Having said that I am also cognizant of the fact that PHRF is not perfect and I would submit that the single greatest failure of PHRF is no different than any other measurement based system; the challenge that is created when a mis-rated boat is actively racing. Fortunately in PHRF, unlike with measurement based handicap systems; we have a solution; the PHRF appeals process. Unfortunately it is increasingly under utilized and the powers that be (the handicappers) often take an old school approach of no harm no foul; in other words no ratings appeals being filed, means that there must be no problem boats out there. And yet we all realize that is not the case; so ultimately the question is; why do we continue to tolerate mis-rated boats on the race course? And at the same time; why are PHRF appeals on the decline? The answer is simple; the PHRF Appeals process as it currently stands; sucks.

In spite of all of the advancements in modern day technology, and in particular the emergence of the Internet and copious amounts of online PHRF databases we still have an archaic and adversarial process when it comes to PHRF appeals meetings. For those of you who have not “enjoyed” the PHRF appeals process first hand; it basically works like this. Boat A will appeal Boat B’s rating. Boat B will defend the rating; claim to be an Olympic Caliber sailor with professional crew, have an Americas cup caliber bottom and hardware program onboard with a Volvo Race caliber sail inventory. Boat B will then attack Boat A and dismiss Boat A as being a hack with geriatric crew flying bedsheets for sails and a bottom that would challenge a Monster truck rally. It is the same old, same old adversarial process. My filing cabinet is filled with appeals over the years that fundamentally say the exact same thing. Eventually Boat A will simply challenge their own rating because it is far easier than going after Boat B’s. Everyone will of course be aware that Boat B’s rating is wrong so they will simply award Boat A more time instead of taking on Boat B's rating. This of course is patently unfair to Boat C and D and so on and so forth, but welcome to BC Sailing; home to the slowest on average; sailboat racing fleet in North America. Is there a better way? There is.

Let’s start by doing away with Fall Appeals all together. Instead let’s allow boats to formerly request a rating review of any boat they see fit; including their own if that is the case. This rating review request will be forwarded onto the handicappers who in turn will have all winter to thoroughly examine and investigate the current class and as sailed rating to determine if it is fair here in BC. And let’s keep in mind; it is not rocket science here we are discussing, now that multiple online PHRF databases are readily and instantly available with the click of a mouse it is pretty easy to discover that yes BC Sailing currently has the slowest rated J/109 in all of North America, and part of the reason we do is of course because we also have the slowest rated J/35’s in North America. Do we really need a formal appeal to establish the obvious? No we don’t. This can easily be established by a PHRF review process instead. The next step is that the handicappers will in turn publicly announce the finding of each review requested and will make a recommendation for suggested changes. These changes will be publicly posted and all affected owners notified. The review will include supporting documentation supporting the suggested changes; or lack thereof if that is the case. The next step is to hold a Spring Rating Review Implementations session. At the spring session sailors will have an opportunity to challenge any of the recommendations suggested by the handicappers through the fall review process; and naturally they would include any supporting documentation to validate their concerns. Conversely if they are in agreement with the handicappers rating review recommendations they need not to show up and the recommendations will be in full effect for that upcoming sailing session. If they disagree than the information they present at the spring implementation session will be presented to the handicappers who within a 10 day time frame will make a final decisions for the PHRF ratings for the upcoming year in question. Done deal end of story.

Compare that to not so many years ago when people showed up trying to defend why they should be rated slower here than other place in North America and you have a very refreshing change. The sport is so much better when people stand up and do the right thing and I again would like to credit those who did exactly that – the honorable !

Having said that; by the end of this month for the first time in over 50 years the Lake will again be one as we say good bye to the great floating bridge dividing line ! With the barrier of the bridge gone; and the positive new attitude demonstrated from so many of the sailors I think the Lake is not only going to be a much “bigger” body of water as it is no longer effectively cut in half; it will also be that much better.

Unfortunately Blossom Time Regatta will not occur prior to the bridge removal; however the Commodores Cup will and I would think it would be great if we could 50 boats on the line both for there and for the Grand Prix. It was not so many years ago that we had 50 boats out and with the barrier of the bridge gone it can happen again.

You see; I got the bug. There was a time I used to dislike ULDB’s. I figured you might actually get up on a full plane maybe once a season so why carry around the rating for all of the times that you never will. Little did I know then that even though you might only break loose once; maybe twice a season; it will be the memory of those kinds of days that will last a lifetime.

I got the bug a few years back on the Van Isle 360 aboard my good friend Bill Allan’s S/C 50. It was 3am; a full moon and we were under a full kite with a gorgeous star lighted sky to stare at. I was on the helm and we were ripping along at 18 knots like there was no tomorrow. It was a pretty magical experience and one that I shall never forget. It also made me understand what Santa Cruz Yachts creator Bill Lee meant when he said “Fast is Fun”

Flash forward to last years fall series; there we were on a B25 under a full kite in 25 knots of breeze. Three of us ripping along at close to 14 knots. It was just such an amazing rush and all kinds of fun. And for my crew; who I don’t think had ever gone that fast on a sailboat before; it was awesome to share that experience with them. Sure we eventually crashed and we burned; but we had fun every second of it and that is a day I doubt that any of us will forget anytime soon.

