Forums, Cruising (PHRF) Racing

Hi all , planning a trip to Maine in Sept and thinking about the first nights’ moorings. Anyone out there have any fond memories of clubs either on Long Island or western ct after first day through Manhattan etc.? Not sure how far we will get.

Thanks for any advice

Will Scheck

Thistle fleet

Until 2019, the Wednesday Night Sailing Instructions read:

THE START

The starting line will be between the hoist displaying an orange flag on the signal boat and a nearby mark.

In 2019 the Wednesday Night Sailing Instructions changed to:

12 THE START

12.1 The starting line will be between the hoist displaying an orange flag on the signal boat at the starboard end and the course side of the starting mark.

What does at the starboard end and the course side of the starting mark mean? Should there be a comma after starboard end? What is the course side of the starting mark?

I believe a key issue in this conundrum is the recently eliminated String Rule that said:

28.2 – A string representing a boat’s track from the time she begins to approach the starting line … until she finishes shall, when drawn taut, pass each mark on the required side and in the correct order.

Thus, with all marks required to port, the Race Committee must put the starting pin on the port side of the starting line.

Please re-write the Sailing Instructions Rule 12.1 now, not at the end of the sailing season.

On Sunday we completed the first 2023 Cruising Fleet series race — the race counted for the Sunday Series and Fleet Champ. This Wednesday is the first series race for the Wednesday Night Series.
Update your RACING RSVP, and let us know if your PHRF and Cruising Fleet status are correct — more than a few racers have yet to get a PHRF or pay Cruising Fleet dues.
Sunday May 14, 2023 Results

Non-Spinnaker Division1:30 p.m. start. Course 2 (shortened to 2X). North, 8 ktsOne starter/finisher: Sheba — 212, 1st place, Score: 1 (high scoring).

Series Standings:

• Sunday Series: Sheba
• Fleet Champ: Sheba

P.S. A total of five boats raced on Mother’s Day (May 14): Sheba (Cruising) and four Sonars.

As NBC Cruising Fleet racers plan their 2023 racing season, those who want to venture further afield (afloat?), should take a look at the Hudson River YRA regatta schedule. You’ll find all the Hudson River YRA events on the NBC Calendar.

The HRYRA season starts in three weeks with a pair of up-river events, first in Kingston (June 3-4) and then in Chelsea (June 10-11). Consider heading north — it’s a very long day from Nyack to Kingston, or stop overnight. Race Kingston, leave your boat north for the week in between (see below for how we handle your absence on Wednesday, June 7), race Chelsea, and then return to Nyack.

It’s a great cruise with two friendly competitions in three divisions (2 Spin, 1 Non-Spin). You’ll find a number of boats from nearby clubs headed north and there are opportunities to pool (car-pool, crew-pool, boat-pool) to ease the logistics of getting boat and crew to the right places at the right times.

• Use our NBC PHRF Google Group to reach out to skippers and crew heading north about pooling resources. If you haven’t cruised up river, pose your questions — you’re sure to receive many useful answers.
  
  
• Crew Finder is available through the Club Calendar listings for Kingston and Chelsea. You can list your need for crew, or your availability to crew — for either transiting boats north/south, or for racing.
  

Finally, if you’re racing up river, how does it affect your NBC racing?

• Sunday June 4 is a Sunday PHRF Pursuit — results are not counted for any 2023 Cruising Fleet Series.
  
  
• If you’re away for racing on Wednesday, June 7, and you start in both Kingstona and Chelsea regattas, then for Wednesday scoring we treat June 7 as a “Duty Race” (as if you were on RC that night), and you get your average season score for that race and not a DNC.
  
  
• Sunday June 11 is a Sunday Series race. Since we use high scoring for the Sunday Series, you simply don’t receive a score for that race — we use your 10 best race results in the Sunday Series to come up with you score — you’ll just need to come back to the line on one of the next 12 Sundays in the series.

’ — Fleet Scoring

Four (4) Non-Spin and two (2) Spin division boats came to the line last night. See Bob S. write up about conditions and competition. Below are race results — times and scores. This race does not count in any 2023 series. Sunday Series racing continues this weekend (May 14), and the first Wednesday Series race next week, May 17. (Update your RACING RSVP, get your PHRF, pay your Cruising Fleet Dues).

Spinnaker Division

Non-Spinnaker Division

NBC Cruising Fleet racers, are you ready to hoist your sails and come to the starting line tonight (May 10, 6:30 p.m.)?

I know of one boat planning to start tonight in Spinnaker Division, but not sure about everyone else. You can update 2023 Racing RSVP if you’re planning to race tonight (or just send a reply email and we’ll update for you). While you’re there, you can also check who has a PHRF and who has paid their Cruising Fleet dues — both required to race in the Wednesday series starting next week.

