Forums, Cruising (PHRF) Racing, Thoughts on 2023 NBC Cruising Fleet Series: Part 1

(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

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This will be my second season at the club. I definitely want to do some races. I definitely will need some crew and a little coaching. Looking forward to this season!

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