These notes are the compilers view of how the results are calculated. The notes are only to help club members (and the compiler) understand how the calculations are carried out and are certainly not meant to replace or alter the club sailing instructions which remain the definitive club sailing rule document.
The results are calculated in accordance with International Saling Rule guidelines and the rules of the Sugarloaf Sailing Committee. Online Software, accessed via the Club web site, has been develdoped to match the sailing program so that the three series, Winter, Summer and Twilight are included and so that the Championship aggregate can be calcualted. Also included are individual races such as the Marathon, Commodore's Cup, Parks Victoria Trophy and Club races. The published results on all web pages are provisional and subject to Sailing Committee endorsement at the end of the Season.
The calculation process requires several fundamental sets of data.
Boat and skipper information including the yardstick for each of the classes of boat sailed during the season. The current PHS number (Handicap) for each boat/skipper combination. The registration (sign on/off) sheet information which includes the skipper and boat information relevant to the particular race. The lap time data.
The sign on sheet is compared with the time data ensuring all boats are accounted for. Those that did not start or did not finish the course need to be marked accordingly.
The boat data base is updated to include any new boats.
The series database is up dated to include any boats that had not previously sailed in the relevant series.
The race information is then entered. This includes weather and course details and the starting time for each division.
Individual boat information is then keyed into the relevant race fields in the series database. If a boat has not sailed the course correctly, as indicated in the declaration area of the registration sheet, a code is entered in accordance with the following table.
A time sheet, if used, and camera data is a record of each boat's elapsed time for every South to North crossing of the sight line defined by the lap finish line athe Common Mark Gate. The video recording with its internal clock is run in video edting software to determine the time to the nearest second . Every sail number and time record is then entered into the the system. (Video is archived for a period, depending on computer storage space, to reslove any queries).
Having made all necessary entries, the system can then make the necessary time corrections (see 'Calculations' below).
Boats are ranked in order of increasing corrected time. This determines the position of each boat in the race. This applies to both boats with skippers who are club members as well as visiting boats. The system calculates cumulative points (see 'Points System' below) for the relevant race series. Up to 8 reports are generated for each race. Divisonal Yardstick and PHS Race Result, Divisonal Yardstick and PHS Progressive Aggregate Result and the same again for the Championship series.
These reports are then saved as HTML/PHP pages ready for uploading to the Web Server.
The system sorts through the elapsed time and sail number lists and then counts laps for each boat. Discrepencies are made obvious so that anomolies such as missing laps can be queried.
There are two types of calculations performed, 'Divisional' and 'Open'.
Divisional calculations determine a result for boats within predetermined groups and 'Open' results rank all boats.
Corrections are applied to both types of calculation in the following sequence:
There are a number courses. Boats sail a course appropriate for their class yardstick. Each course is trianglular with a common corner at the Common Gate and similar angles. The courses also have similar dog legs to avoid shoal water as the lake falls and rises through the season. They do however have different perimeters so that each boat's elapsed time is adjusted with a course correction factor to allow for the different distances sailed. The intent is to arrange, as near as practical, for boats to converge on the common mark at the same time. The same intent applies to catamarans but not necessarily catamarans and dinghies together. This greatly simplifies shortening course, which occurs in around 30% of races.
The starting time divsion is also selected to minimise race time differences for leading boats.
All dinghies sail 3 laps. Most catamarans sail 5 except for the very fastest which sail 6 laps.
The course, starting division and number of laps to be sailed for each class is available in the Sailing Instructions.
The start line is at or near the Club Common Gate. This Common Gate is common to all courses and is where all roundings and finish line crossings are recorded as sail number and time. Lap splits are shown on each race result sheet.
The system identifies those common mark crossings that represent a complete triangle for each boat sailling each course. It finds the 'speed' of each boat as time per lap. Boat laps are not integers becuase the start line is approx 100m south of the Common Gate. This 100m needs to be taken into account in calculating relative boat speeds and is done so, for each course, by adding or subtracting it as a partial lap depending on whether the start is toward or away from the Common Gate respectively.
