It's all about the racing...really

Dick Johnson introduces a new handicap system to be used at this year's St Maarten Heineken regatta

With the furore over handicap systems reverberating around the sailing world, it looks as though there might be room for just one more new system to be considered.

Here in the Caribbean the CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association) rule has held sway for years, its constant refinement over many regattas providing close racing for boats as diverse as the swing keel maxis that were here last year and the lowliest Bareboat. In the US a schism has occurred with the racing world, with the demise of PHRF in some areas and the introduction of IRC.

Of course there is a rear guard action being fought on behalf of PHRF and some areas have declared their allegiance to one flag, some to the other. In the Caribbean, one island just can¹t decide. Porto Rico has opted to have two regattas, one PHRF, the other CSA. But the vast majority of the islands are sticking within their home-grown and highly effective rule.

Rating under CSA, like IRC, however, requires a certain amount of measurement and the time consumed in getting dimensions correct can take time away from more enjoyable pastimes. So, here at the St Maarten Heineken Regatta, we decided that it was opportune that a new move to a highly effective, non-measurement should be introduced to coincide with the 25th anniversary of this popular event.

With the assistance of Winscore, the home-grown race management system used so effectively for the Heineken regatta, there will be a twin handicapping results system created, giving results under CSA and also under Heineken BCR.

Heineken BCR is a simple formula: 15 x C x (LOA/1.55) x E=TCR where, C is a constant, E is the elapsed time and a high TCR wins.

As you might expect, beer has something to do with the formula.

The number 15 represents the time in seconds that a 25cl can of Heineken ­ not too cold, to represent realistic on board conditions ­ can be consumed during a race without disrupting any crewing activity.

The constant C is derived from the likely total number of 25cl cans of Heineken available to the contestants which could be consumed during a race, divided by the number of yachts, related to the total time sailed. In fact, C is also considered as the HBDB (Honest Beer Drinking Boat) factor, a calculated representation of the average fleet participant and their average Heineken consumption.

(LOA/1.55) is a factor that represents the relationship of boat length to crew numbers. Last year an after regatta assessment by Winscore showed that each crew member had 1.55m of the boat¹s overall length in which to park their bottoms. So, dividing the overall length by 1.55 gives a good indication of crew numbers and, ergo, likely beer consumption.

E is simply the elapsed time of the race.

The final figure is the Total Consumption Rate and the highest TCR wins.

To be honest, like all rating rules, there are ways to beat it; a big crew on a small boat sailing a slow race will get a high TRC, but then, Heineken would appreciate that wouldn¹t they?

As the racing progresses we will bring you results in CSA and also Heineken BCR.

BCR? Beer Consumption Rating of course.

On a serious note, as last year, Heineken has arranged a special collection for all the cans drunk during the regatta and a recycling programme to ensure that the regatta is as green as possible. The cans themselves are specially supplied for the regatta to make sure that the beaches and party areas aren¹t troubled by the possibility of any broken glass from the more usual green bottles.