Shore bound but Itching - Here comes NHC

We last went racing on boxing day, 26th December, last year! Almost two and a half months ago and I'm feeling it. I think this year has been harder than previous years due to the amount of sailing club work I've had to do in my role of Vice Commodore, that's a lot of talking about going sailing without actually doing any.

This season has lots going for it and I'm especially looking forward to our channel crossing at the end of June. Not a particularly taxing bit of navigation (I hope!) but it will be good to stretch the legs a bit. Work and family life makes it difficult to do any passages, the only time we got out of the bay last season was to go to the Isle of Wight for the Round the Island Race. This year I won't be going as I will use my time allowance to go to Cherbourg. Also looking forward to racing the Yacht Club de Cherbourg in the Grande Rade.

Once in Cherbourg it would be great to carry on going. I'd like to go down to Jersey, but I guess we will have to return home. Perhaps we can get another weekend later in the year and go to Torquay or something.

But with the racing season coming on I'm trusting that we will keep our present, highly tuned, crew. It really does make a difference when everyone knows their job and can do it, it's something that money can't really buy and we're definately not the most monied campaign out there. Our season starts with the YCW Spring Series held on four consecutive sundays starting 14th April. I think currently we're the only entry and we've already bought our IRC certificate.

This season sees a mighty change in club racing in the UK with the sport's governing body, the RYA, abandoning Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) for yachts. The system is to be replaced by "NHC" a varying handicapping system which has had input from IRC in its concept as well from WSC's own HALS race results. It's a performance handicapping system who's number evolves as the data gets plugged into it, a bit like the Irish ECHO system. In fact the success of ECHO is one of the only things I can see that it has going for it, I dislike being penalised for being good or encouraging mediocrity. However I accept that club racing needs a fresh injection to make it more appetising. I'm sure that IRC see it as a way of getting more take up for IRC as serious racers will prefer to be rated this way. Perfect, but I think the feedback from the customer to RORC rating is that the price of an IRC certificate needs to be halved. The combination of these two moves will ensure the future of IRC. I even suggested to the boys that we didn't buy an IRC cert this year in a moment of madness, they of course would have none of it. We might not win all the time but at least we are racing and rated fairly.

The introduction of NHC at Weymouth Sailing Club also sees the continuation of all-in fast & slow class starts. This means that NHC/PY/IRC boats of a similar speed all start together, this improves the racing experience for everyone.

At the end of the day it's the wind in your hair and the spray in your face that should be drawing people to yacht racing. Do you know, sometimes you don't even have to go and look at the results? Racing is not about winning, it's just better when you can't wipe that grin off of your face...that's what keeps you struggling and competing. Handicapping can niggle at this experience, one design removes this a little but will expose you as not as good a sailor as you thought you were. IRC rating is a middle way that definately gives the correct results in our bay - more boats need certificates and I'm sad to say Mr Urwin cutting your costs/expectations and halving the costs is the only way that we can save club racing in these parts.

Bonxie - IRC win

A great race for FarrOut on friday night. The Bonxie trophy is WSC's annual night race to Arish Mell buoy and back. Not a bad turnout with 5 boats on the line at 2100, 3 of which were IRC rated.

The light wind off the line reinforced as the sun dropped and went forward making the Sponge Bob assymmetric spinnaker the right sail choice. By the turning mark we were thundering along at 9 knots boat speed, even overtaking Effusion the Elan 295. Alice's arms trimming the kite were dropping off.

The fetch back from the mark was quite good for us and we managed to hold Effusion underneath us for a long time before she overtook. Coming into the finish line was light and shifty tacks.

Well done everyone. First place IRC and 2nd in PY to Effusion.

Ready for the 2012 J P Morgan Round the Island Race

Foregoing racing last night we put some final preparations together before next weekend's race. Steve and I dived the boat in the lovely warm waters of Weymouth Bay and polished her bottom nicely. I was surprised by the amount of barnacles on there.

We then went for a sail and launched the new kite held out there with the new pole. All very satifactory. The crispness and slipperyness really help out in those gybes. Seemed fast but I guess we need to line up with some other boats with it.




Delivery to Cowes on friday is looking a wet and windy affair at the moment. Joy.

IRC division 3C - not a division I'd want to be in given the choice. With the Quarter Ton Cup running this week in Cowes all the quarter tonners are in this division. We will have to be happy with our IRC overall position, because we stand little chance of getting enough distance between us and those rocket ships with pop star crews!

YCW Spring Series Race 1 - Victory

Victory in our first race of the season, albeit somewhat hollow as there were only two IRC boats coming to the line; us and Wildfire the Beneteau 36.7. The upshot was that we won by over two minutes. Hooray, but not much of a confort as we definately would have lost to Effusion the Elan 295 if they'd  had an IRC cert. Got to be in it to win it I suppose.

It was an all in IRC/PY start.The race started well for FarrOut with a perfectly timed pin end start, keeping our air clear and diving to the favoured left. When Wildfire tacked back in after rolling over us, we went as well to stay with the race rather than banging the left corner which was definately a lifting tack. This meant that Orion the Achilles 9m got to the windward mark before us, though by the wing mark we'd caught up and they messed around on the gybe and we were able to cut inside and overtake.

Wildfire and Effusion romped away, but we knew that the race was not with the other PY boats. It was on the deep run that it all went wrong for us with a horrible spi/headsail wrap. We impeded Orion's progress and let them through as we sorted ourselves out and got back in the groove.

Not a faultless showing from us, but enough for a win. You have to presume that Wildfire had issues and were messing up as well in order not to win. But I guess on short course racing with lots of sail handling and in a fair amount of wind it's difficult for the bigger boat to beat a Laser 28.....well sailed or not!

Thanks to Iain Jones and the race team for an exhilirating race to start the season off for us. Glad to see that Steve Dadd, sailing on Orion, is back fighting fit after receiving a blow to the head and getting carted off to hospital.

Another Thursday Cancelled at WSC

We were the only IRC boat to venture out into the bay last night, I guess everyone else had cancelled on the forecast. Probably the right call but there were some encouraging signs in the late afternoon. As it was it was good practice to handle the boat in some seas and wind, we only saw about 27 knots before we turned and went back in. Respect to Iain Jones and Nick Frampton who went out in a squib and put a kite up.

We like a bit of wind on FarrOut but that 1986 rig is always a concern when the main just flogs! I guess the race officers were glad that no other boats came out because it gusted over 41knots at 2020!

YCW Spring Series - overall

Sunday's racing was brilliant. Two races were carried out in near perfect conditions with three starts for the two races, the first start for the IRC fleet getting a general recall. The racing was really competitive and I think FarrOut showed well with a 5th and a 3rd.

So we finished the series around mid table, so considering the dreadful first race we had  and then the wind dying and not being able to finish in race 3, not bad at all.

Thursday evening racing starts this week, with the Q class being carried out under IRC rating this year. I'm hoping that it will be as good as this sunday.