You can find the Wednesday NoR and SIs on the NBC website under Info for Member>Committees>Race Committee (you’ll need to login — skippers who don’t have a log in, please let me know, I think we can fix that).

Note that the location of Seasonal Race Mark “D” was moved ever so slightly due to moorings in front of Petersen’s Marina. The new GPS coordinates are: N 41 06.218 W 73 54.487.

Also, the Club is emphasizing cordial conduct in all fleets on the race course at Nyack this season — see RRS Rule 69. Note, all protests may be filed electronically using USSailing app — see SIs.

Finally, you can find the first version of the 2023 Cruising Fleet Scoring Rules at the NBC PHRF Google Group (at the top of the landing page) along with other useful links.

Sheba’s not at the Club yet, so won’t have a chance to tune-up, but hope to be on the line to start the Wednesday Series on May 17th.
—Tony Martin, Fleet Scoring

If you’re in the water our first series race is this Sunday, May 7th, 1:30 p.m. start. (see Club Calendar for all scheduled races and regattas).
But, are you ready to race? These items should be on your racing “to do” list:

• Crew : if you need crew, or want to crew, use NBC Crew Finder (login required).
  
  as of May 2, 2023.
  
  
• PHRF:
  • Register for “A PHRF Priimer” via Zoom, Wednesday, May 3, 8 pm.
  • Next, get your boat’s 2023 PHRF rating at HRYRA (required for Wednesday Night Series, regattas, and Fleet Champ — always recommended).
    The following boats have already been rated for 2023: Azgin 2, Blaze, Breez’N, Calamari Salad, Elusive, Graceful & Willing, Hee Soo, Sheba, Springbok, Summer Breeze, The Office
    
    

• Cruising Fleet Membership: all our series racing requires paid-up membership in the NBC Cruising Fleet. The Fleet will reach out to members who have yet to pay. All Cruising Fleet members are also expected to take on some Fleet duties: Race Patrol, regattas, Club events, Fleet parties.
  
  
• Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions, Racing Rules, Protest Procedures: bookmark NBC Race Committee for the latest.
  
  
• Scoring, Standings, Race Results, and more: bookmark NBC PHRF Racing Google Group; on the main page at the top you’ll find links to the 2023 Scoring Rule, Scoring Workbook, Racing RSVP, and all the race results, announcements, posts and comments on NBC Cruising Fleet PHRF racing. More comments on the Cruising (PHRF) Racing Forum.

— Fleet Scoring

Thanks to all who provided feedback by email, at our meeting, and via our forums and survey. Below you’ll find a summary of the 2023 Cruising Fleet PHRF racing series. Will soon follow up with detailed 2023 Scoring Rules and further discussion of the series.

Wednesday Night Series. Low Scoring. Awards in Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker Divisions. 2023 PHRF required. NBC Cruising Fleet membership required. Every Wednesday Night, 6:30 p.m. from May 17 through September 14 (18 Wednesday racing nights). Results count for 2023 Fleet Champ award.

Sunday Pursuit Races. NO series scoring, NO awards. Fleet assigns your handicap. Open to all NBC members and guests. 1:30 pm. on the first Sunday of June, July, August, and September, and the second Sunday of October (5 Pursuit Sundays). Participation included for 2023 Fleet Champ eligibility.

All-Season Sunday Racing Series. High scoring, awards by Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker Divisions, and combined (division awards made only if at least 10 races completed in a division). Single-competitor races count. 2023 PHRF recommended, not required. NBC Cruising Fleet membership required. 1:30 p.m. on most Sundays from May 7 through October 15 (all except Pursuit Sundays and Regatta Sundays, 16 All-Season Sundays). Participation in all races included for 2023 Fleet Champ eligibility, but only 2+ competitor race results scored for 2023 Fleet Champ award.

Regattas @ NBC (eligibility to enter and regatta scoring governed by regatta organizing authority)

• Memorial Day (one-day) Regatta. Low scoring, awards by Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker divisions. 2023 PHRF required. NBC Cruising Fleet membership required. 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 27. Results count for 2023 Fleet Champ award.
  
• Guy Moulton Regatta. Low scoring, awards by Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker divisions. 2023 PHRF required. NBC Cruising Fleet membership required. 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 8, 10:30 a.m., Sunday, July 9. Results count for 2023 Fleet Champ award.
  
• HRYRA Last Chance Regatta. Low scoring, awards in two Spinnaker and one Non-Spinnaker divisions. 2023 PHRF required. 11:00 a.m., Saturday, September 30, 10:30 a.m., Sunday, Oct 1. Results count for 2023 Fleet Champ award.
  
• HRYRA Hudson River Race. Low scoring, awards by Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker divisions. 2023 PHRF required. 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 7. Results count for 2023 Fleet Champ award.
  
