Average PHRF Rating
Average ratings are taken from data compiled by the United States Sailing Association, published annually. PHRF stands for "Performance Handicap Racing Fleet," and its ratings are used to determine the relative speed potential of any given class of yacht.
200 to 300 High Above 300 Very High
An initial handicap rating for a new class design is assigned based on the boat's critical dimensions, its similarities to other rated yachts, the designer's speed predictions, and other such theoretical data. Observations of actual racing performance are then used to adjust the design's rating from time to time. What is rated is the boat itself, not the skill of its crew or its gear. Thus, a skilled crew using new sails and gear may be able to sail, say, a J/24 faster than its rating would indicate.
The handicaps are given in seconds per nautical mile around a race course. For example, a J/24 (page 294, average PHRF 174 seconds per mile), racing on a ten-nautical-mile course against a Dufour 24 (page 287, average PHRF 240 seconds per mile), would give the Dufour a handicap of 66 seconds per mile, or 660 seconds for the ten miles. Thus, even if the Dufour finished the race as much as 660 seconds (11 minutes) after the J/24, the Dufour would still tie the race.
For more on the PHRF system, see http://www.ussailing.org/phrf.
Not every sailboat has a PHRF rating; where none has been found, the expression "NA" (for "Not Available") is used in this guide.
Maximum Speed (also known as hull
This is calculated using the formula: Speed = 1.34 x VLWL.
That is, the theoretical maximum speed of a displacement hull (as opposed to a planing hull , which obeys different hydrody-namic rules) is approximately 1V3 times the square root of its waterline length. Above that speed, the waves a displacement hull makes, which are induced by the boat dragging a hole in the water along with it as it plows forward, become so large that the boat expends all additional increments of motive power trying to climb out of its hole. Planing hulls can escape that fate by climbing out of their holes and skimming the water's surface.
Hull shape and wave conditions sometimes alter the 1.34 factor a bit, but basically 1.34 is the applicable factor in most cases.
Continue reading here: Motion Index
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Readers' Questions
What is the phrf rating for a standard f 27 trimaran sailboat?
The PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) rating for a standard F-27 trimaran sailboat is typically around 72 seconds per mile. However, it is important to note that PHRF ratings can vary depending on the specific boat's configuration and modifications, as well as regional variations and updates to the rating system. It is recommended to consult with local racing authorities or PHRF organizations for the most accurate and up-to-date rating for a specific boat.
What is the phrf of a range of 26 sailboat?
The PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) rating for a Range of 26 sailboat can vary based on factors such as the specific configuration, equipment, and modifications made to the boat. It is best to consult with the governing PHRF organization or rating authority in your region to get the most accurate and up-to-date PHRF rating for the Range of 26 sailboat.
What is the prf rating of a dufour 39 for sale?
Unfortunately, this information is not available. The PRF rating is typically determined by the yacht's condition, age, and style.
What is the handy cap racing prfrating for a j122e?
Unfortunately, there is no universal handicap rating for the J/122e. The rating is set by individual racing organizations and can vary greatly.
How to interpret sailing race ratings?
Sailing race ratings are used to compare the performance of different boats in a sailing race. Ratings are typically assigned by a governing body such as US Sailing and are based on a boat's characteristics such as size, type, and design. Generally, the higher the rating, the faster the boat is expected to perform in a race. Ratings can vary from boat to boat, so it is important to understand how the ratings are calculated. Ratings can be divided into two types: handicap ratings, which are based on the boat's expected time to complete a specific racecourse, and performance ratings, which measure the boat's performance relative to other boats in a race. By understanding how ratings are calculated, sailors can compare the relative performance of different boats.
How are PHRF ratings adjusted?
PHRF ratings are adjusted by modifying the base rating using a variety of race and course handicapping factors. Factors include the type of boat, its length, weight, sail area, crew, and location. The Sailboat Racing Association of the Bay (SRA) typically adjusts PHRF ratings on an annual basis based on the results of the past year's races.
What does phrf mean in the sailing world mean?
PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) is a handicapping system used in yacht racing that adjusts a boat's finishing time based on their size and shape. The purpose of this system is to provide a level playing field, so that boats of all sizes and designs can compete against each other.
What does a phrf rating of 190/0.8784 mean for a J24 sailboat?
A PHRF rating of 190/0.8784 for a J24 sailboat means that the boat's handicap, compared to the other boats in the competition, is 190 seconds, with a correction factor of 0.8784. This means that if the boat finishes one leg of the race in a certain time, then it will be given extra time on other legs to make the overall time for all legs the same as the time for the boat with the lowest handicap.
How to read the phfr ratings?
The PHFR ratings are a type of credit rating scale used by the Philippine Federation of Credit Rating Agencies (PFCRA). The ratings range from AAA to D, with AAA being the highest score and D being the lowest. Ratings of AAA to BBB are considered to be investment grade, meaning that investments in these entities are considered to be relatively safe, with a low risk of default. Ratings of BB to D are considered to be non-investment grade and carry a greater risk of default.
What is a good phrf rating?
A good PHRF rating is typically considered to be between 80 and 120, with lower numbers being faster boats and higher numbers being slower boats. Ratings lower than 80 are considered very fast, while ratings higher than 120 are considered very slow.
How does the sailing PHRF handicap rating work?
PHRF stands for Performance Handicap Racing Fleet, and it is a handicapping system used to level the playing field among different types of sailboats so they can race each other. PHRF ratings are assigned by the PHRF governing body, which reviews sailboat specifications and other factors to assign a numerical rating to the boat. This rating is an adjustment factor applied to the boat’s elapsed time in the race to equalize the performance of different types of boats against each other. A lower PHRF rating indicates a faster boat, while a higher rating indicates a slower boat. In a race, the boat with the lowest adjusted time, taking into account its PHRF rating, is the winner.
