Photo: Claire Matches
Last month’s Superyacht Challenge
Antigua
featured close racing in the Corsair Class with
Nilaya
(foreground) prevailing and the ketch
Rebecca
edging
Spiip
on a tiebreaker for second.
superyachtchallengeantigua.com/results
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IN THIS ISSUE
Coming Soon to a Regatta Near You
•
Superyacht Racing News
•
Committees at Work
Rules Corner - Case Study #2 (Appendix SY)
•
Fair Racing — Class Breaks
Faces in the News — Lamberto Tacoli
•
Company Spotlight - Harken
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2019 superyacht racing is off to an exciting start with more great competition ahead.
Last month was highlighted by two successful regattas - the 9th annual
Superyacht Challenge Antigua
and
Auckland’s Millennium Cup
. Down under participation is expected to jump significantly in 2020/21 with the America’s Cup certain to attract a meaningful superyacht fleet.
The
SYRA Superyacht Racing Rules and Fair Sailing
committees had a productive fall and winter. Afterguard members are advised to familiarize themselves with the changes to the
Appendix SY
. The applicable Case Studies and the 2019 appendix are worth checking out in the ‘Rules Corner’ section below. We encourage member participation in our SYRA committees. We are planning committee meetings in St Barths in addition to our Annual General Meeting (more on that below and in follow-on emails to members).
A discussion about
Class Breaks
at any regatta can lead to a lively and even impassioned exchange. You can learn more about all that goes into this challenging process in our ‘Fair Racing’ article.
Fleet Building
is in everyone’s interest – organizers, yacht owners, the superyacht industry and professional sailors. Working together, we can grow superyacht racing by attracting new owners and retaining current participants. The SYRA’s Fleet Building Committee is making inroads. The Corinthian Spirit Class initiative has legs as evidenced by the eight yacht class at the 2018
Perini Navi Cup
, a class debut in Palma, and a six yacht class at last year’s Bucket. Please join us in St Barths as we consider potential initiatives and address the real and perceived barriers to superyacht racing.
We are very pleased to welcome aboard seven new members since the Fall newsletter! I look forward to seeing and hearing from members, new and old, during the 2019 regatta circuit. If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out.
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Peter
Peter Craig
SYRA Executive Director
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Coming Soon to a Regatta Near You
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SY PINK GIN VI -
They don’t come bigger than this in advanced carbon composites. At 54m the Baltic 175
Pink Gin
is the largest carbon fibre sloop in the world and her award winning design and engineering makes her a stand out yacht. She bristles with innovation including two topsides’ fold-out balconies, one providing the perfect picture window in the owner’s suite, the other a stunning entrance into the accommodation lobby adorned with Cuban artwork.
SY PINK GIN VI
will participate in the 2019 St Barths Bucket Regatta
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Photo: Courtesy Baltic Yachts
With naval architecture by judel/vrolijk & co and accommodation and deck styling by Design Unlimited this is a yacht as much at home cruising the oceans of the world as she will be on the racecourse, complete with baby grand piano, pewter-topped bar and two boom-mounted chandeliers when at rest!
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Photo: Tim Wright
21-24 March
34 superyachts are entered in the 2019 edition of the Bucket.There are four strong ORCsy Classes, and a Corinthian Spirit Class will be in play for the 3rd consecutive year.
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Photo: Carlo Borllingi
3-8 June
The 12th edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta presents a new format, with racing extended by one day to allow for any cancellations. Unique courses winding through the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago are an attraction for any yacht owner, crew or guests. The Wally Class returns following a one-year hiatus.
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Photo: Claire Matches
19-22 June
The longest running superyacht regatta in Europe has recorded no fewer than 20 provisional entries months in advance. The 23rd edition will again attract an impressive fleet of superyachts to Palma de Mallorca.
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Photo: George Bekris
25 - 27 July
Bannister’s Wharf and the Newport Shipyard will co-host their New England Superyacht regatta in the legendary yachting town of Newport, Rhode Island. This mid-summer event will include a Corinthian Spirit Class for entrants looking to race without spinnakers or additions to their permanent crews.
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Faces in the News
Lamberto Tacoli
In May, 2018 Lamberto Tacoli took over as the new Chairman and CEO of the Perini Navi Group. “I am extremely pleased and proud to contribute to this project, which I strongly believe in,” remarked Tacoli. “We will continue to strive to make our world renowned brand an even stronger representation of ‘Made in Italy’ excellence.”