  2023 Fleet Champ Series. High scoring average, single set of awards across divisions. 2023 PHRF required, NBC Cruising Fleet membership required , regular membership of Nyack Boat Club required. Eligibility to be considered based on degree of participation in NBC Cruising Fleet racing. Scoring based on results in most 2+-competitor races in any 2023 NBC Cruising Fleet series.

Thanks — Tony Martin, Cruising Fleet Scoring and Carol Marsh, Cruising Fleet Race Captain

As a further contribution to our dialogue about series and scoring for 2023 Cruising (PHRF) Racing at Nyack, racers might be interested to know that US Sailing recommends alternate scoring systems for long series that encompass races scheduled over a month or longer period of time (kind of like our Wednesday Series, Sunday Series, and Fleet Champ).

In this post, I’ve included only the Introduction and Background sections of RACING RULES: SCORING A LONG SERIES … do read the whole thing!

— Tony Martin

RACING RULES: SCORING A LONG SERIES

Alternative Scoring Systems for Long Series

Note to reader: On this page, the US Sailing Racing Rules Committee provides instructions for alternative scoring systems designed for a long series, such as a season championship spanning several weeks or months. The material presented here is the material referred to in the “US Sailing Note on Scoring a Long Series” at the end of Appendix A in the US Sailing edition of The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2021–2024. Comments on these systems are welcome. Please email comments to rules@ussailing.org. Also, the Racing Rules Committee would like to know if fleets and clubs use these alternative scoring systems. If you do, please send us an email telling us the name of your club or fleet, the event and the system you chose. Thanks!

Introduction

Appendix A of the Racing Rules of Sailing contains one scoring system, the Low Point System, which is appropriate for regattas held over a weekend or a championship or race week held over several consecutive days. The system in Appendix A can also be used for scoring a series of races held over a longer period of time. In this document US Sailing presents two additional scoring systems that some fleets and clubs may find preferable for a long series that extends over a month or even an entire season. They are the High Point Percentage Scoring System and the Low Point Averaged Scoring System.

Background

The Low Point System in Appendix A assigns a race score to each boat for each race in the series, even if a boat is forced by circumstances beyond her control to miss one or more races.

Both the High Point Percentage System and the Low Point Averaged System assign a race score to a boat only for those races in which she competes. Under each of these two systems, a boat can miss some of the races without penalty provided she sails in sufficient races to qualify for the series. Therefore, she is not placed at a disadvantage if she cannot compete in all the races.

Under the High Point Percentage System, a boat’s series score is the percentage of the boats that she competes against that she defeats. A boat’s series score under this system is similar to a baseball player’s batting average. Each time the boat races against another boat in a race, that event is equivalent to an ‘at bat’ in baseball. If she finishes ahead of an opponent, that is equivalent to a ‘hit’, and if she finishes behind an opponent that is equivalent to an ‘out’. Under the Low Point Averaged System, a boat’s series score is simply the average of her race scores.

While we’ve had emails, forum dialogue, private discussions and a public meeting, we haven’t had a survey. Interested crew and skippers, please take a few minutes to answer a few questions (mostly to do with Sunday racing).

• NBC 2023 Cruising (PHRF) Racing

Please respond before Thursday, April 27th. Thanks — Tony Martin, Fleet Scoring

We had about 15 join our April 19 Cruising (PHRF) Race meeting (Zoom). We had a lively discussion about various proposals for the 2023 race season. My report below on what I heard and where we go next. But please do add your observations or comments to the Group or Forum.

Areas of AgreementThere was general agreement regarding the following:

• Wednesday Night Series (low scoring, two divisions, current year PHRF rating and Fleet membership required)
• 
  

  Keep monthly Sunday Pursuit races as just “fun” races (without PHRF requirements and do not use scores for racing awards)

• 
  
  Regattas (low scoring, two divisions, current year PHRF rating and regatta registration required)
• 
  
  Club’s online CrewFinder (formerly Crew List) was useful, and members would use it.
• 
  
  Adopt online tools for race management — submit protests online (USSA tool), and use Zoom for hearings
• 
  
  Do not give up on “regular” Sunday racing

Areas of Debate

While we agreed the Fleet supports continuing PHRF racing on Sunday afternoons, at least conceptually, the participation on Sundays has always been light, but has fallen off substantially in the last couple years (other than the monthly Sunday Pursuits, which have attracted healthy numbers).
One point of debate: how to configure Sunday racing to attract more participation? We entered the meeting with two proposals and discussed their different features. We discussed the following major points of difference and (in italics) my sense of the views of the attendees on each point:

1. Low scoring vs. high scoring for a Sunday Series. And should we break the series into 2 or 3 series (e.g. Spring Sunday, Summer Sunday, Fall Sunday) to allow racers more opportunity to podium and be recognized for their performance on the race course.
   As long as it’s fair and sensible, we don’t care about the scoring system or the number of available awards. We don’t think either feature will make much difference to attracting new racers to the starting line.
   