What is a good PHRF handicap?
There is no single answer to this question, as PHRF handicaps are determined by the sailing conditions and type of boat in each individual race. Generally, boats with a lower total sail area and lighter displacement have a better PHRF handicap. Different boat classes will also have different standard PHRF handicaps.
How does rating of 171 boat's rating mean in sailing?
Rating is the handicap system used to level the playing field in yacht and dinghy racing. A rating of 171 in sailing indicates that the boat is slower than average in a particular type of race. Generally, boats with a higher rating will do better in light wind conditions, and boats with a lower rating will do better in stronger wind conditions.
Is there a country wide data base for phrf ratings sailboat?
No, there is not a countrywide database for PHRF ratings for sailboats. Each sailing organization determines its own PHRF ratings. You can contact your local sailing organization or club to find out what their PHRF ratings are for sailboats.
What is the phrf rating on a tartan ten?
The Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) rating for a Tartan 10 is usually around 178. This rating is based on the boat specifications, its design, and its performances on the racecourse.
What does a phrf sailing rating of 222 mean?
A PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) sailing rating of 222 means that the boat has a handicap rating of 222 seconds per mile. This means that the boat should usually be able to sail a mile in 222 seconds or under to win a race.
What is a good phrf sailboat ratings?
The PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) sailboat rating system is a handicapping system used to level the playing field in competitive sailing events. It assigns each sailboat performance ratings based on factors such as hull and sail design, weight, and other variables. The goal of this rating system is to allow boats of different designs to compete against each other successfully and fairly.
What do phrf ratings mean?
PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) ratings are a handicapping system used in sailboat racing. The ratings are used to compare the relative performance of different boats so they can race against each other competitively. Each boat is assigned a rating number that is used to adjust the boat's finishing time. The higher the rating, the slower the boat, and vice versa.
What is phrf in sailing?
PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) is a handicap system used to level the playing field for sailboat racing. It assigns a numerical rating to each boat based on its measurements, sail area, and other factors, which is then factored into the boat’s finishing time. PHRF handicaps are used in many sailing competitions, allowing boats of different sizes to compete against each other on an equal footing.
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Handicap Rating Rule Options for 2022
- By Gary Jobson
- February 8, 2022
The day was perfect for racing. With the wind out of the south at 15 knots, there was a spirited group of sailors striving to get their yachts to the finish line without leaving a second to spare on the racecourse. The course was a standard windward-leeward configuration, with 1.6-mile legs. After a below-average finish in the first race, our crew refocused and sailed exceptionally well for the next five races, achieving great starts, sailing on every favorable wind shift, and executing our boat handling with deft precision. We were doing everything we possibly could to ensure a corrected-time win.
But then, to our dismay, we watched our rivals round the final weather mark from well behind, set their spinnakers and jump on plane, cruising through our lee and sailing away, easily saving their time allowances and beating us on corrected time. Afterward, we analyzed every detail of every race, searching for ways to save even more time. Maybe we could have gained 20 seconds, but it never added up enough to make a difference. Eventually, it became clear to me that the handicap rating rule wasn’t working properly—certainly not for us, nor many other owners and teams that are becoming disheartened with the state of big-boat handicap racing.
This is, of course, not a new problem. The quest to assign fair handicap ratings to yachts of different shapes and sizes has been a challenge for more than a century. Looking back, a pattern seems to repeat every 20 years or so: A new rule emerges, designers and owners attempt to exploit every conceivable loophole, and inevitably the fleet dwindles as sailors become dissatisfied with the rule and walk away.
Big-boat handicap racing in North America is at a turning point once again. During my tenure at World Sailing , I was liaison to the Offshore and Oceanic Committee and the Offshore Racing Council. At US Sailing, I pushed the organization to improve its offshore regulatory operations. My perspectives, as a competitor and a board member, have always been aligned. In the United States, there is general dissatisfaction with our handicap rating rules, but what I have learned from current leaders about this situation is that help—and change—is on the way. To be successful, bold steps are in order.
Now, however, is not the time to create a new handicap rating rule. All the experts I’ve spoken to agree the preferred action is to improve the entry-level Performance Handicap Rating Factor system and work with the Offshore Racing Council, which manages ORC, to improve its rule for North American racing sailors. Creating a new handicap rule is an arduous process, and success is not a sure thing. There are many lessons from the past: In 1965, the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Ocean Racing Club collaborated on a new handicap rule for use in the Olympic Games. The Offshore Racing Council was formed to administer the new International Offshore Rule in 1969.
IOR was a vibrant rule because it was universally accepted and used internationally. In time, however, favor in IOR started to fade. Stan Honey, an authority on offshore racing and handicap systems, says American sailors became frustrated with the ORC in the 1980s for not fixing known problems with IOR. “ORC did not have the strength of character to maintain the IOR rule,” Honey says. “The technical committee was comprised of designers that had their own boats in build, so those guys didn’t want to change the rule to fix the problems.”
The IOR’s problem children—yachts with pinched ends—eventually killed the rule.
“The IOR would still be working if the ORC had fixed it,” Honey says, “but they didn’t. The boats got weird, and nobody liked them anymore.”
US yachtsmen then went and funded the development of the H. Irving Pratt Project and created a velocity prediction program (VPP) that became the Measurement Handicap Rule. The Pratt VPP is still the basis for handicapping rules in use today. The ORC used the basics of the MHS rule and created the International Measurement System, and soon enough, the same problems surfaced again.
“The ORC screwed it up again because it did not maintain it even though there was some great racing with the IMS rule,” Honey says. “When the loopholes got figured out, the technical committee did not fix the problems. So, the United States split off again, creating the Americap Rule and the Offshore Rating Rule.”
