PHRF / IRC CLASS BREAKS – posted December 18, 2005
             Comments and Insight from your Race Chairman...

I am pleased to present the PHRF and IRC class breaks for Acura Key West 2006. This is always an appropriate opportunity for me to thank the PHRF Consortium Chairman and his proficient team for the hard work spent in researching, evaluating and debating to establish Key West specific handicaps for our PHRF fleet. The work is not yet complete with a number of boats still under review.

Participants should be aware that in some cases, preliminary PHRF handicaps will be adjusted based on what class the boat will be racing in (in accordance with the event specific PHRF Rules & Regs).

Once again this year, I ask that participating PHRF boat owners assess the class breaks in the context of the facts and considerations that I will share with you in this letter. As always, I welcome your feedback and comments, but will ask that you first take the time to read my letter before contacting me with feedback or questions. My second request is that only the boat owner or his/her designated representative contact us and to do so via email. It is the most efficient way for us to manage the process going forward and provide you with a meaningful response in the limited time we have before racing begins on January 16th.

BACKGROUND
The event-specific PHRF Rules & Regulations and the Notice & Conditions of Race both speak to our philosophy on PHRF class breaks. We fully recognize that getting class breaks right is as important to 'good PHRF racing' as assigning proper handicaps. There are a multitude of factors that need to be taken into account when assigning the class breaks including rating bands, LOA, sail area/displacement ratios, etc. There are of course, some limiting factors from an event and race management standpoint. These include practical class size and a maximum number of starts per division in order to achieve 2 or 3 fair races on any given day. 
 

Premiere Racing publishes preliminary class breaks only after considerable dialogue with the PHRF Consortium, Appeals Committee, naval architects and some experienced boat owners (those without a conflict of interest, of course). We all are in agreement on one fact - that there are many different ways one can divide these handicap entries into classes. Before posting the preliminary breaks, a number of us have spent a significant amount of time and effort analyzing potential scenarios. In my capacity as Race Chairman, I am the one responsible for making the final decision on class breaks. 

One of our primary goals, based on feedback from participating PHRF owners over the years, is to provide 'like racing' - that is to ensure that boats which perform in a similar fashion in a variety of different conditions are racing together. There are a number of factors we take into consideration in our efforts to ensure like racing - even if that means expanding rating bands beyond what one might normally desire. A boat's Sail Area/ Displacement Ratio (both the upwind & downwind numbers) and Displacement/Length Ratio are two key factors that come into play. We have posted these ratios so you can see those important numbers right alongside the assigned handicap. 

Determining class breaks solely on handicap would be a simple task, look tidy on the scratch sheet, and result in notably small rating bands. But this clearly wouldn't provide 'like racing' and the quality competition that PHRF boat owners are seeking in Key West. A C&C 40 and Olson 30 racing together - with nearly identical handicaps - is not the kind of racing that the majority of our PHRF owners are looking for. 

2006 CONSIDERATIONS / ISSUES
On any given year there are unique considerations and limitations concerning class breaks and this year is no exception:
 

* While it appears that our total fleet size in 2006 will be nearly identical to 2005, the fleet composition is significantly different. We have more one design entries and more ‘big boats’ than we had last year. There are fewer mid and small PHRF entries. The fact that 20 entries selected IRC as their handicap rule of choice has also impacted the 2006 PHRF fleet size.
 

* This year we were able to award one design starts to 3 classes with less than 10 boats (TP52 / Melges 32 / C&C 99) because it worked out on Divisions 2 and 4 and with the number of starts and designated PHRF classes. There are no one design start guarantees in 2007 with fewer than 10 entries
 

* There will be a total of 19 classes spread over 4 divisions next month (21 classes last year):
    - Div 1 (53 boats): Swan 45 / Farr 40 / Mumm 30
    - Div 2 (58 boats): TP52 / 2 IRC Classes / Melges 32 / 2 PHRF Classes
    - Div 3 (105 boats): Melges 24 / J105 / J/80
    - Div 4 (72 boats): Corsair 28R / J/109 / C&C 99 / 4 PHRF Classes
 

* These preliminary breaks feature 8 handicap classes (6 PHRF and 2 IRC) ranging in size from 7 to 14 boats. Entry diversity has led to small class size in some instances.
 

* New this year is the debut of IRC Racing in Key West. There are 20 boats racing in two separate classes on Division 2. These 20 boats broke quite nicely into 2 competitive classes as you can see below.
 