   
2. Permitting Spinnaker boats to “cross over” to Non-Spinnaker for Sunday Racing (i.e., race Wednesday Spinnaker Divisions but race Non-Spinnaker on Sundays either due to lack of competitors, or due to different crew capabilities on Sundays).
   First, most racers are committed to Wednesday Nights, and are less committed to Sunday racing (skippers and crew have many competing priorities). So, if they race, Sundays, it’s less regularly and probably with a smaller or less experienced crew. But, when they do come to the line, they’re interested in competing with whoever shows up. And while PHRF ratings are imperfect (lower PHRF boats seem to always (almost always) score better, Spin or Non-Spin), skippers were content to race against any boat based on PHRF. Do allow “cross-over” if it means more boats racing, and most prefer a larger field of competitors in the race. (Note this “cross-over” point goes for Sunday racing and for Club regattas).
   
   
3. For scoring, count a race with a single starter — so going around the course alone would earn points in the Sunday Series (i.e. first place, and all “no-show” get a DNC = starters 1 = 2nd place score). Proposed as a slight incentive to show up for Sunday racing — even if no one else comes, you can get in a sail and get some series credit. If, at the margin, this incentive gets even one more boat to show, then we can have a 2 boat race.
   A “race” means having a competitor on the course, and this just provides a reward for “showing up” but not beating a competitor. As noted above, the series/awards are not the reason we race. But, we want a sense that the series/scoring/awards are fair and reasonable; winning what’s touted as a competition just by showing up doesn’t pass that test.

We had little discussion on a second point of debate: Fleet Champ Series. The initial proposal continues the single Fleet Champ (across Spin/Non-Spin divisions) based on a high-score average. The alternate proposal (tied to the “no cross-over” rule for Sundays/Regattas was for low-scoring across all Club races by division (so a Spin and Non-Spin Champ). Perhaps Fleet members who have not authored a proposal would like to weigh in on this point. Or perhaps it’s not a point that racers care about much, as long as it meets the sensible, fair test.

• One participant said it would be useful to see who planned to come to the line (especially for Sundays or Regattas). That got quite a chuckle as we’ve had the Racing RSVP around for 2 or 3 years (and it’s lightly used, at best). My observation is everyone wants to know what others are planning, but are reluctant to publicize their own plans. Note, I’d planned to give up on Racing RSVP for 2023 — but it’s not much work, if racers plan tomake use of it (maybe we give a prize to the boat that entered the most RSVPs for the season as an incentive?)
  
  
• We discussed the challenge higher-PHRF boats have against low-PHRF boats, especially on Wednesday Nights when the wind dies on the slower boats. In the Non-Spin division, all boats raced with PHRF>175 except the 1st place boat with a PHRF=120. (actually another boat, 4th place, has PHRF=144) Of course in the Spin division the winner had PHRF-183 while other boats had PHRF<135. If we had more competitors in different PHRF bands we could consider splitting the fleet (as does HRYRA and HRBA), but that’s not an option at this time.

Follow-up Actions

• Fleet leadership will take the feedback provided by the meeting and offer a follow-up proposal for 2023 racing for your consideration. We may poll racers on various points to get further feedback on how to formulate and operate for the 2023 season.
  

• 
  
  We’ll provide instructions on using Crew Finder (it’s pretty easy — start by looking in your Member Portal and you can list yourself under “Crew Wanted” or “Crew Available” or both!).
• 
  
  We’re looking for ideas and volunteers to continue to create enthusiasm for PHRF racing this season. Besides committing your boat and yourself to coming to the start line, we’ll follow up on some of these suggestions: from members:

  
  Form a team to champion PHRF racing (especially for Sundays) to encourage new racers, provide instruction, and to have fun racing.

  
  Build on the Pursuit Race success and see if we can coax some of these very casual racers into coming to the line for other events.

  
  Schedule an early-season on-and-off-the-water event for Intro to Racing Your Cruising Boat.

  
  Turn some of Cruising Fleet racing occasions into more social events with the Fleet providing pre/post racing discussion, refreshments, and socializing.

  
  

  
  

  Look for more information on Cruising (PHRF) racing.

Remember to register for tomorrow’s Zoom meeting (links in email sent last Saturday, 4 pm) — if you need registration information, email the author.

1. Do we have skippers interested in a Sunday Racing Series (as proposed or otherwise)? Or Sunday racing of any kind that will count for Fleet Champ?

• We’ll keep five (5) Sundays for our Sunday Pursuits.
• We have NBC-hosted regattas on two Sundays.
• Members keen on racing will find good competition in HRYRA events away from NBC on five (5) other weekends.
  
• Members can join a one-design crew for NBC Sundays.

Maybe Cruising Fleet members would prefer to have the “regular” Sundays available for cruising and pleasure sailing (or the racing events above) and PHRF racers can focus on Wednesday Night Series and various regattas (at NBC and away).