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Rules Corner
Changes to the Appendix SY
Staggered start and pursuit racing formats for superyachts creates no shortage of overtaking situations on the race course. In order to minimize dangerous situations when yachts with limited maneuverability are in the process of being overtaken, RRS 17 was modified in the original Appendix SY.
In recent years there has been a fair amount of discussion, and little in the way of consensus, about overtaking superyachts on the same tack while sailing different angles. The original language in the Appendix SY, as it pertained to Rule 17 and proper course when overtaking to windward or to leeward, left room for uncertainty. This then led to some inconsistencies with the application of the rule at different regattas, which resulted in confusion for competitors on how this rule applies.
The SYRA’s Superyacht Racing Committee met in Porto Cervo last spring on this issue and continued the dialogue in subsequent months. The end result was World Sailing approving modifications to the latest edition of the Appendix SY (version 3.1 December 2018), which now includes a definition for ‘
Overtaking’ (SY2.4) and revised language for Rule 17 ‘On the Same Tack; Proper Course’ (SY2.9).
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Version 3.1 of the Appendix SY can be found on the World Sailing and SYRA websites
posted here. As a result of these changes, one of the original 5 superyacht racing Case Studies (#2) required modification as well (shown here) and a new
Case Study #6 was created.
This change will be reviewed during the SYRA’s annual ‘Superyacht Racing Rules’ interactive forum in St Barths on Thursday morning, 21 March. Five members of the Superyacht Racing Rules Committee will be at the Bucket next month. If you have any questions for committee members or would like to provide input on any issues pertaining to superyacht racing rules, there will be an opportunity to meet (see the SYRA Committee section) or you can email us anytime and we will forward to the committee chairman.
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SYRA Case Study #2
Faster Yacht
Overtaking
a Slower Yacht on a Reach
Note: This case study has been revised based on a new definition for
Overtaking
and changes to Rule 17, On the Same Tack;
Proper Course
.
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The Racing Rules of Sailing
apply as changed by Appendix SY.
Blue is a 35 metre yacht sailing on a reach to the next
mark
. Yellow is a 37 metre performance cruising yacht that is sailing almost 2 knots faster than Blue. At position 1, Yellow is on a course to
overtake
Blue to
windward
(see the definition
Overtaking
). Blue is sailing higher in an attempt to encourage Yellow to pass to
leeward
.
Just before the boats reach position 2, Yellow comes within 80 metres of Blue and RRS 17.2 begins to apply. Blue, the boat being
overtaken,
is required to sail her
proper course
(see definition
Proper Course
). Blue bears away to a beam reach to comply with RRS 17.2.
Yellow is the
keep clear
boat under RRS 12 and luffs to a higher course at position 3 to comply with her obligation to maintain the minimum 40 metre separation from Blue. Between positions 3 and 4, Yellow becomes
overlapped
with Blue and then RRS 17.2 no longer applies. Yellow must continue to
keep clear
under RRS 11 and Blue must not sail above her
proper course
under RRS 17.1. Yellow passes approximately 50 metres to
windward
of Blue.
At position 5, Yellow is
clear ahead
(see definition
Clear Astern and Clear Ahead; Overlap
) and is no longer an
overtaking
boat. RRS 17.1 no longer applies to Blue, but RRS 12 requires Blue to
keep clear
of Yellow. If Yellow bears away to her
proper course
, she must give Blue
room
to
keep clear
under RRS 16.
Revised January 2019
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SYRA Committees
Getting Together in St Barths
With many superyacht owners, Captains, regatta organizers and industry leaders in St Barths for the Bucket, it’s a great opportunity for our SYRA committee members get together to refine and confirm priorities for 2019.
SYRA Annual General Meeting
(Wed/20 Mar, 1700 Salle de Theatre)
The AGM will again take place on the Wednesday evening prior to racing. We start at 5:00pm, giving those practicing on Wednesday a chance to get back ashore. We will keep it brief with the meeting ending no later than 6:15. Beer and wine will be served immediately following the meeting, allowing for a quick catch up for the attendees. SYRA members are encouraged to attend!
Fleet Building Committee
(Tues/19 Mar, 0845 Capitainerie 2nd Floor
)
The newest of our committees and one with the important goal of attracting new owners to superyacht racing and retaining those who currently race.
Superyacht Racing Rules Committee
(Wed/20 Mar, 0845 Capitainerie 2
nd
Floor
)
This committee had a productive 2018 as evidenced by the changes to Version 3.1 of the Appendix SY and one new Case Study.
