After a few teething problems the official results for the 1st Monday and 1st Wednesday series are now online. The results are calculated using the NHC system, and this, along with optional IRC class, is the RYA’s current recommendation for club racing. The club voted for this for the 2014 season.
If you didn’t come along to the meeting to cast your vote, or you’ve lived in a cave for the past few years, you might be a little confused by NHC. On the other hand you may have read and listened to everything you can about it - in which case you might be even more confused. So here it is in a nutshell...
The base numbers are not subjective, they are published by the RYA and arrived at mathematically based on certain dimensions from each boat. They are not massively accurate but are claimed to be largely irrelevant anyway as the system automatically adjusts each boat’s handicap individually after each race based on actual crew performance.
After a while these corrected handicaps will look a little strange, but remember they are calculated on the basis of the crew not the boat. They are intended to create a situation whereby all boats are equal and any boat in the race can win - in theory at least it doesn’t have to be the best sailed boat, just the one that is sailed best relative to the crew’s ability. Ironically that’s often the same thing so in the end it might actually work out ok in a conventional sense too. Only time will tell...
As previously mentioned we also voted to incorporate an IRC class so if you have a current IRC and would like to compete under that too let us know.
Whatever your views on NHC don’t let it spoil your sailing - just get out there and have some fun!
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