Today, several handicap rating rules are used in North America, including ORR, ORC, IRC (which is owned by the Royal Ocean Racing Club) and PHRF. That’s too many, and none are perfect.
Ed Cesare, chairman of New York YC’s Handicap Rating Rule and Measurement Committee, says the club used ORC broadly last summer for the first time and experienced a high level of disappointment from the fleet. “We received complaints about the quality and integrity of the certificates,” he says. “I am not at all comfortable that we are going to get to a good place with the ORC rule. They did a good job on marketing it, which led to unrealistic expectations about what the rule can do.”
Cesare and Larry Fox, representing the Storm Trysail Club, presented seven submissions via US Sailing to the ORC. The submissions asked to expand the wind range down to 4 knots; define the allowable use of unusual headsails (Code Zeros); and improve the way the VPP handles planing boats, adding more wind ranges from three groups to five. They also asked stability calculation questions, including a request to allow multiple standard ORC certificates at once for the same boat, and a request to examine the rated performance of unique boat types.
“All of [the submissions] were remanded to the technical committee,” he says.
The ORC’s response was the same when the United States was complaining about IOR and IMS in the 1980s and 1990s, Honey says. “It does not end well when you take that approach with American sailors.”
The ORC, he adds, needs to aggressively work to solve the problems and come up with a better rule, or at least a version of the rule that meets the needs of US sailors. “For 2022, the five wind-band scoring will help,” he says. “We think this will ameliorate the displacement-planing situation. It is in progress, and I hope the ORC will work with us.”
The United States has the third-highest number of ORC International certificates, so Cesare says his group will take action by putting yachts in appropriate classes. “The class breaks are going to be draconian,” he says. “If you have a 40-foot planing boat, you better get some of your friends to come or you are going to be racing by yourself.”
Dobbs Davis, chair of the ORC Promotion and Development Committee, has been championing the rule for many years. He is, of course, an enthusiastic supporter of the rule and says it works if the scoring is done properly. “Using ORC tools, we have multiple ways of scoring,” Davis says. “One of them is the wind triple-number system—low, medium and high [wind strength]. There are crossovers, which puts a burden on the race committee because they have to decide what is the low, medium or heavy wind. Basically, below 8 knots is low, 9 to 14 knots is medium, and above 14 knots is high.”
As far as dealing with the concerns of Cesare and Fox, Davis says the scoring works fine with planing boats—again, as long as the scoring is done properly. As to US Sailing’s other submissions, Davis says, race committees do need to establish accurate wind strengths to score boats correctly, but this is not easy. Some race committees will determine the wind strength before the race starts, and scoring with five wind ranges will make it worse. The ORC will not allow boats to have multiple certificates, he adds, “which would make it tough on our administrators. The ORC will not make estimates on stability. This is a safety issue.”
Matt Gallagher, an ORC member, past chair of the Chicago YC’s Race to Mackinac, and chair of US Sailing’s Offshore Racing Committee, says he’s committed to achieving two goals: “We want our members and racers to go offshore and do it with any rating rule our partner clubs choose to use, and then bring some stability to the rating rules and bring some focus back to PHRF. The base of the pyramid has been neglected for a while. We have to start growing that again.”
Gallagher is optimistic about the use of the ORC rule and says it’s one that needs attention and tweaking to make it more appropriate for the United States. “[The ORC is] going to have to pay more attention to us.”
Honey agrees: “PHRF should be cheap, cheerful and simple scoring,” he says. “People should understand that the most effective rating for their boat is in class scoring. Anything that changes a boat out of class scoring is going to be punished [with a higher handicap rating]. If you want to spend more money to perform better, put your money in new sails, coaches, a smooth bottom and stuff like that.”
As for the future, Honey has an interesting prediction: “A new rule will happen. The original VPP that came out of the Pratt Project is still the basis for the ORC. It is long in the tooth and old-fashioned. What is going to happen next is some graduate students are going to come up with some neural network-based rule. The timing will be just right in a year or two because people will be really frustrated with the ORC. It will start another 15- to 20-year cycle until people get tired of that rule.”
Until then, he says, US Sailing must focus on providing high-quality measurement services and supporting PHRF by providing a first-class online database with regional ratings and guidelines to help race committees manage local fleets. “PHRF should be kept at the entry level and use single time-on-time scoring,” Honey says. “Any event that wants to do wind-condition scoring should move on to another rule. Any sailor that wants to optimize their boat for different races should go do some different rule.”
A few venerable American races, such the Newport to Bermuda and the Transpacific Race, continue to use the ORR rule. However, in recent years, the Offshore Racing Association, which controls ORR, has struggled to keep its operation functioning. The ORC rule has a chance to be more broadly adopted domestically, but its managers need to work with American race organizers to improve the rule. PHRF has a promising future, but would be well-served to update its operations to make it easy to use. In our age of supercomputer technology, we have the capability to make improvements to handicap rating rules.
Honey suggests improvements can be made by using direct computational fluid dynamics for both hydrodynamics and aerodynamics, which is likely to be the first major improvement. The CFD would be incorporated in the rating calculator and run for each boat from the lines files and measurements. “The technology exists now and is becoming practical as computers become more powerful,” he says. “This would be a major step forward from the VPP in use now by ORC and ORR. I think ORC and ORR are considering such a development.”
US Sailing has hired veteran handicap rating administrator Jim Teeters to oversee the offshore office, and Alan Ostfield, US Sailing’s new CEO, has committed to hiring additional personnel to help Teeters get the operation running efficiently. To assist owners through the arduous measurement process, Honey is an advocate of using the Universal Measurement System, which allows boats to be measured once, with the measurement data used for any handicap rating rule.
Sailors and handicappers clearly don’t agree on what the ideal handicapping rule should be, but every sailor does want a fair chance of winning a race if they sail well. We all need to work together to make improvements so that when the wind is right and we sail a perfect race, we can be rewarded with the win.