Fair Racing/Handicapping Committee
(Thur/21 Mar, 0845 Capitainerie 2
nd
Floor
)
There is no shortage of issues to cover when it comes to ‘fair racing’, including ORCsy handicapping, course configuration-circular random, scoring wind ranges, OPF’s and class breaks.
All SYRA members are invited to sit in to observe and/or participate in any of these three committee meetings.
Meeting days and time are subject to change. Please check on site.
Current composition of all four committees can be found on the
SYRA website
.
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Fair Racing
Class Breaks
A Challenging Task for Regatta Organizers
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In superyacht racing, perhaps more than other regattas featuring handicap competition, determining proper class breaks is critical to fair racing and the yacht owners’ enjoyment. One reason for this is the exceptional disparity of the yachts, which can put excessive pressure on the handicap rule. A typical fleet at the St Barths Bucket features schooners, sloops and ketches with length and displacement ranges of 30-75 metres and 70-600 metric tons, respectively. Add to the mix the fleet’s speed range, that has in some cases been in excess of 4 minutes a mile!!
____________________
Photo: Michael Kurtz, Pantaenius
‘Diverse’ is one word that describes most superyacht racing fleets. Size is one of obvious factors organizers must consider when determining class breaks.
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No matter what the fleet size, deciding on classes become a very important exercise for regatta organizers. Above and beyond the speed potential and sailing characteristics of the yachts there are many variables that must be considered.
Fleet composition, class size, trophies, the potential for class mixing and safe racing are all important.
The organizer must make decisions based on what is believed to be best for the majority of the fleet, within the constraints that fleet composition presents. It is no surprise that it can be difficult to make every entrant happy with class breaks.
There is rarely consensus among yacht owners, captains and afterguards on the question of large classes with moderately disparate yachts versus small classes with more similar yachts racing together. It is ultimately a subjective decision and many competitors do not have the perspective that includes an organizer’s limitations and all the variables and factors for the entire fleet when presenting their opinions.
Most organizers use a ‘class break worksheet’ to assist with this critical task. With the help of the Rule Authority (ORC), the fleet is presented with critical measurement data that includes ratings, displacement, LOA, DLR, Sail Area/Displacement ratios, to name but a few. An example of that worksheet can be
found here
.
The organizer can then evaluate the sailing characteristics of the fleet, incorporating any limiting factors and other considerations. For the bigger regattas, the ORC and SYRA technical representative use email and/or conference calls to help work through the issues and determine the best option.
For the St Barths Bucket, lessons learned over the years have resulted in preliminary breaks being posted and emailed to captains a minimum of 3 weeks prior to the event. Captains are encouraged to share this with their owners and afterguard members and provide timely feedback as opposed to doing so on site. The accompanying letter spells out the factors and considerations that have been taken into account so there is a general understanding as to what drove the decision-making process.
example from 2017
is posted here
.
To state the obvious, there is no one “right answer” to class breaks. With the many variables and factors to consider, the organizer’s goal is to produce class breaks that will best provide fair and enjoyable racing for the entire fleet.
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Company Spotlight -
HARKEN
Harken
®
is focused on remaining At The Front of the superyacht market and continually designs fresh performance solutions to provide owners and captains with products that allow them to get ever more performance. As superyachts get larger and larger, and are raced more aggressively, the need to have equipment that can manage the loads is essential. Harken salutes the SYRA.
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Let’s work together to develop a stronger, more robust superyacht racing community and enhance the enjoyment of all owners.
Members are invited to join our committees and working parties. Updates on those groups that are active are in process this spring.
Photo: Claire Matches
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Welcome New SYRA Members!
SYRA is pleased to welcome these new members:
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COMPANIES:
- REICHEL/PUGH
- WILLIS TOWERS WATSON
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YACHTS:
- AQUARIUS
- CHILD OF LIR
- NILAYA
- OPEN SEASON
- SPIIP
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Toby Allies
Pendennis Shipyard Ltd.
Jeff Beneville
Willis Towers Watson
Robbie Doyle
Doyle Sailmakers, Inc.
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Kate Branagh (Chairperson)
The Superyacht Cup
Ruurt Meulemans
Hoek Design Naval Architects
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Peter S. Craig
(Executive Director)
SuperYacht Racing Association, Inc.
Bill Tripp
Tripp Design Naval Architecture
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