a lot of racing is done on handicap.

I believe there is real growth in say "High Performance Asymmetric Handicap" fleets being developed at club level.  So, all the MPS, RS700, 800, B14, I14 49ers, 29ers, Cherubs etc can race together and this type of handicap racing should be quite accurate as far a PYs are concerened.  When is blowing they all plane upwind and when its 2 knots, they are all slow and stick.

I welcome handicap racing as at a club level it generally provides the largest fleets and  the best starting practice.  If it is pursuit racing, then if you are a fast boat, you get the task of sailing through a big fleet.

There must be a reason why the Bloody Mary, Grafham Grand Prix, Glyn Charles pursuit race are so well attended - despite what people say, I believe they just love these big fleet races.

Finally, there are so many classes to chose from in the UK and probably a dwindling number of participants ( Rick will put me right in this), that it is inevitable that we will spread out into classes of our choice, therefore, handicap racing should be actively promoted.