Rum Race Classes

[STuma]

We have the Sailing Instructions for 2019 Rum Races posted. We have made a few changes to hopefully make the racing more fair and the sailing more fun. We have learned that the facet of racing is changing rapidly; sometimes faster than we can keep up. I say 'we' as the Galveston Bay community as a whole. We all are struggling to keep boats on the water and come out sailing. We are having to change how we run races, how we score boats, and how we divide classes. We have taken input from the fleet and observations from the board being out on the water (and discussions with the racers) to reorganize some of our race management methods. Our main goal is to make racing as fair as possible and keep it fun as well.

Some of the big changes are: I. Rum Race Buoy mark change of location II. Class breakdowns

I. I moved the Rum Race Buoy N-NW about a mile hoping to avoid any underwater obstructions. I have noted the new coordinates in the Sailing Instructions. Obviously, it did shorten the course a bit and changed some of the angles to Kemah #2 and the High Range Mark.

II. Something that has been contentious is the class breakdowns. With so many different design boats, what is the most fair way to group boats? We decided to go with like performance and comparing Sail Area to Displacement ratios (SA/D) is the simplest. Unfortunately, we do not have a huge pool of boats to chose from so therefore the groupings will have wide spans. If you group boats by ratings, you will get a lot of bias based on wind conditions. For simplicity, let's compare a J-80 and a Cal 40. They both rate 120 spinnaker. Tell me the wind and I'll tell you the winner. If you absolutely have to, they can (and have) race against each other. The SA/D of the J-80 is 25.93 and 18.48 for the Cal 40. On your valid PHRF-GB certificate, the SA/D is in bold towards the middle bottom of the certificate. The Cal 40 would be more competitive against a Catalina 30 with a SA/D ratio of 17.21. Yes, one can argue that boats close to either side of 19 may be a better fit. The break has to be somewhere. We are simply using the Racer/Cruiser definition already set by PHRF-GB.  The biggest contention is in the spinnaker fleet. This R/C definition applies to the spinnaker fleet. We will have a Racing Spinnaker Class (SA/D < 19.0) and a Racer/Cruiser Spinnaker Class (SA/D >= 19.0).  In each of these classes, fly the chute you have. The Non-Spinnaker class will stay unchanged. The GBCA Club Handicap class will have a split between spinnaker and non-spinnaker. Yes, the original class allows either spinnaker or non-spinnaker, but the benefit of a spinnaker drops the adjustment to a point a boat would have a hard time going back to non-spinnaker and being competitive. Plus, we had some in the class flying spinnakers ask to separate out. Basically, if you race with a spinnaker and use your PHRF-GB handicap, you will either race in the Racing Spinnaker Class or the Racer/Cruiser Spinnaker Class. If you prefer to use the adjustable Club Handicap, you will either race in the Club Handicap Spinnaker or the Club Handicap Class. If you need training wheels, you will race in the multihull class. Boats that are going to race in the Club Handicap Spinnaker class will restart their rating with an assumed PHRF rating. For more information and a more detailed explanation, follow the link to PHRF-GB in the SIs.

I hope this helps with any confusion or misunderstanding there may be. Sailboat racing is not simple anymore.

[derklauer]

Scott, why are these class/rating decisions not being put to a community vote (maybe I missed it)? I just went through the same issue with the Shoe Regatta class divisions PHRF w/l vs ORC w/l which resulted in a class being killed. I think the intent here is good but it's going to be a lot harder to get the boats who leave because they are tired of these seemingly random changes to come back, then to attract the boats that are sitting at the dock.

You coherently outlined why you think "your" approach is better and I appreciate it...now put it to a vote.  At the moment the only mechanism to vote is to register for a race or not, and the numbers don't lie.

[ECSimonson]

The SA/D class divisions in your post and in the SIs are reversed.  High performance boats have higher SA/D ratios than racer cruisers and the SIs imply boats with lower SA/D are in the racing spinnaker class...

[ECSimonson]

Scott, why are these class/rating decisions not being put to a community vote (maybe I missed it)? I just went through the same issue with the Shoe Regatta class divisions PHRF w/l vs ORC w/l which resulted in a class being killed. I think the intent here is good but it's going to be a lot harder to get the boats who leave because they are tired of these seemingly random changes to come back, then to attract the boats that are sitting at the dock.

You coherently outlined why you think "your" approach is better and I appreciate it...now put it to a vote.  At the moment the only mechanism to vote is to register for a race or not, and the numbers don't lie.

I sense your frustration and understand your point of view, however, in my opinion, we elected the board of governors and officers to manage these events and decisions on our behalf. To think every decision (including revisions to the SIs) would require a majority vote of the entire GBCA membership is not realistic.  That's what the board was elected to do; and that is the "vote" available to you... 

[STuma]

Scott, why are these class/rating decisions not being put to a community vote (maybe I missed it)? I just went through the same issue with the Shoe Regatta class divisions PHRF w/l vs ORC w/l which resulted in a class being killed. I think the intent here is good but it's going to be a lot harder to get the boats who leave because they are tired of these seemingly random changes to come back, then to attract the boats that are sitting at the dock.

You coherently outlined why you think "your" approach is better and I appreciate it...now put it to a vote.  At the moment the only mechanism to vote is to register for a race or not, and the numbers don't lie.

