January/February, 2003
We need your email addresses (if you have one):
We are trying to drag this club (kicking and screaming) into the
21st Century! If we can obtain usable email addresses from as
many as possible, we can save the club hundreds and hundreds of
dollars (beer money?) that we’ve been spending on printing and
postage. We want to email the newsletter, Notices of Races, etc.
to as many members as possible. Some have asked that we use US
mail to send these items to them and we will continue to do so
whenever requested. However, if you would just as soon receive
club information via email but have not yet provided us with a
usable email address, please do so at doug.riley@mindspring.com. We thank you.
Introduction of Officers for 2003:
Andrew Howell - Commodore… Originally from Sparta, North Carolina.
Graduated from Western Carolina University in 1993 where we beat
Marshall in football on a regular basis. I moved to Charlotte
in 1993 and started working for a manufacture’s rep firm in outside
sales and it is so much fun I am still there. I now live in Denver
in the West-port community. I enjoy spending time with my wife
Lori and my 8-year son Nicholas. Hobbies include power boating
(now reformed), sailing, and golf. I started sailing in the year
2000 with a guy named Henry Ogden. After buying Check Six and
figuring out the difference between a halyard and a sheet I discovered
a new way of life. There is none better than life of a sailor.
I am now the LNKC chairman for the next several years and I look
forward to the future to grow and promote sailing on our Lake.
Rick Rowan - Vice Commodore…Originally from Pennsylvania, I retired
from the Air Force in 1987 and moved to Charlotte. My career with
OYC began shortly thereafter. I began sailing in the early 70s
and started racing in 1975 aboard a Cal 30 on the Pamlico River.
I moved up to the Lake in 1998 and in 1999 bought a B-25 which
I re-named “Phantom”. My objective is to increase the level of
knowledge within the club with respect to racing techniques, sail
trim, boat handling, scoring and race administration. The more
you know and the more you practice the better you are.
Doug Riley - Rear Commodore…From Huntington, WV, in Charlotte
area since 1986…Avid Marshall U football fan…We’re 9-1 against
WCU in our past ten games since 1987 Our beloved commodore must
have taken a long time to get through school…I love sailing and
like golf, snow skiing, and travel …Live in Huntersville with
Sherry Corbett (OYC Treasurer)…I am a recruiter for a very special
niche of software implementation specialists in the Product Data
Management (PDM/PLM) software arena. I also work with a group
named Engage! in Huntersville a name development and product
branding group. Member of OYC since 1999…Discovered sailing in
January of 1999 when a friend took Sherry and I on a bareboat
cruise in the BVI first time ever on a sailboat…Within three
months I had bought a Catalina 25 and competed in that year’s
Pursuit…Been racing on “Life o’ Riley” ever since. My goals for
this year is to see a dramatic increase in membership and in participation.
I also intend to work with the National Catalina 25 Association
to re-establish an active fleet on Lake Norman.
Introduction of Officers for 2003 (cont.):
Marge Burkett - Secretary…I grew up (well, kinda) in Portland,
Oregon, where I developed a love of the out-of-doors and a keen
interest in sailing (on my family's 25 ft, then wood, sloop) on
the Columbia River. I was involved in heavy white water kayaking
from l977 to about l995--more often than I care to remember taking
swims in class 4/5 rapids when the Eskimo roll failed. I am a
divemaster and have pursued that sport since l982. Also, have
been a lap swimmer for decades. When I was not on the water or
in it, I was teaching K/1st grades for 28 years with CMS (BA,
UNCC; MA, ASU). After living in Charlotte for 35 years, I moved
to L.N. where I sail my 27 Catalina and have race crewed since
the late 80's.
Sherry Corbett - Treasurer…Been in the area since 1982, originally
from Miami, FL, and currently managing all aspects of a law firm
in downtown Charlotte. I enjoy sailing for pleasure and racing
on Life O’ Riley. I like to relax by, you guessed it, sailing,
along with gardening and making jewelry. Maybe a few of you will
win a nautical piece I’ve made during one of the upcoming regatta
raffles!! And of course I enjoy entertaining, so I’ll be assisting
Doug and the other officers with all the social events this year!!
