Help with Making Class Breaks

By Robert Kendrick, Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club
Lincoln Schoenberger, Cedar Point Yacht Club

The purpose of Performance Handicap Racing Fleet Regulations is to handicap boats of varying types on the basis of observed performance of their speed potential in normal racing conditions of a well-sailed, well-maintained and well-equipped specimen of each type without consideration to the varying skill levels of skippers or crews.

With this in mind, race organizers need to be aware when developing division splits that using rating bands alone may not be sufficient to provide the best competitive environment. Thus, this article suggests some alternatives which should be considered by race organizers. While some of these techniques may not be suitable for the more competitive regattas, they may still be appropriate for less intense events, where encouragement of participation is a goal.

Major Issues

There are a number of variables that should be considered when setting division breaks. Three major
ones are:

1. Performance characteristics of the individual boats that are participating in the event
Most obvious is the difference between sportboats and their heavier cruising counterparts

2. Skill levels of the individual crews
Especially when they range from highly experienced veterans to those who have only recently begun racing

3. Varying equipment configurations
Cruising boats may lack both sail inventories and the equipment to trim them efficiently as conditions change. In addition, the capabilities of the race committee
to run a race must also be considered. With this in
mind a number techniques should be considered.

 Time-On-Time versus
Time-On-Distance

While PHRF ratings are expressed in seconds per mile, they can be converted and used in Time-On-Time scoring. Time-On-Distance scoring assumes that boats are a fixed number of seconds per mile different from one another in speed, regardless of wind conditions, whereas Time-On-Time scoring assumes that their speeds will differ as wind speed and thus elapsed times vary. Consequently, the use of T-O-T scoring provides some automatic adjustment for varying conditions.

Another advantage to the use of T-O-T is that the race committee needs to only accurately determine the time from the start to each boat’s finish. This eliminates the need to determine the course length, etc. Finally, there is a factor in the equations which can be adjusted to provide more or less credit to slower boats. This is especially helpful in evening racing where there is a dying breeze that would ordinarily favor the faster boats.

Assign Division Breaks based
on Sail Area to Displacement

Historically, divisions have been split into 30 second bands for the best racing. Analysis of the YRA of LIS PHRF fleet has shown that for boats rating slower than 132, the majority have a Sail Area to Displacement (SA/D) of less than 19 with many in the 17-18 range, while a few have upwards of 23. For boats rating faster than 72, the numbers are reversed with the majority over 21 and a limited number below 18 that appear to have restricted their racing to distance events. In the middle band from 73 to 131, the fleet is divided into 2 groups with an average SA/D of 21, but with great individual variances. The break point between the two groups will depend on the boats entered. While a band size of 60 seconds would historically be divided into two divisions with a 30 second spread, consideration should be given to widening the bands and segregating the boats based on SA/D. An additional consideration should be the SA/D of boats just above and below a band centered near 100 (e.g., 85 to 115).

It should be noted that this analysis was done for upwind SA/D. With the advent of sprits and the associated large asymmetric spinnakers, coupled with only overlapping headsails, differences in downwind SA/D should also be considered.

White or Cruising Fleet

Newcomers to the sport may simply not have the experience, crews or equipment to compete in some venues, yet are interested in participating in the event as a whole. Some clubs have taken the “I may not know what to call it, but I know when I see it” approach to division splits and created a classification for these boats. Usually, the skipper must be “nominated” by the club’s officers to be allowed entry into this division. The criteria for movement out of the class is similarly vague but is usually based upon how often the skipper wins.

Golf handicapping

In an effort to level the field between competitive boats and those who are less intense, fleets may consider “golf ” handicapping as an option. Various methods are used, but in all cases adjustments are made to an individual boat’s rating, based on the performance of that particular boat. This approach handicaps the crew’s ability and condition of the boat, as well as its inherent speed potential. The objective is to give each boat a reasonable opportunity to win, regardless of her crew’s skill or the age of her sails.

Many different methods can be used to adjust ratings. Some fleets adjust ratings after each race. Typically, a reference boat is chosen, such as the fourth place boat or the boat 40% from the top. Boats finishing below the reference boat have their ratings adjusted upward by 10%, and boats finishing above have their ratings lowered by 10%. Often, boats that correct out significantly faster or slower than the reference boat (say 50 seconds per mile) are not adjusted due to the likelihood that other factors, such as luck, may have played too great a roll.

Other fleets use similar methods, but only adjust ratings at the beginning of the series or season, based on the results of the prior one.

Some have criticized golf style handicapping as being discouraging to the most competitive sailors. Such objections can be overcome by scoring races both ways, and giving out two sets of trophies. An alternative is to score individual races using adjusted handicaps, but scoring the series without adjustment. With “golf ” handicapping the options for methods of adjustment are almost unlimited.

In Summary

These techniques can be used individually or in combination. If you feel that your fleet needs a boost, we urge you to give them a try!