2. Do you need crew — for racing, for cruising? Or do you want to crew for a cruiser? If so, we have a new tool (Crew Finder) that’s part of the new Club management system. Also, we continue to invite interested crew to come Wednesday nights. What can we do to ensure lack of crew is not an impediment to racing?

3. What can we do to get new skippers (and boats) involved in NBC PHRF racing — in particular for Wednesday Nights, Club regattas, HRYRA, Sunday Pursuits? Mostly we want input from new members who aren’t sure about racing with us — what can we do to get you going with us?

4. We need Fleet members to fill our Race Patrol slot and to volunteer at events the Fleet is hosting. This isn’t only for racing members, or members at the meeting — we’re looking for all Cruising Fleet members to step up.

See you online tomorrow and on the line in May!

We recently sent an email invite to all PHRF Racing group members, and to all Cruising Fleet members, with a link to register for our 2023 Cruising (PHRF) Race organizing meeting this Wednesday night, April 19th, 8 p.m.

The meeting will be online (Zoom) and requires registration. Details and registration link in the email invite (sent Saturday, April 15th, 4:00 p.m.)

If you did not receive a registration email (check spam folder, please), let us know and we’ll send you the information.

Click on the link that follows to review the gory details (8 pages!) of the proposed series and scoring for Cruising Fleet PHRF Racing in 2023.

Cruising-Fleet-Scoring-Rules-2023- Rev DRAFT

Here’s the short version (from the first page of the document). Comments in advance of our meeting are most welcome. Look for Fleet Scoring to communicate fleet standings more frequently, especially for Fleet Champ so racers have a chance to meet the participation requirements and rack up more successful finishes.

The NBC Cruising Fleet looks forward to a competition-filled season in the Hudson River from May to October, 2023. There are few changes from 2022 – we still have a full-season of Wednesday Night races and monthly SundayPursuit races; we’ve formed a Sunday Series using high scoring, and have updated the qualifying criteria and scoring for the Cruising Fleet Champ series.

Wednesday Night Racing. low-scoring series with a number of throw outs. Series awards in two divisions (Spinnaker and Non-spinnaker). The Cruising Fleet sponsors this series. Only members of the Cruising Fleet (and non-Club-member fleet friends) who have a 2023 HRYRA PHRF are eligible to compete in this series.

• Wednesday Night Races: May 10, 2023– September 20, 2023 (20 nights)
  • First race (May 10) is a “tune up” race, and will NOT count for scoring for any of the 2023 series. The Series will end on September 13, 2023. The September 20, 2023 “tune down” race is just for fun and will NOT count for scoring any of the 2023 series.
• Pursuit Race scheduled for Wednesday, August 23, 2023 is included in the 2023 Wednesday Series.

Sunday Racing. We have several flavors of Sunday racing, from May 7 through October 15, 2023.

• First, we’ve scheduled five (5) Sunday Pursuit Races: the first Sunday of June, July, August, September, and on October 8th. Sunday Pursuits are open to all Club members and Shattemuc members – a 2023 HRYRA PHRF is NOT required. While we do NOT count the results of Sunday Pursuits for any series, starting in a Sunday Pursuit will count toward qualifying for the Fleet Champ award. All other Sunday racing will count in the Cruising Fleet Champ series.
• 
  
• Second, Sunday Series of regular Sunday races from May 7 through October 15 – sixteen (16) series Sundays, possibility of both Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker divisions on any Sunday, if we have enough interest. Series will use high-scoring, and your series scores is the sum of your ten (10) best scores in any division.
• 
  
• Third, all other Sundays are regattas (Guy Moulton and Last Chance). The only 2023 Sunday without PHRF racing is May 28, when we cede the race course to the NBC Champion of Champions.




Overall Cruising Fleet Champion will count the results of all Wednesday Night Series races (including Wednesday Pursuit race on August 23), all Sunday Series races (NOT the Sunday Pursuit Races), and all NBC-hosted regattas. The series will be scored using a Cox-Sprague high scoring average approach, based on a competitor’s 15 best race results. Must start in at least 15 races (we have approximately 55 races on the schedule), and at least 7 scored races that are not Wednesday Night races and at least 7 scored races that are not Sunday Series races. This series will combine performance of a boat in all races raced (any division) resulting in a single ranking of all members who participated in the 2023 NBC Cruising Fleet Racing Season. Must be an NBC club member and NBC Cruising Fleet member to be eligible.





See you on April 19th and on the race course in May.