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Membership renewals are due!
Many have renewed, many have not…We intend to have the membership
roster for 2003 updated and distibuted after March 31, the end
of the first quarter. Those who have not renewed by then will
not receive notices of races and social functions, or newsletters.
Additional charges for renewal after March 31 are being discussed.
You must be a member in good standing to participate in OYC events.
There is a renewal form on the website at http://www.outriggeryachtclub.org.
We have also included a renewal form with this newsletter for
those who have not renewed as yet and have requested info be sent
by US Mail.
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Report from the Commodore
Wow! How much fun was the Chili cook-off? Hats off to Doug and
Sherry for making the cook-off a success. I am very excited about
this year. We are going to do a few things different and add a
little spice or should I say poker run to the schedule? I have
a great team this year with Rick Rowan as Vice, Doug Riley as
Rear. A fleet of fleet captains Mike, Bill, and Richard. We also
have Sherry and Marge taking care of membership and the money.
This year I hope to see the marine commission moves several of
the shallow channel markers to safer locations and maybe we will
not get stuck on so many shoals. We are also trying to get more
no wake buoys placed around the sailing clubs on the Lake. I will
also be replacing several of the lake marks. Seems that Y and
R decided it was time to retire.
Please mark your calendars! April 27th 7:00 PM @ PYC LNKC ratings
review. If you have any complaints about your rating or someone
else’s. Do you know someone that has stripped his or her boat
or has removed the original equipment and has not noted it on
the PHRF rating certificate? The time is now. In writing, E-mail
me andrewh1@charter.net
Next month I hope to report to all that Lake Norman teams were
successful in the St. Petersburg National One Design regatta.
Got to Go, Happy Sailing!
Andrew Howell, Commodore
LNKC Chairman
Report from the Vice-Commodore…
Another year has begun and it promises to be a good one. We’ve
got a highly motivated group of folks involved in all aspects
of club administration and a whole raft of new ideas. If you look
at the schedule, which is now posted on our site, you will see
we’ve kept the racing at about the same level and have added more
social events to spice things up. Involvement and participation
are the keys to success and I hope our new line up of events will
result in more of both as we move through the year.
The Icicle Series is underway and the results from the first race
are posted on the site. Participation is good and we are hoping
for decent weather for each of the remaining race dates. In keeping
with my goal of increasing the level of knowledge in the club,
I am researching some topics that might be of interest to racers
and non-racers alike. Included in this newsletter is the first
of two articles on the PHRF scoring systems we use. I hope you
find them helpful and informative.
See you on the water.
Rick Rowan, Vice Commodore
Report from the Rear Commodore…
As I noted at the elections held during the Christmas party and
dinner, it is the responsibility of the Rear Commodore to maintain
the reputation of Outrigger Yacht Club as a drinking club with
a sailing problem…My job is to set up the fun stuff. Sailing is
a lonely sport…We need social events to be able to put faces and
personalities to those we spend time on the water with.
The Annual OYC Chili cook-off was held on Saturday, February 1.
Turnout was outstanding! We had close to 40 people attend through
the evening and had eleven (eleven!) entries into the chili contest.
This might have been helped by the fact that if you didn’t bring
chili it cost $5…Doubt many figured out it just about has to cost
more than $5 to make chili! Suckers!
Mike & Danielle Cooney took first place with a rum spiked chili…Is
that cheating? Maybe that’s why everyone liked it so much…It was
gone so fast that I never even got a bite. Don & Marilyn Corey
took second place and Lewis & Diane Rinebold took third. My entry?
I got 8th place, thank you all very much. The margaritas flowed,
the chili was great, and it was good to see everyone out for this
event. See the pictures …The link is on the website homepage -
www.outriggeryachtclub.org .
Our next social event is to be the annual Frogmore Stew, the event
made famous by Chester and Susie Davis. Shrimp, sausage, potatoes,
corn, and whatever else we might find laying around the shanty
go into this incredible lowcountry dish. We’ll provide beer, wine,
and sodas…Dick Walker has threatened to make daiquiris as well.