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Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) ratings are based on the speed potential of the boat, determined as far as possible on observations of previous racing experiences. It is the intent of PHRF handicapping that any well equipped, well maintained, and well sailed boat has a good chance of winning. Handicaps are adjusted as needed on the boat's performance so that each well sailed boat has an equal opportunity to win. This is the fundamental concept. PHRF ratings are not intended to reflect skipper and crew capability. Ratings are not adjusted to encourage a poor or careless skipper, and conversely, no rating adjustment is made to penalize proficiency. Intensity of competition and the influx of new and aggressive sailors require each skipper to maintain consistently high performance in order to place well.
PHRF ratings are expressed in seconds per mile to be deducted from elapsed time to produce corrected times. The higher rating indicates the slower boat. PHRF time allowances are not related to other systems.
PHRF assumes that a boat is equipped to race. It does not attempt to rate a partially equipped boat, or a boat which differs from others in its class, in that it is unusually heavy, out of balance, or has unusual windage (as from a dingy on davits). However, if the basic hull and rig differ from others in its class, it will, of course, be rated uniquely. PHRF of the Chesapeake does not rate boats using both symmetrical and asymmetrical spinnakers at the same time. A choice of asymmetrical, symmetrical, or both types of spinnaker shall be made at time of application or renewal and may be changed once during the sanctioned racing season.See Standard Sail and Equipment Specifications
It is the responsibility of Organizing Authority (OA) or the Race Committee (RC) to set forth in the events Notice of Race (NOR) or Sailing Instructions(SI) the appropriate Safety Standard for the local race and weather conditions. The final burden and responsibility for safety rests on the skipper of each yacht.
A Yacht with a Cruising Class certificate can race under that certificate in a regular PHRF Class. However a Yacht with a regular PHRF certificate cannot race under that certificate in a Cruising Class because the OA have no way of determining if the yacht complies with the additional Cruising Class requirements especially Sail Area to Displacement and sail material construction.
PHRFulator noun | pərf-jʊ-leɪ-tə r | a tool for performing calculations based on your sail boat's PHRF rating.
- Instructions
PHRF is a handicapping system that uses the perceived speed potential of a yacht as the basis for a handicap. This handicap is used to determine a winner when different types of sail boat to race against each other, much like a golf handicap for a group of different skilled golfers.
In essence when sailing in a PHRF race your are actually racing against the clock. In order to know if you're winning during a race you have to know everyone else's PHRF rating and then measure the time difference between the sail boats at a known distance from the start line - not an easy task.
All too often sailors have to wait at the Yacht Club until the Race Committee publishes the results in order to find out who won.
PHRFulator, a PHRF Calculator, allows you to build a table of sail boats with different ratings and calculate the time between them at various distances from the start line.
- Simply click on the + button on the bottom left to create a new sail boat
- Enter the information for the sail boat. It must have a name and/or a sail number as well as numeric PHRF rating (can be +ve or -ve)
- Click add , or press ENTER, and the sail boat will be inserted into the table sorted by rating
- The most recent sail boat created is always the selected boat.
- Simply click on a sail boat to select it and the waypoint times will be updated for that sail boat.
- how far in front a competitor should be ( a negative time, shown in red )
- how far behind a competitor should be ( a positive time, shown in green )
- based on the distance specified by a waypoint, e.g. 10.0 nautical miles
- Click on the current distance the column header.
- Enter a new distance and hit ENTER.
- The times for all the sail boats at that waypoint will be updated based on the new distance and the selected sail boat highlighted in blue .
- If no sail boat is selected simply click on a sail boat in the table to recalculate the times based on that sail boat.
- Click on black + at the top right, next to the last waypoint.
- To change the waypoint distance click on the new waypoint column header.
- If no sail boat is selected simply click on a sail in the table to recalculate the times based on that sail boat.
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| October 2013 | Allows you to build a table of sail boats with different ratings and calculate the time between them at various distances from the start line. Features include: |
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| Master (display) | Sail No. | Class Code | Double-handed | Single Event | Spin. W/L Base | Spin. Dist. Base | Spin. W/L Rating | Spin. Dis. Rating | N-Spin. W/L Base | N-Spin. Base Dist. | N-Spin. W/L Rating | N-Spin. Dis. Rating | Valid Through | Status | Updated Date |
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How Racing Rating Rules Work (and how to maximize yours)
February 25, 2021
Racing ratings can seem confusing and overwhelming. Our team at Quantum is here to help you understand how ratings work, decipher the various systems, and help you maximize your ratings to ensure your best shot at the podium. Our sail designers have outlined a few key elements about ratings. Understanding them can help you get the most out of your racing rating.
Rating rules are a powerful tool that allows a variety of yachts to compete on a level playing field. If you race a tortoise against a hare (assuming the hare is smart enough not to take a nap in the middle of the race), the hare will always win. Not really a fair match-up. The same goes for non-one design racing. Being the first yacht over the finish line, while impressive, does not necessarily mean you sailed the best race comparatively. Therefore, rating rules come into play. It is important to understand how they work so you can work with your sailmaker and other specialists to optimize your program and level the playing field, so your crew’s talent shines.
There are four main rating rules: Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF), International Racing Conference (IRC), Offshore Racing Congress (ORC), and Offshore Racing Rule (ORR). We will give a brief overview of how each rating rule assigns a rating, why it is important to your program, and how Quantum can help make sure you have the best rating possible. While there are other rating systems, these are the four we focus on in this article.
The Rating Rules
In general, rating systems assign a value to a yacht or a particular yacht setup. This number is then used to correct finish times after each race. With all four rules, the most common way to score a race is to use a time-on-time (TOT) or a time-on-distance (TOD) correction. TOT corrections consider how long it takes to race; the TOD formula looks at the distance of the race. However, ORC and ORR ratings consider additional factors and have some flexibility for a custom correction formula.
