Reader Rant

Grow Up!

Antony Barran is the owner of an ILC 40, loves this sport, is tired of the BS, and in this Guest Editorial, tells us just how he feels. -Ed.

Everyone agrees that at the very high end of the sport there is a problem with the systems that drive handicap racing. They do not seem to produce the types of boats that owners and sailors agree they desire.

But frankly, this chasm in the market between the Grand Prix owners and the Grand Prix rules has little on the vast majority of the handicap racing world. And it really matters not, to the future of racing, in the US, if IRC replaces Americap. The problem with racing today isn't that the rules are out of whack with reality. The real problem is that some owners are out of whack with reality. And they're ruining it for everyone else.

Yes, I'm as guilty as most. The rules that drive handicap racing, be them based on performance observations or measurements, are not a silver bullet, as so many want to believe. They are no more perfect than the people that run them. But frankly, they are not the reason why local racing is slowly decreasing in attendance. The reason is all of the bitching and whining that not only occurs, but is allowed. The new National Board for PHRF is a good example of this kind of enabling activity.

Sailing needs to step back, take a deep breath and tell everyone to get a grip...for the good of the sport. It needs to remind people that handicap systems are not supposed to compensate for the maintenance issues, old sails, poor crew work, bad driving and questionable tactics that so many ignore in their ongoing quest to win. It needs to teach people to focus inside their own boat before challenging the fairness of their or their competitor's rating.

I don't care what the rule is; the problem is the same. It is the whiners and crybabies that spend most of their time haranguing the volunteer and paid staffs alike that are responsible for running the rules. Their incessant whining, complaining and protests of competitors only force the handicap authorities to go over the seemingly same ground again and again by re-reviewing and re-measuring boats. It's a waste of time that only makes the whole sport seem petty and weak.

In Marina Del Rey, where I sail, we've had last minute re-measurements and rating hearings before the last two major offshore races (Transpac and Manzanillo). In one case, an owner protested an entrant's rating even though he, the protestor, was neither entered in the race or even sailing under the rule used by that race!

Yes, there are always examples of boats that are treated far too fairly by the rule. It is up to the authorities to watch for them and deal with their ratings in a consistent, evenhanded manner. But it is very difficult to deal with if everyone is whining about the ratings when it's their own program they should be focused on improving.