I understand your point. But, not every decision a board makes needs or can go to a community vote. This is why the community elected a group of people to make these decisions. If you have an opinion on how races should be run or how an organization should be run, I encourage you to get involved. I would love to have you on the board next year... I can make that happen. I could really use your help in running the Singlehanded and Mixed Doubles regatta (an easy two one day events) this year.

But you're right, you can vote by entering or not entering regattas. I see you voted in agreenance with the split. There have been several events that I have not entered because of something associated with it I didn't like or agree with. Luckily, you have a dozen races you can do locally. I would be willing to sit down and listen to why you think participation is down. I'll even set up a meeting between all the clubs. I would be willing to pass this enlightenment to other clubs across the US, because I talk with them constantly on how to improve participation. I have been racing on Galveston Bay for almost 40 years and have seen a lot of changes. I understand that things have to change as society changes and people acquire different priorities. I have many opinions on why participation is down, but I'm working to stop the bleeding and bring boats back out.

I truly appreciate your concern about participation and how to keep people on the water and look forward to seeing you on this side of the flags...

[STuma]

The SA/D class divisions in your post and in the SIs are reversed.  High performance boats have higher SA/D ratios than racer cruisers and the SIs imply boats with lower SA/D are in the racing spinnaker class...

Eric, you're right.. corrected.. thx.

[derklauer]

I sense your frustration and understand your point of view, however, in my opinion, we elected the board of governors and officers to manage these events and decisions on our behalf. To think every decision (including revisions to the SIs) would require a majority vote of the entire GBCA membership is not realistic.  That's what the board was elected to do; and that is the "vote" available to you...
[/quote]

I agree with you it's the boards decision to make. and I'm not suggesting that every decision or every SI change the board proposes be put to a vote, that would be counter productive.  However, I am saying that a decision that impacts every participant on a topic that has multiple opinions and potentially significant ramification to participation should be put to a vote.  If something like this is not put to a vote the only way to gauge if the group likes it is through the participation numbers.  In most cases the loss of one boat represents a 20% or greater decrease in a classes participation, that's a significant gamble on a proposal and I'd argue that the risk of loss exceeds the benefit.  Although it's not clear to me if the objective of any of these decisions is to try to grow or simply maintain numbers. 

[Kevin Bednar]

Daniel, I get what you're saying but keep in mind;  Scott and the rest of the board have been tweaking the Rum Race and Icicle Series race instructions for some time now and last year's Rum Races and this year's Icicle Series had larger turn-outs than the previous several years.  The Rum and Icicle races are no-charge fun races but don't let that fool anyone into thinking that The Board isn't doing it's best to increase the fairness, fun and turn-out. 

[derklauer]

Daniel, I get what you're saying but keep in mind;  Scott and the rest of the board have been tweaking the Rum Race and Icicle Series race instructions for some time now and last year's Rum Races and this year's Icicle Series had larger turn-outs than the previous several years.  The Rum and Icicle races are no-charge fun races but don't let that fool anyone into thinking that The Board isn't doing it's best to increase the fairness, fun and turn-out.

Kevin, I'm not bashing the board in anyway and apologize if it came across that way.  I'm just pointing out that it is a significant change and there are a lot of opinions on the subject, and the way it is being presented potentially forces people to vote by entering or not and it's harder to get people back once you lose them....And lets be honest any race on the bay is for fun, and some have higher turnout than others for varying reasons.

[WTnick340]

Boats that are going to race in the Club Handicap Spinnaker class will restart their rating with an assumed PHRF rating.

If we decide to race in the Club Handicap Spinnaker class, how do we get this assumed PHRF rating so we know what our start time on Saturday will be?

[STuma]

I have made an amendment to the SIs regarding class divisions.

In section VII, I added the verbiage: A yacht that qualifies as Racer/Cruiser may race in the Racing Spinnaker Class with the Fleet Captain's approval from a written request.

Thank you for everyone's input. This is new, and we have several areas in the US watching how this runs.

[STuma]

Boats that are going to race in the Club Handicap Spinnaker class will restart their rating with an assumed PHRF rating.

If we decide to race in the Club Handicap Spinnaker class, how do we get this assumed PHRF rating so we know what our start time on Saturday will be?

Email the Fleet Captain at FleetCaptain@GBCA.org the boat details; type, largest genoa size, prop type (folding 2, feathering 3, fixed, etc..) and keel type and approx depth. With surface research, we will assign a starting handicap. Please keep in mind that this rating will more than likely change as your finishes are reported. With this system, a yacht's rating is adjusted depending on how the yacht finishes and is not to be compared to an official PHRF-GB handicap.

Let me know if you have any questions....

[Tye Dyed Gary]

  I have a question, concerning VII. Classes and Handicaps. In Racing Spinnaker Class and Racer/Cruiser Spinnaker Class, the SI's state (tacked on the bow or any length sprit) in both class definitions.  Don't you mean Racing Spinnaker Class (tacked on bow or any length sprit) and Racer/Cruiser Class  (flown from a spinnaker pole).
  There was discussion around this subject last year's Rum Races and for the Icicle series. The different aspects of sailing angles, of the tacked vs. pole flown spinnakers is well documented. This is why I am questioning, why are they being thrown together again and not separated as last year's RR and the Icicles?       

[hayesrigging]

So much for the new classes for rum races.