PHRF is a simple handicap system, similar to the system used in golf. Considering the type of yacht, an assumed sail plan, and the team’s performance, a corrected-time handicap factor is assigned to the team. Races under PHRF rules correct times using TOD or TOT.
The other three rating rules are a bit more complicated. These rules use formulas to assign a rating to each yacht based on the yacht’s dimensions, construction, and design features. The formulas for IRC and ORR are closely guarded secrets; however, it is still possible for sailmakers, yacht builders, and other specialists to understand how various factors affect the rating. ORC has two categories of classification, ORC International and ORC Club. In this article and for most applications, we refer mostly to ORC-International rating that requires a measurement performed by an official and certified measurer. ORC has a published formula that gives designers information to analyze and data to work from.
IRC looks at several yacht elements from sail size to weight and beam. It compares yachts as a percentage and then assigns the yacht a rating that is corrected using TOT.
ORC and ORR take their rating system to the next level by using complex formulas to predict the speed of the yacht with a given setup. These formulas are often referred to as Velocity Prediction Programs (VPP). There are a few ways these ratings can be used to score a race, including TOT, TOD, and performance curve scoring.
What Goes Into a Rating?
A large amount of data is plugged into IRC, ORC, and ORR proprietary formulas that generate ratings for various conditions and situations. For example, an ORR certificate has multiple standard and custom ratings for specific events such as the Newport Bermuda Race. Common data used to determine ratings includes hull data, sail measurements and types, crew and yacht weight, waterline, hardware, sailing trim, and other rigging data and measurements.
How Ratings Change
Due to several factors, your ratings can change even though your yacht hasn’t. The most common factor in rating change is sail size. Smaller sails equal a better rating across the board, and, since all modern sails shrink with use, your ratings can change over time. Every time you fold, hoist, or tack your sails, they shrink a bit, not unlike the way a piece of paper shrinks each time you crumple it up and re-flatten it. Some sail constructions, such as those using a lot of Dyneema, tend to shrink more than carbon sails.
General yacht specifications from the yacht manufacturer are often used to compile data points; however, each yacht is unique, so having the correct data for your yacht and rig can go a long way toward improving your rating.
How to Optimize Your Rating
Because IRC, ORC, and ORR ratings consider a number of elements that affect the speed of the yacht, there is a lot of room to tweak your setup to optimize your yacht for a particular racing rule. Sometimes a simple sail re-measurement is all it takes to better your handicap. That can be a real game changer when you are racing the 333-mile Chicago-to-Mackinac, the 475-mile Annapolis-to-Newport, or the 2,225-mile Trans Pac.
PHRF is harder to optimize due to the way ratings are assigned. Since the rating is based on boat type, it assumes these boats all use the same sail inventory. The best way to improve your PHRF rating is to improve your performance by using the sails your handicap is rated for. Quantum can help you review your rating and inventory and ensure the form is accurate. Our team can also explore how your regional PHRF committee measures the impact of switching from a pole and symmetrical spinnaker setup to a fixed-pole asymmetrical setup, as that can also greatly affect your handicap.
Whether you have an existing rating or need to apply for a new one, there are essentially three ways you can get the best, or at least a better, rating.
Option 1: Maximize what you’ve got.
This is the most common, easiest, and cheapest way to improve your rating. Bring your rating certificate and your largest sails to your local Quantum loft. We will start by verifying the sails listed on the certificate and re-measure them. We’ll discuss your yacht and sail plan, regatta schedule, overall program, and where you want to take it. This gives us a better understanding and helps us identify other areas that can improve your rating. Sometimes it is as simple as helping you re-submit your form with updated sail sizes.
Option 2: Deeper Analysis and Inventory
If your team is looking to take things to the next level or has a specific goal in mind, Quantum can help guide you through the second option. It is a bit more expensive than the first option but yields results. After assessing your current rating, goals, and budget, we will help coordinate and guide you through a whole-yacht optimization process using our in-house design team as well as other industry partners.
A Quantum sail designer will look carefully at your existing inventory, identify gaps or areas that could be improved, make recommendations for tweaking current sails, and add new or swap different sails to your inventory. We’ll run various simulations to dial in your rating based on your sail plan and help you create a long-term plan focused on optimizing your rating and sailing objectives.
Then we’ll work with other industry experts and review your yacht for potential changes or upgrades. These experts will run multiple analyses of your setup and identify areas that could benefit from re-evaluating your measurements, such as weighing your yacht to get an accurate weight instead of using the rules default values.
Option 3: Weather and Location Ratings
The third option builds on the first two options and fine-tunes your rating for specific wind conditions and/or locations. Working within our network of industry experts, we’ll gather historical weather data for a particular event and run multiple simulations for the venue to further optimize your overall plan. This is a common practice with professional and Grand Prix racing teams
WHICH RATING DO I NEED?
This is a rather complex question that ultimately involves weighing and prioritizing factors that answer other questions. Is there an offshore race you’ve always wanted to sail? A destination regatta with a variety of classes to compete in? How much value is placed on the potential outcome, thereby determining which event to sail? Ratings and measurement systems evolve, and your boat, using one rating, may be more favorable in the same race with a different rating in a different class or suited for a different race altogether. While we can’t recommend one system over another, we can walk you through your sailing program plans and goals and help you decide which is the best system and then optimize that rating.
Regardless of where your program stands, we are here to help you understand how rating rules work and guide you to a better rating so that you and your team get the most out of the hard work you put in to cross the finish line. Email our team at [email protected] to get the process started. _____
Other Resources:
- US Sailing: Rating Rules and Handicapping Systems.