Tonight would be a beautiful Wednesday Night for racing! Clear/Dry; Lo 70s F; 8-12 kts W, Hi Tide: 3:14 pm; Sunset: 7:32 pm, Moonrise: 2:54 am (Thur)

We have one Wednesday meeting and 20 Wednesday starts on the river in 2023. You can find our full schedule on the Club Calendar (filter by Racing). Upcoming:

• Next week: Wednesday April 19 8 pm — Cruising Fleet Racing Meeting (Zoom)
  • No racing, but we can talk about it! We’ll discuss the upcoming season from PHRF to scoring, from scoring to how to get more boats on the line. See prior posts (part 1 and part 2) on what we’re planning for series this season (Wednesday Night, Sundays, regattas, Fleet Champ). We’ve had some good feedback (thanks Greg, Seth, Lee and Eric) — we can use more — and we’ve made a few changes. Stay tuned to this Forum for details we hope to make available before April 19.

• Four weeks: Wednesday May 10 6:30 pm — “tune-up” race
  • If your boat (and crew) are ready, this race is just the thing to shakedown (tune-up?) for the season. This race does NOT count for any series — not scored for the series and not counted for minimum qualifications for Fleet Champ. Spinnaker Division skippers — you can race this one without a chute, if so inclined.
    
• Five weeks: Wednesday May 17 6:30 pm — 1st Wednesday Series race
  • Our 2023 Wednesday Night Series (18 Wednesdays) series kicks off the first Wednesday night after the Club’s Opening Day (Saturday May 13th). All racers need a 2023 PHRF (included with your 2023 HRYRA membership). So far Azgin 2, Calamari Salad, Hee Soo, Sheba, and Summer Breeze qualify — for everyone else: no PHRF no score). Remember, for the Wednesday Night series you compete exclusively in either the Spinnaker or Non-Spinnaker division.

Until next week!

(this note will be in the NBC PHRF Google Group and the Club’s Forum for Cruising (PHRF) Racing)

For 2023 the Sunday Series and Fleet Champ Series are still very much a work in progress, so Cruising Fleet racers’ input is especially valued.

As I noted in Thoughts Part 1, in 2022 we had very little regular Sunday racing — only three (3) Sundays saw a Cruising Fleet start, one with 2 racers, one with 3, and one with 4. Although we didn’t organize a separate 2022 Sunday series, these races did count for the 2022 Fleet Champ series.

I think there are a few challenges for Sunday racing: 1) Wednesday racers get crew to commit to Wednesday, but the same crew are not all available for Sundays, 2) Spinnaker racers don’t want to recruit a large crew to be faced with no (or only one) competitor on Sundays), 3) the “chicken-egg” problem: if I can’t count on a race to occur, I won’t bother coming out, and 4) perhaps not having a Sunday series reduced the incentive to come out. Likely these same challenges account for the slim participation in Club regattas too.

Further, in an effort to ensure the Fleet Champ series doesn’t just recapitulate the Wednesday Series (i.e., where the Fleet Champ is just the Wednesday winner), we ask competitors to sail a minimum number of races (15 in 2022) with at least 1/3 in non-Wednesday races (Sundays, Club regattas, NBC HRYRA regattas). If fleet members are no-shows for Sundays and Club regattas, they can’t meet the minimum requirements (and this is what happened in 2022, with only two boats making the participation cut for Fleet Champ). Note, for many who didn’t make the participation cut-off, a handful of Sunday races or an additional regatta would have put them in the running — so getting more robust participation on Sundays would also improve the Fleet Champ competition. (And in 2022, it’s also true that Fleet Scoring fell down on the job of reporting competitors’ progress on the Fleet Champ series throughout the season — did a better job in 2021, egging skippers to make that next race and stay in the running).

Looking ahead to 2023, the Club has Sunday racing scheduled from May 7 through Oct 15 — twenty-four (24) Sundays. The following three (3) Sundays have no Cruising Fleet start: May 28 (Champions Regatta), July 9 (Guy Moulton Regatta)., Oct 1 (Last Chance Regatta). Of the twenty-one (21) remaining Sundays, five (5) are reserved for Pursuit Races (results do not count in any series). That leaves sixteen (16) regular Sunday Cruising Fleet races.

For the last few years, we gave racers the option to choose their division (Non-Spin or Spinnaker) on the day of the Sunday race. If a spinnaker racer was short-handed on the weekends, they could race Non-Spin. (Note for Wednesday Series or our regattas a boat has to commit to a division for the entire series/event).
Here’s the suggestion for a 2023 Sunday Cruising Fleet Series: (16 Sundays from May 7 through Oct 16).

1. We have a joint start (one start) across two divisions. You decide when you check-in which division. Each division would sail the usual, distinct Spin or Non-Spin courses. Two boats required to have a race. If the past is a guide, we’d expect most Sunday races to be Non-Spin only, but that could change — especially if spinnaker skippers communicate with each other their desire or ability to race Spin division on any given Sunday.
   
   
2. We will use this high-score method for Sunday series races: N boats start (in a division), then first place gets N, 2nd place N-1, etc.
   