* The C flag is raised to indicate that the start is a short leg toward the common gate from the start line
Yardstick correction is to allow for the differences between boat performances based on class and some boat configuration changes within a class. This correction relies on the yardstick for each class.
Corrected Time = (100 X Time per Lap)/Class Yardstick
Yachting Victoria yardsticks are generally used.
One exception is the Yardstick for the Access 2.3 Servo class.
Because of the limitations of a servo controlled boat, such as slower tacking and non servo actuated boom positioning on a run,
6 % is added to the YV Access 2.3 (non servo) yardstick. This adjustment does not sufficiently cover the inability of a displacement boat to compete with planing boats and so a further adjustment is
applied to all Access 2.3 dinghies.
Up to and including the 2017/2018 season, the 'wind' adjustment was as follows:
Value to be added to the YS = (wind speed - 2.75)1.79.
This is because it had been noted that performance falls off with higher wind speeds and this had assumed to be related to boat hull limitations and on the basis there is
little an Access Dinghy (AD) sailor can do to improve boat speed with increasing wind, especially in a servo boat.
For the years 2015,2016 and 2017, however, result analysis shows a linear BCYS increase with average wind speed relative to the third boat (generally a planing capable dinghy),
counter to previously assumed displacement hull wave making theory suggests an exponential increase in resistacne with AD hull speed.
The results show a gradient equal to 100 ys points per 12 knots.
Accordingly, for 2018:
Value to be added to the YS = wind speed*100/12. This results in a yardstick boost of 18% at 5 Knots average wind speed (previously this increase was not applied until 10 Knots) and 35% at 10 Knots.
Consistent with the above at winds speeds around 10 knots the AD's elapsed time can be expected to be greater even to the extent of being one lap behind planing boats. Accordingly,
the reulst system allows (not mandated) ADs to sail one less lap than the rest of the dinghy fleet assuming the race has not been shortened to one lap.
PHS correction allows for both boat class differences and skipper performance. PHS correction is an alternative to Yardstick correction. Only one or the other is applied producing two different sets of results.
For the PHS correction, the back calculated yardstick derived from each skipper's individual performance is used - described below
Hc = (15*Hcp + BCYS)/16
New PHS number = Hc
Previous PHS number = Hcp
BCYS (Back Calculated Yardstick for the skipper's most recent race) = Yardstick X (Corrected Time)/(Corrected Time of 3rd Place).
Corrected Time = (100 X Time per Lap)/Current PHS number
The initial PHS handicap of any new skipper/boat is set to their Back Calculated Yard Stick achieved in the first race they entered at
Sugarloaf. There may be circumstances that affect the BCYS in the first race and the number may be adjusted accordingly or the BCYS from a subsequent race may be used as the PHS starting point.
For the purposes of determining position across a number of races that make up a series, points are allocated in accordance with the Low Point system.
For the purposes of adding points across a number of races, the points are divided into two types. Those that are allocated as a result of disqualification and those that are allocated for all other reasons. The DSQ points are fixed and remain part of the total points for the series.
All other points are subject to a rule that allows the points for a certain number of races to be dropped from each boat's tally depending on how many races are in a series. The following table shows the number of races that must be counted.
There is a minimum number of races in which boats must race to be included in this points system and thus be eligible for a series position. The minimum number of races equals 50% of the number of Series Races + 1 (rounded down).
Members on Duty or who are attending World, National or State Championships have the option of being awarded their average points as calculated over the Series by "signing on" as 'OD'. Refer to "Race Entry Procedure".
Members on duty or attending the above listed events may mark "OD" (On Duty) alongside their signature. If the Member on Duty does not follow this procedure, DNC points shall apply. Members designated "OD" are considered to have effectively raced. This means that the minimum number of races that must be sailed for an individual to be included in the competition can be achieved by including duty or special event days.
The Sailing Committee may revoke a member's Duty or Special Event points if, in the opinion of the Sailing Committee, duty days are being used to distort the points system and the recognition of sailing ability.