- US Sailng: Offshore Competition
- US Sailing: PHRF Fleet Contact Directory
- International Rating Certificate: Official Website
- Offshore Racing Congress: Official Website
- Offshore Rating Rule: Offical Website
The Discussion
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The Rating Game: PHRF Explained
Racing in a One-Design fleet is the easiest and, all things considered, the most up-front methodology. In a One-Design class, you know what place you’ve finished in as soon as crossing the line. This competition also tends to be closer due to the similarities of the boats. After all, everyone in the field is exploiting the same boat’s abilities.
More often than not, however, we find ourselves racing against a mixed bag of boats. Cruisers, sport boats, big boats, small boats, how do we really know where we stand?
Some boats are lighter and faster than others, some are better off the wind, and some excel in lighter conditions. At the end of the day though, we still need to figure out where we finished. How did we do?
Here’s where a handicapping system comes into play – and because those systems can be a bit arcane, it’s important to know how they work. The most common and popular system is PHRF, which stands for Performance Handicap Racing Fleet. It’s fairly simple and inexpensive, making it ideal for the casual and serious racer alike.
There are many different handicapping systems that suit a wide variety of needs. They will fall into one of two main categories; performance-based or measurement-based. PHRF is mainly performance-based. A handicap for a particular boat begins with a base number that has been determined by observing individual designs over a period of time to determine how they stack up against other designs.
Your boat may be different than that “base” boat, so a qualified handicapper will review your application to determine how your boat may differ. For example, you might have smaller sails, or a fixed or a feathering propeller. In any event, to attain your proper handicap you must join your regional PHRF organization – they need to size you up and set up a fair field.
The number you are ultimately assigned represents an amount of time in seconds. Pretty simple, the lower your number, the faster you have been rated. At the end of the race, the elapsed times for each boat are fed into a scoring system and calculated along with each boat’s handicap, and voila, we have our results!
These are often posted after a certain amount of revelry has already taken place, which brings us to the first of the flaws in the system. Suspicion!
If you’re realistic, you’ll look at your results and simply say, “We just have to do better next time.” Or maybe you won, in which case there’s no suspicion. The system seems to be performing as it should. But there is always a certain element of doubt, especially in a performance-based system like PHRF.
If you find yourself having consistently poor finishes, human nature dictates that one of your concerns will be whether your boat has the right handicap or not. A good thing about PHRF is that you do have the right of appeal.
OFFSHORE RACING CONGRESS
The ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) rule is a reasonable, measurement-based alternative to PHRF and is showing up in many sailboat racing events throughout the Pacific Northwest. The real strength of the ORC system is that from the measurement data on a particular boat, ORC produces one base number, the General Purpose Handicap (GPH). Here, it also lists additional rating numbers that take into account the type of race course (buoy or distance) being raced and current weather (light, medium, or heavy wind) conditions.
Developed in the late 1960s, ORC brought us the International Offshore Rule (IOR) and International Measurement System (IMS) rules which later evolved into the ORC rule and is available in four different products: ORC Club, ORC International (ORCi), ORC One Design and ORC Superyacht.
The ORC Club certificates do not require verified measurements. But as the system is set to default on the least flattering rating, the more measurements that are provided, the more accurate the rating. ORC Club certificates are intended for club-level racing.
ORC International (ORCi) is based on measurements taken of the owner’s boat by a US Sailing Official Yacht Measurer. These certificates are intended for use in World Continental, Regional, and National level races.
ORC One Design are configured for a specific class and all data is based on One Design Class rules. No measurements are required provided that the boat is compliant with its Class measurements.
And finally, there is the ORC Super Yacht which is a product reserved for those boats that are exceptionally difficult to handicap. This may include boats that have displacement ranging from 50-600 tons and have huge discrepancies involving the yacht type.
Gaining in popularity, ORC is used in over 70 countries worldwide, with more than 10,000 certificates issued, making it a viable alternative that is here to stay
While handicaps are sometimes adjusted for an entire fleet of One-Design boats, more often than not, it is up to you to provide your reasons, submit your appeal and wait for the handicapper’s council of your regional association to decide. Often the result can be disappointing, and you go back to being suspicious.
It’s important to understand how a handicap is determined. It is based on the optimum scenario, that your boat has a clean, freshly painted bottom, crispy new sails, all equipment operates smoothly and efficiently, and of course, you and your crew are expert sailors.
Before you let your suspicions get away with you, it’s important to ask yourself “Have I really prepared my boat the best that I can, and am I sailing to its handicap effectively.” Sorry to be honest, but most of the time that answer is “No.”
Another flaw is that PHRF has not kept up well with the advent of newer, lightweight designs since its inception in the early 80s. We’ve all been out there and had that feeling that everything is going great—the boat feels good, the crew are happy, the skipper is feeling large—until we round the top mark, the sport boats skip up onto a plane, and they’re gone!
To add insult to injury, the sport crews end up with the best seats in the bar at the end of the race. The best we can hope for is that they haven’t eaten all the nachos too!
Really the sport boats should be racing in a One-Design division on their own, which would undoubtedly be their preference too. However, most of the time there are not enough numbers to allow for that, so they get lumped in with mom, dad and the kids in the Catalina 30.
Over time, improvements have been made to the system to address some of the issues that have been identified. In the early going, the calculation of your corrected time for a race was based on a “Time on Distance” model (ToD). This method did not account for issues like a dying wind or a change of current during a race. It also relied on race organizers measuring the distance of the course accurately.
Eventually the “Time on Time” model (ToT) was developed. Instead of calculating by the course distance, results are calculated by a time correction factor.
Simply put, this method addresses some of the shortcomings of the ToD method, and experts will tell you that ToT is the fairer approach.