   
3. Your series score is the sum of your 10 highest scores (in any division). The more you race, and the more boats you beat, the better your chance of winning. There is only an incentive to race more, never to sit out — once you’ve raced 10 times, subsequent races can only help your series score, never hurt it. There’s a further incentive to get more boats to race with you (if you have more boats to beat, and you do beat them, then you get a higher score).
   
   
4. Open to Cruising Fleet members and Shattemuc Fleet Friends.

For 2023 Cruising Fleet Champ, keep the format largely the same — a single Champ across divisions, using Cox-Sprague high-score. But, make it easier to meet the minimum to qualify (number of races, and races other than Wednesdays). Here would be the key elements:

1. Must be an NBC Club member AND member of the NBC Cruising Fleet.
   
   
2. Must start in at least twenty (20) races (any division) — all NBC starts included (Club regattas, HRYRA NBC events, Wednesday Night Series (DOES NOT include tune-up/down nights), Sundays (DOES include Sunday Pursuits), and at least seven (7) races that are NOT Wednesday Nights. (Note, this means racing 20 races out of 50+ scheduled opportunities to race — 18 Wednesday Series, 21 Sundays (Sunday Series and Pursuits), and four regattas: Memorial Day, Guy Moulton, Last Chance, Hudson River Race).
   
   
3. Cox-Sprague “average” taken over your fifteen (15) best results in non-Pursuit Sundays, Wednesday Series, NBC-hosted regattas. If you have fewer than fifteen (15) results, we will still average over 15 (so we’ll count some zero results).

Now, an alternative to consider (especially for “traditionalists” in the fleet — pace LL), is to have a 2023 Cruising Fleet Champ by Division (Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker). Same criteria as above, except for the following:

• 2. Must start in at least twenty (20) races (any division) — all NBC starts included (Club regattas, HRYRA NBC events, Wednesday Night Series (DOES NOT include tune-up/down nights), Sundays (DOES include Sunday Pursuits), at least seven (7) divisional races that are NOT Wednesday Nights.
  
  
• 3. Cox-Sprague average taken over your 15 best divisional results in non-Pursuit Sundays, Wednesday Series, and NBC-hosted regatta. If you have fewer than fifteen (15) divisional results, we will still average over 15 (so we’ll count some zero results).

Finally, Fleet Scoring will be assiduous in 2023 about reporting progress and standing in the 2023 Fleet Champ Series.

As note above, still a work in progress, so very much want your thoughts on Sunday Series and Fleet Champ.

— Tony Martin, Cruising Fleet Scoring

P.S. What do you think about counting the Hudson River Race (aka Long Distance Race) as two (2) races, for Fleet Champ? In other words count the participation and the results twice in the scoring — 1) Cox-Sprague for the entire field racing in your division, and 2) Cox-Sprague accounting only for the subset of NBC/Cruising Fleet division members in the race. A little extra reason to come out October 7th.

YRALIS (and so HRYRA) has a new option for Spinnaker Division skippers who sail short-handed — Plus One rating. You get 3 PHRF points added if you commit to racing with a small crew all season in Spinnaker events (you can have any crew size in a Non-Spin race). Maximum crew size is based on LOA, and crew under age 16 don’t count against your maximum number.

Remember it’s a season long election and you need to indicate it when you get your 2023 HRYRA PHRF. And you can be sure your competitors will take a headcount of your crew while waiting to start!

From 2023 PHRF Regs G.5:

5. Plus One Adjustment. A boat may elect to sail in spinnaker divisions in a Plus One
configuration where the maximum number of crew, including the skipper, is no greater
than (LOA / 10) + 1 where all elements are rounded down to the nearest whole number.
This adjustment of +3s/m is intended to offset both any dynamic weight disadvantage
and any boat-handling challenges resulting from racing shorthanded. The Plus One
adjustment and crew limit restrictions apply ONLY to spinnaker ratings and has no
effect on the rating or crew count for non-spinnaker racing. For clarity, this means that
a 34ft boat with a Plus One adjustment noted on their certificate may sail Spinnaker
divisions of races she chooses to enter with a crew of only 4, or may enter the nonspinnaker divisions with a crew of more than 4. This adjustment is to be a season-long
election. Children under the age of 16 on the day of the race are excluded from the
crew count.

(this note will be in the NBC PHRF Google Group and the Club’s Forum for Cruising (PHRF) Racing)

For 2023, the Club has scheduled races and regattas from Sunday May 7th through Sunday October 15th,:

1. Twenty (20) Wednesday Night Cruising Fleet starts from May 10 through September 20
2. Twenty-four (24) Sundays, with twenty-one (21 ) Sunday Afternoon Cruising Fleet starts (no racing May 28 Champions, Guy Moulton July 9, and Last Chance October 1).
3. Four regattas: Memorial Day (Saturday, May 27), Guy Moulton (Sat/Sun, July 8/9), Last Chance (HRYRA, Sat/Sun, Sep 30/Oct 1), and Hudson River Race (Saturday, Oct 7).

