Handicap Sailing

Clubs are encouraged to 'adjust' PNs by the RYA are they not ... ?  But many don't bother or perhaps suspect they would be on the receiving end of  'lobbying' from various malcontents who may often have a vested interest in the status quo.  However that does not make it an unreasonable proposal by the RYA.

The GL approach is however almost exactly applying the RYA's proposals - they adjust the RYA PN numbers to reflect experience.  1000+ individual competitors each year at the SJ series seem to accept it well enough, it provides great racing and the GL numbers use is increasing at other locations and events.  This must mean more racing organisers do see something in the RYA's (and GL) proposal / approach.  The GL number system, as an adjusted package of numbers, may even today constitute a 'fig-leaf  valued by some clubs given the 'proactive feedback' that would come from some of their members if they dared evolve their own local set of numbers.  GL ones are an 'off the shelf' already adjusted package ...    

Nobody is forced to compete at the SJ series etc etc - 'you' don't have to take part if you don't want but I suspect not all vocal critics will have often done so in the past anyway.  Hey ho .. Each to their own. 

This subject always makes it a good day to sit back in the deckchair with beverage and crisps ..... and just watching !


 


Edited by Cirrus - 30 Oct 17 at 1:37pm

I know its totally unworkable but I sometimes wonder if a boat should have two handicaps, one for wind below X and one for wind above X. In the past this was impossible but now that clubs use plug in like WindGuru its possible to track the wind speed measured on top of club house over the duration of the days race and then apply the handicap based upon the most prevalent wind conditions. Let the flaming begin.

GL just seems to be PY but based on a smaller selection set and with an arguable degree of commercial interest...

The sail wave program will soon pick out if you have a bandit issue. It will give you an idea of how people are performing against their handicap within your fleet. In most clubs the national level sailors can usually perform 6 or 7 per cent quicker than their handicap compared to the fleet average if there is a good spread of ability.
You can spot the issues easily when the winning boat is usually 15 per cent quicker, and the average sailors in that class are also outperforming the fleet average. This is what happened at Hunts with the Phantom, and I am sure any light quickly accelerating vessel would do the same there, so I am not surprised about the D zero comment.
We seem to be very reluctant to share the chocolates in sailing. In other club individual sports there is often a system to adjust individual performance, and an inclusivity for prizes.
If on a sailing committee I would write into the club rules a mechanism for correcting outliers. At least with the Great Lakes system we know that we will see changes, even if they are not always to my liking.

The whole thing is a plot by the pushchair maker to have their boat win handicap races, didn't you know?