For most boat owners, PHRF is a simple and inexpensive, if slightly flawed, way to allow us to go out and have some fun racing. If you understand its shortcomings and manage your own expectations appropriately, it is all most of us require for racing. On a different level, there is the issue of how race managers, clubs, and event organizers apply PHRF.
Most of us started out by joining in our club’s beer can race program. There we have a mix of casual and novice racers mixed in with the local rock stars. It can be a little deflating for those less experienced to never reach the podium, so it’s important that clubs themselves come up with a way to keep the newbies engaged. After all, they might become the rock stars of tomorrow, and everyone needs a little glory moment from time to time to hold their interest. Within the confines of your own club racing program there are options.
You can assign your own club-level handicaps to account for experience or lack thereof. Even better, you can use a golf-style handicapping system where individual handicaps change after every race based on how well each boat is performing. This is not at all difficult to do and US Sailing, which owns PHRF, has an excellent dissertation on their website on how to do this effectively.
It is most important that once you leave your club and venture out into larger regional events, you must have a valid handicap obtained through your regional PHRF organization. You’ll also need to maintain the currency of that handicap by keeping up with your annual membership dues.
Unfortunately, it has become an all too common practice at some events to allow entry to boats that do not possess a valid handicap. Instead, the regatta gives them an arbitrary handicap. More entries mean more revenue for the regatta. I get that, but arbitrary handicaps, given often by one person who has only a modest understanding, circumvent the proper handicap assessment your regional authority can provide. The arbitrary handicap may be well off the mark and gives an unfair advantage or disadvantage. That erodes confidence in the fairness of the formula.
Imagine yourself as a longtime PHRF member racing in a regional championship that you’ve put energy and effort into, only to lose to a boat that just showed up and was given an arbitrary handicap! It will not give you a warm, fuzzy feeling about the regatta and you may not return next time. Event organizers beware! You could be chopping yourselves off at the knees!
US Sailing, as the owners of PHRF, sanction individual PHRF organizations to assign handicaps within their area. There are about 60 PHRF fleets in North America and US Sailing allows for a certain amount of autonomy between fleets to allow for local variations in racing conditions and such.
In the Pacific Northwest up to the early 1990s, there was only the PHRF-NW serving the entire Pacific Northwest region. This became an issue around that time.”
Some influential sailors in British Columbia grew dissatisfied with PHRF-NW, not entirely without reason, and split off to form PHRF-BC. At the time, only the mainland BC clubs went with them. The clubs on Vancouver Island elected to stay with PHRF-NW. This was due in large part to the concerns about how the split could negatively affect the popular Swiftsure Race, which originates in Victoria each year.
Over time the two organizations drifted apart in their approaches. Some boats had much different handicaps in one fleet than in the other, which became a big problem where the two systems collided at regattas like Round the County. Increasingly, the sailing community insisted on greater fairness, which led to normalization of handicaps.
Events would identify themselves as either PHRF-NW or PHRF-BC regattas and boats from one fleet had their handicaps adjusted to match those for similar boats in the host fleet. Needless to say, this is a time consuming and entirely thankless task for regatta organizers. It’s also very likely that various regattas have lost some racers altogether due to dissatisfaction with this issue.
Want to learn more about the various sanctioning bodies? Look no further.
PHRF NW phrf-nw.org
PHRF BC bcsailing.bc.ca/PHRF/
ORC www.orc.org
The responsibility for resolving this problem does not rest with the individual racer or with the event organizations either. This issue rests solely with the two PHRF organizations to resolve through a harmonization of the two systems.
So what should “harmonization” look like?
There is no reason not to have two PHRF fleets, one for either side of the border. Individual member applications and appeals can be better served this way. Each organization can assess their own dues model. Individual racers can choose which fleet to join, provided that the playing field is level across the region.
Underlying the two organizations should be a collaborative process to address issues common to the entire region. The methodologies of arriving at a boat’s handicap should be the same in both PHRF fleets and there should be a common handicap database. Each organization continues to conduct handicapper’s council meetings, but there should be at least one joint annual conference between the two to ensure they are serving together the interests of PHRF racers in the Pacific Northwest.
I’m happy to say there appears to have been some movement in this direction, but much work remains.
The moral of the story is that PHRF will always, and should always, have a place in our racing community. Even with the ebb and flow of different systems of measuring variations between boats, PHRF remains one of the simplest and most economical approaches to keeping things fair and fun for a wide spectrum of racers.
Ultimately, the goal should be promoting fair and equitable racing and encouraging the overall health of the sport we love.
Read the print version on Issuu
John Abel is a World Sailing, International Race Officer living in Victoria. He has experience in many sailing venues around the world at all levels of the sport. He is a past President of BC Sailing, past Vice-President of Sail Canada and will be the Principal Race Officer for Point Roberts Race Week.
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Ratings All
This includes ratings for all boats in the PHRF GB database, current and prior years.
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PHRF Handicaps. The Red White and Blue Book is now a live report reflecting up to the minute base handicaps for the reporting fleets. Select the appropriate classes via the drop down and then "view report." The report is large and may take several minutes to load. Once the report is loaded you can download the report in your preferred format to ...
YINGLING OD * (U)*. 222. YORK HARBOR 36/38. 147. PHRF New England is an independent handicapping authority whose handicaps are used by fleets sailing on Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts Bay, the Gulf of Maine, and Lake Winnipesauke.
1. I. Introduction. The North American Portsmouth Yardstick is an empirical handicapping system meant to provide equitable scoring of race results for different boats sailing the same course. The system originated from an effort led by the Dixie Inland Yacht Racing Association (DIYRA) based on the Royal Yachting Association Portsmouth Numbers ...
Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) Who Owns It United States Sailing Association sanctions regional authorities to administer the national rule and develop regional by-laws. Why Did It Start Loosely based on the "Arbitrary Fleet" of the West Coast of the 1940's, PHRF emerged in the early 1980's as an empirically based handicapping system to give […]
Most boats have a positive PHRF rating, but some very fast boats have a negative PHRF rating. If Boat A has a PHRF rating of 15 and Boat B has a rating of 30 and they compete on a 1 mile course, Boat A should finish approximately 15 seconds in front of Boat B. Results are adjusted for handicap by the race committee after all competitors have ...
The PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) rating for a standard F-27 trimaran sailboat is typically around 72 seconds per mile. However, it is important to note that PHRF ratings can vary depending on the specific boat's configuration and modifications, as well as regional variations and updates to the rating system.
Handicap Rating Rule Options for 2022. No one handicap rating rule has ever been perfect, and it doesn't have to be—it just needs to be fair. Here are the current options. By Gary Jobson ...
Learn about the different ratings and handicap systems that measure the performance of sailing boats and crews in various events and conditions.
Ratings Overview. Overview. Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) ratings are based on the speed potential of the boat, determined as far as possible on observations of previous racing experiences. It is the intent of PHRF handicapping that any well equipped, well maintained, and well sailed boat has a good chance of winning.
Changing it will only affect the various margins. Thus if your middle handicap is about 100 and your conditions are average, then the TCF formula would look like the following: TCF = 650 / (550 + PHRF) To get the corrected time, simply multiply the elapsed time by the TCF. TOT scoring is not a cure-all for all the inequities of handicapping.
PHRFulator, a PHRF Calculator, allows you to build a table of sail boats with different ratings and calculate the time between them at various distances from the start line. button on the bottom left to create a new sail boat. Enter the information for the sail boat. It must have a name and/or a sail number as well as numeric PHRF rating (can ...
The "control" J/Boats used in this comparison are the J/44, J/122, J/35, J/29 (Masthead outboard), J/80, J/92, J/30 and J/24. Assumptions are that: 1. Except where noted as "One Design", each model conforms to all local PHRF definitions of an unmodified "base boat" with a base 155% genoa (depending on local regulations). 2.
Boat Name Master (display) Sail No. Class Code Double-handed Single Event Spin. W/L Base Spin. Dist. Base Spin. W/L Rating Spin. Dis. Rating N-Spin.
Rating Base PHRF Adjust Keel Rig Mods O.S. Head Sail Jib 130% to 145% Jib <130% Roller Furler All Dacron Cruising JAM Blue Fleet Only Non Spin O.S. Spin Pole IB Prop +6 +9 +3 +6 +12 Boat Information PHRF Rating Spec Adjustments Red J-24 184 Eastridge 174 174 0 Fin ODR No na Red J-24 533 Rogers 174 174 0 Fin ODR No na Red J-24 1473 Douglas 174 ...
Rating rules are a powerful tool that allows a variety of yachts to compete on a level playing field. If you race a tortoise against a hare (assuming the hare is smart enough not to take a nap in the middle of the race), the hare will always win. Not really a fair match-up. The same goes for non-one design racing.
The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a term used for a number of related systems of empirical handicapping used primarily in small sailboat racing.. The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the handicaps can be used with widely differing types of sailboats. Portsmouth Numbers are updated with data from race results, normally annually.
In the Pacific Northwest up to the early 1990s, there was only the PHRF-NW serving the entire Pacific Northwest region. This became an issue around that time.". THE B.C. SPLIT. Some influential sailors in British Columbia grew dissatisfied with PHRF-NW, not entirely without reason, and split off to form PHRF-BC.
Handicapping Rules. MEASUREMENT RULES - Predict boat speed using fluid flow equations and boat and rig dimensions as inputs - the output is a VPP that can be converted into a rating for calculating corrected times. Requires either self or a certified measurer to take dimensions. EMPIRICAL RULES - Predict boat speed based on actual ...
PHRF New England is an independent handicapping authority whose handicaps are used by fleets sailing on Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts Bay, the Gulf of Maine, and Lake Winnipesauke. Toggle navigation PHRF New England. ABOUT PHRF N.E. Overview; ... Apply for Handicap Certificate > Locate your PHRF Region > ABOUT US.
PHRF Ratings. 2024 Certificates. Appeal Form. Rating Process. Ratings 2016. Ratings 2017. Ratings 2018. Ratings 2019. ... This includes ratings for all boats in the PHRF GB database, current and prior years. Performance Handicap Racing Fleet of Galveston Bay, Inc. 3620 Miramar Dr. Shore Acers, TX 7757 1. Email: ...
Canoe, Sailing (Grum.) Centerboard SACAN [144.0] Cape Dory 10 Centerboard CD-10 (135.20) PRECALCULATED D-PN HANDICAPS CENTERBOARD CLASSES. Boat Class Code DPN DPN1 DPN2 DPN3 DPN4. PRECALCULATED D-PN HANDICAPS CENTERBOARD CLASSES Cape Dory 14 Centerboard CD-14 (125.40) [124.2] Caprice. Centerboard. CPR. 102.40 [103.1]
ECSA Base Boat ratings are maintained by the ECSA PHRF Handicapper's council. These ratings are used as the basis for assiging handicapp rating the in the ECSA sailing area, and are adjusted according the regulations on each PHRF application and certificate by ECSA Handicappers.
Handicap forms for sailing vessels in sailing races have varied throughout history, and they also vary by country, and by sailing organisation. Sailing handicap standards exist internationally, nationally, and within individual sailing clubs. ... A yacht's handicap, or rating, is the number of seconds per mile traveled that the yacht in ...
Tickets for tours on accessible boats can be purchased by selecting the 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. or 5 p.m. departure times. Wheelchairs Available for Use For those requesting use of the company's manual wheelchair, please visit the dockside CFL River Cruise ticket office upon arrival.