$10 per person - this stuff ain’t cheap! We’ll meet at the Mariner
Villas clubhouse at 6:30PM on Saturday, March 29 - PLEASE NOTE…the
original date was set for March 8 - this was listed in the website
at first but has since been changed to the 29th. This is to allow
us to present awards for the Icicle Series and for the Top Gun
(to run earlier that day). A notice is posted at www.outriggeryachtclub.org and will be sent out in early to mid-March.
Report from the Rear Commodore (cont.)…
We haven’t had any events to coincide with the series race. We’ve
moved the Frogmore to allow it be the social event to end the
Icicle Series and the Top Gun. We plan to have a poker run (yes,
an actual non-racing on-the-water event!!) and barbeque (BBQ?
Bar-b-que?) on May 24th where we’ll present the awards for the
Spring Series. We’re also planning an Oyster Roast after the last
race of the Fall Series. The date will depend on whether or not
there is a make-up race involved. More info to follow…
Respectfully,
Doug Riley, Rear Commodore
PHRF - THE BASICS
by Rick Rowan, OYC Vice Commodore
Not too long ago I was told that it would be helpful if I wrote
an article for the newsletter explaining how the Performance Handicap
Racing Fleet (PHRF) handicap system works. Even though the basics
of PHRF Time on Distance (TOD) scoring are not too difficult to
understand, an explanation every so often for the benefit of new
racers is a good thing.
It can be safely said that more than 99% of all keelboats will
be PHRF rated at one or more sailing locations around the world.
When a new boat is built, the manufacturer assigns a suggested
PHRF handicap, a two or three digit number that must be a multiple
of three, to the boat based on speed tests. The boat is then marketed
with hopes that it will be a big seller. As the boat appears at
sailing venues, the local rating organization can accept the suggested
rating or modify it based on the boat’s performance in various
events. Thus, each rating organization establishes the PHRF ratings
for all boats that participate in events at that location. Here
on Lake Norman, the official rating organization is the Lake Norman
Keelboat Council (LNKC). We also have unofficial ratings for boats
that participate in OYC events but do not have an assigned LNKC
rating. The official PHRF handicaps for the various sailing locations
in the United States are published annually and the book can be
purchased from the US Sailing Association. Unfortunately, the
consolidated information is not available on the web, although
some rating organizations do have their handicaps posted on their
sites.
Ok, so how does it work? The PHRF handicaps assigned to various
boats represent the speed differential in seconds per mile between
the boats, with the boats having the lower numbers being faster.
For example, a boat rated 150 would be scored as being 24 seconds
per mile faster than a boat rated 174. It must be understood that
PHRF ratings assume that all skippers are equally skilled sailors,
all boats and sails are in race condition, and all courses are
windward leeward with good breeze. Since PHRF is a seconds per
mile handicap relative to other boats, it is primarily used to
correct finish times based on the number of course miles sailed.
This is referred to as Time on Distance scoring.
Time on Distance (TOD) scoring. The basic time on distance formula
to convert race elapsed time to a corrected time is “Corrected
Time in seconds equals Elapsed Time minus [PHRF rating times course
distance in miles].” In math terms that is:
CT = ET - (PHRF * D)
where CT = Corrected Time in seconds
ET = Elapsed Time in seconds
PHRH = Rating in seconds per mile
D = Course length in miles
Example: The two boats above start at the same time, sail a five
mile course and both cross the finish line exactly one hour (3600
seconds) later. Who won? Here’s the math.
CT(150) = 3600 - (150 * 5) CT(174) = 3600 - (174 * 5)
= 3600 - 750 = 3600 - 870
= 2850 seconds = 2730 seconds
= 47 min 30 seconds = 45 min 30 seconds
PHRF - THE BASICS (cont.)
The 174 rated boat beat the 150 rated boat by 120 seconds. Since
they both crossed the finish line at the same time, the time difference
turns out to be the 24 seconds per mile rating difference times
the five miles they raced (24 * 5 = 120).
