PHRF-NW had a meeting on February 11, and I’m pleased to share the Chief Handicappers notes from that meeting (without comment!):
PHRF-NW update 2018
The PHRF-NW Annual Handicapper’s Council meeting 2018 was graciously hosted by CYC Seattle on February 11, 2018. Chaired by Chief Handicapper Neil Bennett and Deputy Chief Handicapper Alan Grim, Handicappers from as far South as Portland, OR, North as Juneau, AK, west as Orcas Island and everywhere in between gathered for a morning and afternoon discussion about the state of PHRF sailboat racing in Puget Sound. And, to quote Mark Twain, ‘rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated’.
Each Handicapper gave an update on their club’s racing programs; without fail, each club handicapper reported increased participation and eager excitement to get back out on the water, racing in PHRF One Design and open keelboat and multihull fleets. We listened and learned from each other, again reinforcing the premise that the ‘whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. So look for some innovation at that next regatta or race.
We also looked at how we stack up against other measurement methods such as ORC and IRC. We compared our PHRF-NW ratings against US Sailing National PHRF ratings and, not surprisingly, we differ from other areas of the country (for obvious reasons, we are unique); however we are consistent in our differences; against the other rating/measurement systems we are rock solidly consistent in how similar the time deltas between yachts are measured.
Of course we are proud that our cost effective, friendly PHRF-NW method stacks up against the ‘bog boys’, and we welcome any and all to join us.
We also reviewed member appeals and made some adjustments. In specific:
Appeals
Gray Wolf, XMART40-1, s/n 401
A motion was made and carried to change the as-sailed rating to 57, and amended to reinstate the T designation.
Occams Razor, ILC40, s/n 1997
A motion was made and carried to change the as-sailed rating to 18, and amended to reinstate the T designation.
Poke and Destroy, EVEL32-2, s/n 69061
A motion was made and carried to change the as-sailed rating to 93. The motion passed.
A motion was made and carried to create a JBOA105-ODR standard with a base/as-sailed rating of 93.
Hoping to see you all out on the water in 2018.
Neil Bennett, PHRF-NW Chief Handicapper
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.