In addition to the general ‘Club Racing – Sailing Instructions’, the following instructions apply to Handicap Class racing. These also apply to any all classes Handicap race.
1. ELIGIBILITY
Any monohulled boat with a published Portsmouth Yardstick, other than the Club Classes (Optimist, Lightning 368) unless specifically included in the event details.
2. TIMING
For Handicap races it is necessary to record times for all boats. Both lap and race elapsed times must be kept. Times commence at the race start when the Class flag is removed.
Lap Times
Where the finishing line is between the marks of the course then lap times will be taken when the boat crosses the finishing line in the direction determined as the finishing direction. When the finishing line is not between the marks of the course, then the timings will be taken as the boats pass the downstream buoy (usually C), where the downstream mark “C” should be as close as practicable to the start/finish line.
Calculation of elapsed times for slower boats
Due to speed differences between boats, it is not always practical for different Classes to sail the same number of laps. If a boat sails less laps than the leading boat, her elapsed time shall be divided by the number of laps sailed, and multiplied by the number of laps sailed by the leading boat, before time correction is applied. Corrected times are calculated in minutes and seconds. Calculation of results is the responsibility of the Sailing Secretary or a scorer if appointed.
The OD is responsible for ensuring that timings are recorded against each boat identified by Class, sail number and helms name. The Club provides a count-down / count-up timer. If uncertain how to use this, please ask a member of the Sailing Committee.
3. FINISHING
Slower boats will not be required to complete the same number of laps as the leading boat. All boats will be finished the next time they cross the finishing line after the leading boat has finished. Where the finishing line is not between the marks of the course, any boat arriving at the last mark after the course has been shortened for the leading boat, will also be shortened (i.e. will proceed to the finishing line). The leading boat shall have finished the course or shortened course before the course can be shortened further for slower boats.
CLUB YARDSTICKS based on RYA Tables
| Class | Yardstick |
|---|---|
| Optimist | 1655 |
| Mirror | 1390 |
| Mirror S/H | 1380 |
| Topper | 1365 |
| Comet Versa | 1165 |
| Lightning 368 | 1160 |
| ILCA 6 / Laser Radial | 1150 |
| Solo | 1143 |
| Graduate | 1129 |
| ILCA 7 / Laser | 1115 |
| Enterprise | 1110 |
| OK | 1110 |
| Merlin Rocket | 1020 |
| Phantom | 1000 |
| Topaz | Unknown |
For changes following publication of this table, please see the Club notice boards.