The real beauty of TOD scoring is that if you know your rating,
the rating of the boat your sailing against, and the distance
you’ve both sailed, you can determine who is ahead at any mark
of the course or who won at the finish line by simply multiplying
the rating difference by the course distance both boats have sailed,
and comparing that to the total time between when the boats rounded
the mark or crossed the line. The boats are even when the faster
rated boat is ahead by the number of seconds equal to the rating
difference times the course distance sailed. Sounds simple and
it is. However, there is bad news. TOD scoring assumes that sailing
conditions are constant and optimum for every race and does not
account for variable wind speeds, or the nature of the course
(i.e. reaching vs. windward-leeward). Could there be a better
way? Some clubs have adopted time on time scoring to account for
variable conditions on the course. Unfortunately, this scoring
method is not as straight forward as TOD scoring. If you are interested
in learning more about Time on Time (TOT) scoring, tune in next
month. A word of warning though, next month’s article will be
more technical than this one as we try to unravel the mysteries
of TOT scoring on Lake Norman.
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What do YOU want out of this club?
We have noticed dwindling membership and participation in racing
and social events over the past couple of years and wonder what
is happening? Has interest in racing dropped? Is there just too
much on the calendar? Are we too racing focused? Too social focused?
This is your club…We’re spending your money… Let us know what
you want from us.
SOCIAL
We now have: The Chili Cook-off, the Frogmore Stew, and various
parties after Regattas. We will be putting together a Poker Run
and BBQ for after the Spring Series and an Oyster Roast for after
the Fall Series. Would you like to see more social events? On
the water? Off the water?
Examples:
-- A bowling night?…
-- Golf outing?…
-- Ski trip?…
-- Football watching party?
-- Overnight cruise cruise and anchor overnight?…
-- Would members be interested in participating in an Adopt a
highway program? Other community
service?…
-- How about raft-ups?…We’re planning a Cheeseburgers in Paradise
raftup/cookout for June 21
-- Educational seminars re Racing Rules, Race Management, How
to sail? How to race?…
-- Swap meets, maybe in conjunction with the other clubs on the
Lake?…
-- Other ideas, please!
What do YOU want out of this club?(cont.)
RACING
We now sponsor: The four series races (Icicle, Spring, Wednesday
night, and Fall), Top Gun, The 150 Bridge Race, The Sailing for
Huntington’s Disease Regatta, and the Commodore Cup. We’re also
active in the Pursuit, the Hospice Regatta, and the Wilmer Cup.
The Summer Twilight series is also open to OYC members as are
all lakewide events sponsored by other clubs.
Not enough sailing? Too much Sailing? Not enough regattas? Too
many regattas? Not enough series? Too many series? Do you like
the Spring and Fall Series race formats or would you rather have
another regatta (or two)?
Would there be interest in more cruiser’s races? A specific cruisers
class (Spin/Non-spin/Cruiser)?
We really would like to get participation up…the only way we see
to do this is to provide activities that the membership wants.
PLEASE let us know what you would like to do. Feel free to call
Doug Riley @ 704-947-0470 or via email at doug.riley@mindspring.com .
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Upcoming Events:
The race schedule listed in the website is now up to date and
lists social events as well as races, meetings, available educational
opportunities, etc.
March 1 Icicle Series Race #3, 10:30AM, Marker 2
March 8 Icicle Series Race #4, 10:30AM, Marker 2
March 9 Icicle Make-up (Race #1 / others?)
March 15/16 Keelboat Mid-Winters/One Design LNYC
March 29 Top Gun / Board Meeting / Frogmore Stew
April 5 Spring Series #1, 10:30AM, Marker 2
April 12 Spring Series #2, 10:30AM, Marker 2
April 26 Spring Series #3, 10:30AM, Marker 2
April 27 LNKC Ratings Review, PYC 7PM
May 3-4 The Pursuit Regatta
May 7 Wednesday Night Series #1
May 10 Spring Series #4
May 11 Spring Series Make-up (if necessary)
May 14 WNR #2
May 17 Spring Series Make-up (if necessary)
May 21 WNR #3
May 24 OYC Poker Run and BBQ
May 28 WNR #4
May 31-June 1 Hospice Regatta