That’s probably about 50+ race starts, assuming three races per regatta and good weather and wind every racing day.

With that as a back drop, this notes starts a series of discussions about 2023 Cruising Fleet Racing. These are just to start the conversation, and to invite racers to weigh in before we make final decisions in April. (Cruising Fleet (PHRF) Racing meeting April 19th, 20:00-21:30).

Reflecting on our 2022 season, some things worked well, others need work.

• Wednesday Night Series worked well — over 20 boats competed, about 15 to 18 pretty regularly, evenly divided between Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker divisions.
• Monthly Sunday Pursuit races worked well — with 8 to 15 boats coming out each race; about half were not Wednesday Night racers
  
  
• NBC HRYRA events were well attended, but could see more Club entrants — about 50% of the entrants in the Last Chance Regatta (6 of 14)) and the Hudson River Race (9 of 19) were Club members (or Cruising Fleet friends). But with 15 to 20 racing Wednesday Nights, maybe we can get more NBC participation?
  
  
• Club regattas had poor participation — only two entrants in Guy Moulton, none in Fall Regatta (it conflicts with HRYRA at Shattemuc).
  
  
• Sunday Racing (other than Pursuit races) had poor participation — we had three (3) “stand alone” Sunday races (Non-Spin only) with 2, 3, and 4 competitors.
  
  
• And, with so few boats racing Sundays and in Club regattas, only two boats qualified for the Cruising Fleet Champion series, making it as much a participation award as recognizing the “winningest” boat in the fleet.

First, let’s not mess with success: expect the Wednesday Night Series and Monthly Sunday Pursuits to be much the same as 2022. Of course, we’d like to have even more Cruising Fleet members participate in both types of events — reluctant racers speak up and let us know obstacles to getting out on the race course: crew?, coaching?, racing rules? getting a PHRF? Fleet members are anxious to help you overcome any obstacles and get you (and your boat) out on the race course.

• Wednesday Night Series: Of the 20 Wednesday Night starts, as we did last year, the first (May 11, before Opening Day) will be a tune-up race and not count in any series, and the last Wednesday (Sept 20) will be a “tune-down” race and not count in any series. So we have scheduled eighteen (18) Wednesday Nights in the series, including Wednesday August 23rd which will be a Pursuit-format (and will count in the series). As usual, only current HRYRA members with a current season PHRF will be scored for these races — re-up your HRYRA membership and get your 2023 PHRF. (Kudos to the following who have already done so: Azgin 2, Calamari Salad, Hee Soo, Sheba).
  
  
• Sunday Pursuit races are scheduled for the first Sunday sof June, July, August and September, plus Sunday October 8. Sunday Pursuit results will not count in any series and there’s no Pursuit series with trophies — these are just for fun — but we will count Sunday Pursuit participation for qualifying for the Fleet Champ award. You can join the Sunday Pursuits, even if you don’t have a 2023 HRYRA PHRF.

For 2023, we’d welcome having a more robust presence at the Club regattas — especially the Guy Moulton. If you’re a skipper looking for crew for the regatta weekend, or if you’re interested in crewing for someone else, maybe the Fleet can be matchmaker and get more members and boats out for the Guy Moulton (and other Club or HRYRA regattas). Other suggestions?

I’ll send a separate note regarding regular Sunday racing and the 2023 Cruising Fleet Champ series. What we do for these series will probably generate the most discussion.
— Tony Martin, Cruising Fleet Scoring

With 60F temps this week, I’ve started to think about NBC Cruising Fleet racing (aka NBC PHRF racing) for the coming season. You should too!
Some important items to get you going:

• Feb 26, Noon, Minisceongo YC — HRYRA PHRF Seminar with handicapper Mike Colucci. Sign up at HRYRA website. ($10, space is limited).
  
  
• 2023 HRYRA PHRF Regulations — important change for shorter-handed Spinnaker racers.
  
  
• Get your 2023 HRYRA PHRF.
  
  
• March 12, 5 pm, NBC. 2022 Cruising Fleet Awards (Wednesday Night Trophies) and Dinner. (details — potluck, see what you should bring)
  
  
• March 29, 7 pm, NBC. Cruising Fleet 2023 Organizing Meeting and Fleet Officer elections.
  
  
• April 19, 8 pm – 9:30 pm (Zoom). Cruising (PHRF) Fleet Racing Meeting.
  There will be plenty of discussion regarding the 2023 Cruising Fleet series and scoring, both in this Group and the Club forums beforehand.

Finally, with the rollout of NBC Sailing Club manager, I’ll post items both to this Google Group and to the new Cruising (PHRF) Racing Forum. In the course of the 2023 season, we may retire this Group and use the Forum exclusively.