Classic Hobart as the X-50 Wax Lyrical beats up past the organ pipes at Cape Raoul in Storm Bay, Tasmania before turning up the Derwent River to the finish. Wax Lyrical was entered in the Performance Handicap System (PHS) class which she won and also finished third out of 20 boats in the IRC Corinthian division. The PHS system is little known outside Australia but is similar in philosophy to the golf handicap approach discussed from time to time for use in dinghies and potentially as a substitute for the numerous local keelboat handicap systems that are used to better or worse effect around the world. Worth a closer look?
the hairline on the back of my neck. So my advice is be skin aware, do some research on skin cancer and think about how you can minimise your risk. Two sailors I admire are Tom Addis and Stan Honey, who both
wear broad-brimmed hats whenever they are on or near a boat. One thing I have noticed, though, is the broad-brimmed hats that marine clothing manufacturers make are often too floppy in any breeze, and so I customised mine by sewing a band of stiff sailcloth on the underside of the front of the brim, using a small piece of the J2 from Ken Read’s VO70 Puma as it was getting repaired during the Auckland stopover. Thanks, Kenny… I also understand broad brims are not convenient on a fast skiff
or dinghy. So racing my A-Class I apply plenty of thick sunscreen. My other advice is to find a good dermatologist. I have spoken to several sailors who are unhappy with the cursory skin checks their dermatologist gave them; if that happens to you find another one you are happy seeing and who takes an interest in your concerns. You are in control; get the knowledge, protect yourself and your
family and keep an eye on your skin. And, finally, if you have been exposed to a lot of sunshine prepare yourself for the phone call. Blue Robinson
USA Size matters – but innovation does too With over 260 entries, the 24th edition of Charleston Race Week has once again proved itself the premier keelboat regatta in the US. The format, setting, venue and excellence in race management have all come together to provide a consistently attractive event to fill the late winter-early spring niche for teams where the daffodils at home are just starting to poke through the lawn. And while US-based teams form the vast majority of entries, the 56-boat J/70 class did attract a few from South America and beyond. Numbers alone are not driving the event’s continued success
– innovation is a key component. Event director Randy Draftz is an industry player so he embraces changes to enhance the quality, both on and off the water, to create value for all the participants and not just fulfil a mandate from a host club and its sponsors… like most events in the US. Even with the limitations in real estate in Charleston Harbor, one of the fastest-growing port cities in the US, and a near-constant flow of commercial traffic, he and his race managers work creatively to find suitable course areas to suit the needs of all 11 inshore and six offshore classes. The M32s made a debut this year, providing an impressive show
for the waterfront, almost like the Red Arrows buzzing the fleet at Cowes Week. Bristling with pro-talent and virtually self-sufficient in their logistics, these high-speed cats were a nice addition – there
aren’t many opportunities for junior sailors campaigning dad’s J/70 to mingle with headline talent like Ian Williams and Taylor Canfield. It’s also an important event for other non-headline pros to do
what they do best: race with customers and provide valuable lessons and hands-on insight on how to play the game. All but one team in the top 10 of the J/70s were loaded with pro talent, as well as in a few other classes. With the harbour filled with mostly one-designs (and the ORC
sportboat class), those who race big boats on the offshore course could be forgiven for feeling left out. While first signals for the small keelboats are at a leisurely 1100, the big boat teams used to have to leave the harbour at 0800 to fight their hangovers and the tide for a seven-mile commute to their course area offshore. To make matters worse, the easterly breezes are generally lighter and the seas can get lumpy out there, and while their pals’ scorecards read results from four to five races per day they’re lucky to get three. This year that situation improved with the innovation of a race
from the harbour out to the offshore course area to help motivate the 52 entries in this sector of the event, and put more points on their scoreboards. And rather than this being a hard tactical fight with each class racing down a narrow ship channel that may have a cruise ship or freighter barrelling through the fleet, a pursuit style was adopted to give individual start times calculated from the ORC Coastal/Long-distance course model based on time-on-distance ratings, as well as PHRF for the more casual entries. This pursuit race was then followed by a windward-leeward buoy
race, and then a conventional fleet race of variable length back into the harbour. This meant the traditional W/L race format used in most racing in the US has been relegated to only a third of the format. A welcome move away from that stale specialist style of racing back towards the offshore roots of the sport. As Race Week now attracts more entries from outside the area
the event’s adoption of an objective rating system like ORC was also needed. While shifting the burden of measurement and cer- tification away from race organisers and over to the owners and US Sailing, ORC also eliminates accusations of local bias in handicap- ping and delivered some pretty convincing results: for the inshore Sportboats the margins of corrected times within the results were measured in single-digit seconds after 45 minutes of racing. Even the offshore classes were almost as closely competitive:
in the first pursuit race Victor Wild’s TP52 Foxwas the fastest boat and overall winner in corrected time, but the next seven placings – among boats ranging down to a J/109 in size and speed – were within a minute in corrected time after three hours of racing. Not bad for non-one design racing.
Dobbs Davis q SEAHORSE 27
CARLO BORLENGHI/ROLEX
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