Handicap - A Final Solution?

Small club, not a reliable enough number, if we get a full house, Dr Death, Heat seeking Helen, Sicknote, Ant & 'Dave the Offender' it's barely half a dozen and we need to use them as a shield at times for when Blind Pew attacks the pin end barging in from windward with his kite up.

No, more seriously, there needs to be a technical working group look at the whole thing through modern glasses with the remit what would we do now if we were starting from scratch with all that technology can now offer us.

Is the only way to avoid the chaos that continues to annoy and aggravate at every turn.

Edited by iGRF - 06 Sep 13 at 3:07pm

Originally posted by yellowwelly Originally posted by iGRF Is the only way to avoid the chaos that continues to annoy and aggravate at every turn. Try class racing... really it's so much nicer to know it's you, not the boat or the arbitrary number that need some work.

Been there, done that, got the T shirt, and now without a huge amount of training it just means if it's light I win if its windy you win, just a body weight procession. Which is why I find the whole racing not only against the man but his spreadsheet and the system so compelling, and it's Friday, shall we do tidal lee bow again?

Originally posted by iGRF   and now without a huge amount of training

What, practice, you mean? Can't be doing with that... I mean, if those Olympic bods had actually done some practice, rather than rocking up at Weymouth having spent the last 4 years in the pub, who knows what the medal table might have looked like. As it was, they just took the wind strength, weighed each sailor and handed out the medals to whoever came out top after the maths was done. No need to get wet and tired.

f**k, must be a Friday afternoon. At least the sun is out here, and I finish work in an hour...

Originally posted by moomin Originally posted by iGRF If a boat actually leaves the race course goes back to shore to retrieve a buoyancy vest whilst the fleet starts, lead by a helm and craft that has just finished 3rd in a fairly major handicap event in Poole, that boat then returns to the line 4 minutes later, starts and goes on to win the race on handicap, followed by about every other Laser, in those circumstances, something is very wrong. Interesting bit in this story is that this master Laser sailor managed to also beat all the other Lasers that were given a 4min head start.  What excuse are they using for being beaten if they can't blame the PY system?

I tend, due to my frivolity, not to hype the level or standard of our club and its racing, but we have a fair selection of half decent helms and I don't include myself in that grouping, so yes he did come back from behind and pile through them I guess, it was shifty, tidal and he's been doing quite well down the lake, often giving me a shoeing over the water, but the guy that won by 14 minutes is also no slouch, he's an ex squaddie, Laser master sailor and MPS handler on a course that suited the boat (kite up every downwind leg) heaven help us if he ever got his Laser back out.
A Laser will virtually always win if anyone half decent gets in one and saunters over the start line in the general direction the rest of the fleet just went.

Dave did do well and still suffers the requisite amount of abuse. So tell me how do you think he feels? Would he feel better or worse if he'd done it off a fair handicap?

Maybe I'm misjudging everyone by my own standards, which would rather be to race enjoy and lose, than to race enjoy then be either overtly or covertly judged as lucky by spreadsheet..

It's a double edged sword this.

This thread has highlighted some excellent points.. when my mate and I discussed this some time back we both competed, between pint 5 and 6, to come up with a better system than the current.