A – Fleet Starts in Club Racing.
Five or more boats of the same Class justify a separate start during Club racing. These boats results will be shown in both the Class results and the Handicap results. This means that Class fleet times must be recorded by Race Officers – not just Class finishing order.
B – Differing Laser Rigs.
Laser sailors regularly changing rigs can cause an issue for the results secretary – not least because it isn’t always obvious which rig has been used and mistakes with the PY can result. The practise of using a smaller rig in strong breeze is effectively the same as a boat reefing or using cut down sails – or even in some classes, just changing to a flatter cut main / jib. However in those instances, the reefed etc boats handicap doesn’t change.
In Laser Opens (including our own and most regional circuits) – it is common practice for sailors to be allowed to use either rig but be scored as one fleet (effectively on the full rig handicap). Doing that at club level seems unfair on sailors who only use the radial rig, so the YDSC principle is that a sailor should pick a ‘rig’ at the start of the Series and keep to that handicap for all races. So if for instance a sailor picked a “Full Rig”, their handicap would reflect this even if a Radial was used in some races. However if a “Radial” sailor raced with a Full Rig in one race, their handicap would be altered to the Full Rig value – and for all races of that series.
C – Two or more Boats per Series.
The practice of a sailor using two or more different boats within a series is clearly not normally within the rules. In the past it was allowed mostly so that more sailors were able to qualify for a series – this was in the days when there were far fewer boats sailing on a regular basis, and was strictly on the understanding that it could not be done to gain advantage. However it is often the case that there could be an advantage – with the corresponding disadvantage to everyone else, even if any advantage would more likely be accidental than deliberate. For instance, the very fact of having the option to sail a single hander when your crew can’t sail clearly disadvantages others who don’t own a second boat so don’t have the same option. The advantage can be perceived as particularly unfair if a boat change happens to coincide with favourable conditions for the ‘new’ boat. It also makes the Portsmouth Yardstick Returns difficult as different boats have different values, so the policy is that there will be one set of results per boat per series. This means the use of a second boat is practical, but will produce a second set of results for the same sailor.
D – Races to count in a Series.
The number of races to count in a series will be 50% of the races in the series. This will be rounded down in the event of an odd number of races in the series. (i.e. Discards will be 50% of the races in the series, rounded up).
E – Personal Handicaps
Some clubs run very successful personal handicap series. The RYA report that they are often the most popular, well attended series.
Advantages include:
- More people have a chance of doing well and so more are likely to engage in racing
- Top sailors are challenged and have to sail better to win
- Beginners and intermediates can be enthused by good results
- All sailors can be motivated by having a target of improving / maintaining their personal handicap.
- It makes for interesting discussions in the clubhouse!
The YDSC policy is that personal handicaps will be applied to series results. This is achieved by adjusting the PY of a specific boat by an amount assigned to the sailor of that boat. This modified handicap can vary by up to + or – 50 PY points and will be adjusted annually.