* Despite that fact that the 2006 PHRF fleet is smaller than those in the previous 3 years, the mix of PHRF boats led to logical class breaks in most instances. Many of the classes are somewhat smaller than an event organizer would normally like to see. But the smaller class size and additional trophies are a fair trade off to the goal of boats completing against the boats that they should be competing against.
 

* To ensure quality racing and the ability to get 2 and even 3 races completed on any given day, we attempt to go with a maximum of 6 starts per division. We’ve achieved that in Division 2, but will again have 7 starts on Division 4. Numerous smaller classes with between 8-10 boats made 7 starts a necessity on Div 4.
 

* It should be noted that the 4 of the 6 PHRF classes have rating bands of 36 secs/mile or less. The 2 classes with wider bands actually feature a group of boats with tighter rating bands with one boat on the top and/or bottom of the class accounting for the spread.
 

* Sub Classes: We will be recognizing 2 groups, the T-10 and J/120 classes (with 7 and 5 boats respectively) that show potential for one design status in future years. Daily and series sub-class trophies will be awarded to these specific groups within their PHRF classes.

DIVISION 2
6 Starts / 56 Boats
 

TP52 (Class 2A): This 9-boat level class is preparing for their Global Championship at Acura Miami Race Week next March.
 

IRC 1 (Class 2B): A 10-boat class featuring an Andrews 68, J/V 66, Kerr 55, Farr 53 and three pair of Open 60s, Farr 60s and Swan 601s. A number of these entrants requested PHRF so we asked if there was interest in being co-scored under PHRF. All 10 entrants have agreed to be co-scored, therefore, all entries will be eligible for ‘PHRF 1 Sub-Class’ trophies.
 

PHRF 2 (Class 2C): This class of 7 fast, relatively low D/L boats also includes 4 conventional sportboats.  Clearly this is a smaller class with a larger rating spread than we would like but it represents a group of boats with similar D/L and high speed potential that will be able to race together competitively. Placing these boats in other PHRF classes does not appear to be a reasonable alternative for these boats or the competitors in the other classes.
 

IRC 2 (Class 2D): These 10 entrants requested IRC. It’s a fairly diverse group of boats including a J/133, Ker 36 and 36, 1D35, J/44, Bene 40.7, Schock 35, Grand Soleil 37, Corby 29 and a new J/124.
 

Melges 32 (Class 2E): A first time one design start for these 8 sport boats.
 

PHRF 3 (Class 2F): This 14-boat moderate displacement class has a narrow 18 second rating band. The boats, which include 5 J/120s that will vie for sub class trophies, all fall between 36-40 feet LOA.
 

DIVISION 4
7 Starts / 71 boats

CORSAIR 28R (Class 4A): The 12-boat Corsair 28R class will be the lead class in Division 4 as opposed to tail end class on Division 2 for a number of reasons. The disparity in average boat size on Division 2 is greater than it was in 2005. On Division 4 the Corsairs will use the ‘long weather mark’ effectively separating them from the monohulls using the short mark on the downwind legs - a positive factor with their disparate sailing angles and speeds. A separate leeward mark below the gate will also be helpful in achieving separation.
 

J/109 (Class 4B): J/109 entries went from 6 to 10 boats this year earning them a one design start.

PHRF 4 (Class 4C): This 8-boat light displacement class includes a pair of Evelyn 32s and Olsons.

PHRF 5 (Class 4D): This 9-boat moderate to heavy displacement class has a 39 secs/mile rating band that is considerably tighter for 7 of the 9 boats.

C&C 99 (Class 4E): This 8-boat one design class returns for a 3rd consecutive year.
 

PHRF 6 (Class 4F): This highly competitive 12 boat class features a 24 sec/ mile rating band. Seven T-10s will be competing for T-10 sub class trophies.

PHRF 7 (Class 4G): Our smallest PHRF class has a reasonable 36 sec/mile rating band. The class features 3 J/24s, 3 J/30s and a pair of S27.9s.

As always, we welcome your constructive criticism and feedback. Keep in mind that we are very reluctant to make last minute changes, hence timely feedback is essential. If you see something you don't agree with, we ask that you provide useful feedback. Please don't just state that a boat does not belong is a certain class. It will be far more effective to present the perceived problem, why it is a problem, along with a potential solution and your justification.

We anticipate another excellent week of handicap competition at Acura Key West 2006. I look forward to seeing everyone next month.

Sincerely yours,

Peter Craig
Race Chairman