So where am I going with this? As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the B25; it is truly an amazing little boat and #2 on my all time favorite list (The J/27 is still #1 pending the “new” boat of course) I wanted something that was the same style of boat; only faster. Enter the new boat; an SR 27. The SR 27 is very rare; it came out just as Henderson was selling his business to C&C Yachts and unfortunately the molds were destroyed in the C&C factory fire before any more hulls could be built. Mine is hull #7; the last one ever made. My buddy Chris Winnard (a damned fine sailor) tells me that the SR 27 is; as he put it, “the best 27’ footer he has ever sailed” and my other buddy John Leyland tells me that I would be stupid not to buy one. So I did.

Our first step will be to turbo the boat. Winnard’s advice was to add more kite and after not adding more kite on the B25 like everyone else on the planet does; we wished we would have. Not this time. This time it is go big or go home. Fortunately when it comes to going big my other buddy; Dave Cross from Quantum Vancouver has constructed just the monster kite required to do the job

I know from a rating standpoint big kites are basically a diminishing return; but quite frankly I don’t care. I have a reached a point in my sailing career where having fun is what matters most these days. I will always credit my good friend Bill Allan for that. I love sailing with Bill because we always have an amazing time on the boat and we usually do fairly well at the same time. So getting back to the SR 27; those are basically the plans of attack for now. Hopefully the boat will hit the water at the end of the month and I can write a fun factor report shortly thereafter. As always I say “stay tuned”

I am not actually looking to re-write an old editorial about loosing; more so I am looking to point out that as a fleet greatly improves; as the boats become faster and the sailors sharper the simple fact is ultimately everyone will win less often. As I mentioned on the front page in both of our fleets we have easily 5-6 boats each night that can nail down a solid race and take home a bullet. In fact in no year ever do I recall so many different boats chalking up the victories as this year.

Case in point is Ken Hope. Kenny is having an amazing year and has deservedly won I suspect more races this year than any other. However as boats like No Illusions come into their own; the bullets being added to Kenny’s gun belt are bullets that in the past might have been going elsewhere. For some people in the fleet; the simple fact remains that they will win less races than maybe they are used to winning. It’s sometimes both tempting and easy to point fingers when your in a situation like that; but the simple fact is a sailor like Kenny is winning more races this year because he has been sailing very bloody well. Every race I have lost to Kenny this year I have felt that I was out sailed; exactly as it should be.

Last year I didn’t always feel that I was out sailed by some boats. However I also knew that my own boat could be going faster. And therein lays my point. All to often this year I have watched boats that are a) undercrewed c) have boat handling issues c) have a poor start or d) all of the above and the common dominator they loose races. I honestly believe that there is not a boat in our fleet that if it has a good race; that it will not win that race. Bottom line.

So the point that I am making here is that as the fleet improves as it has; those boats that used to be able to get by with a lesser performance, are no longer getting by. Boats; like Kenny’s; who have stepped up their game in a big way are moving forward at a pace faster than some of the other boats in the fleet. So the challenge is to not only recognize that the fleet is evolving, but more so to understand that the victories are now going to be much harder to earn than they used to be. For some boats that may be a bitter pill to swallow; and for others there is the confidence in knowing that your program is headed in the right direction. Saint Vitas Dance is another boat that has really stepped up over the past two seasons and here is a boat that is always fully crewed, consistently sailed, and well prepared.

Because I find it worth a chuckle that the moment we get our boat going; we get some heavy air that the boat thrives in, and ours is the boat that wins all of the bullets for a change; suddenly it is “ratings 911” and I am asked “if I thought I out sailed my fleet” Personally I don’t have any problems with these type of questions; in fact I quite welcome them. I mostly find it funny that when other boats are winning straight bullets there is zero discussions and yet when ours is winning it becomes a ratings emergency. All kidding aside; I will say that I take no solace in winning any race that I did not think we deserved to win and I will also state for the record that our 6 bullet performance from the Grand Prix was at odds too where I thought we should have been. Having said that; there were certainly many occasions over the past few years where I observed a lesser sailed boat win equally as easily so I take it all with a grain of salt from the shaker that is known as PHRF. So Naturally the questions is; how do you fix it ?

For starters we have long maintained that PHRF NW ratings (i.e. ratings we sail Whidbey at) should be the same as they are here. For the Andrews 28; the current NW rating is 89; not 83 as is currently sailed here in BC. For the Sonic 30; when we raced Whidbey we did so at 93; however that was with the understanding of a Code 5 main and Code 5 headsail. Currently the setup is a Code 7 seven mainsail and a Code 4 headsail. Go down two codes for the main and up one for the headsail and you are low and behold at roughly 89; precisely where the Andrews 28 is at in NW. So for the first order of the day I would suggest an as sailed rating of 89 for both the Andrews 28 and the Sonic 30. I will also add that this is an “as sailed” suggestion as I believe if the Sonic 30 went down to a more ratings efficient kite it could sail to the current base boat rating of 99.