28 June 2021 PHRF-NB Meeting Minutes

PHRF-NBMeeting AgendaJune 2021

Date:           Monday, June 28, 2021
Time:          1830

Location:     Bristol YC / Zoom

1. Call to Order – 6:34pm
2. Roll Call: Don Kern, Commodore; Will Museler, Rating Chairman; Roy Guay, Treasurer: Bob Horton, Secretary; Paul Cronin, committee member; Paul Grimes, committee member; Ken Madeiro, committee member; Moose McClintock, committee member; Randy Shore, committee member;  Kathy Rotsky, PHRF-NB Administrator

III.    Approval Meeting Minutes: May 24, 2021 motion made and seconded and approved by members present to accept the minutes reflecting one change as noted.

1. Appeals:
2. a)       Certificate 15987 – Celeritas, Figaro 3, Malcolm Gefter, owner – Appeal attached below. Mr.Gefter presented detailed race results for the races that he had competed in for 2021. He spoke of the reasoning behind request and the actual performance of the boat in relation to the VPP for the boat as well as unique features of the boat which hinder large crews. In the normal wind speed on Narragansett Bay. His presentation included that the foils only come into play at 22 degrees and with 18+ knots of wind. The foils create drag downwind slowing the boat. He indicated that he removed the Code 0 to eliminate the penalty it carried. Comparing it to the Sunfast 3300 he stated that he is at a significant disadvantage with the ratings as well as performance and race results bear that out.

The members present who had observed the performance of this boat agreed that the foils leave a lot to be desired. There is a certain condition where the design will excel which is reaching but not in most conditions on Narragansett Bay. In the 2020 Vineyard Race the 2 Figaro 3’s finished 1 & 2 in class and 3 & 8 in fleet under conditions that the boat was designed for. In the 2021 NYYC Annual Regatta the boats sailed painfully slow upwind as well as downwind and finished last. In the 2021 Leukemia Cup with wind speed of 14 knots the boat again finished last. Chesapeake Bay has the rating set at a base of 45. The Figaro 2 rates 57 base and sails at 69 in PHRF-NB.  After a long and thorough discussion the members present agreed to a provisional base of 48.

1. Ratings:
2. a)       Certificate 15545 – Wink, Graves Constellation, Gregory Anthony, owner. Waiting for sail measurements and needs to provide verification on other modifications that are not clear. Also owner was requested to have the boat weighed. A penalty if weight is not provided the same as sister ship Vela which was 3 sec will be assessed. Decision approved by the members present.
3. b)       Certificate 15924 – Miss Molly, Oyster 55, Greg Morash owner. This boat is in need of a base rating, it compares to a Tayana 52 that has a base of 96 and Oyster 53’s and 55’s. This boat displaces 51,000 pounds and has various cruising amenities. After a thorough discussion by the members present it was agreed to assign a provisional base rating of 90.
4. c)       Certificate 15981 – Midtown a racing, M32, Sam Hollowell owner. This is a multi-hull boat and should be referred to NEMA to obtain a rating as PHRF-NB does not issue multihull ratings. Members present agreed on this referral and to refund his $50.00 application fee.
5. d)       Certificate 16052 – Salty Beach, Laguna Windrose 24, Brian Clayton owner. This design is similar to a Pearson Ensign which rates at 255. After review and discussion the members present agreed to a base of 255.
6. e)       Certificate 16057 – Resolute V, IMX 40 Terrance Arndt owner. The owner submitted detailed information regarding rudder modifications and additional ballast. Based on the documentation presented and discussion of the existing rating and boat design it was agreed by the members present to adjust the rudder by -2 and a +2 adjustment for the ballast. The base rating remains at 42 and all other adjustments will be applied resulting in a sailing rating of 38 spinnaker and 61 non- spinnaker.
7. f)        Certificate – 16069 Montego 25SD Friendship, Kenneth Wainer. The member presented reviewed the design of this 1982 boat and compared to a Balboa. After review and discussion the members present agreed to a base of 228.
8. g)       Certificate -16008 – Dancin’Bare V; Robert Perry Custom Design 63, Jeffery Lichterman owner. Members present agreed to hold this certificate until more information obtained.
9. h)       Certificate 16048 – Wilde Agnes, 1 Design 35 Modified, Paul Grimes owner. There are extensive modifications to this boat designed by Nelson Marek, which was built in 2000 by Carroll Marine. After reviewing the modifications which in some cases reversed back to the original design after the previous owner removed them and the changes in sail design which fall within the original specs it was agreed by the members present to leave the existing base rating and adjustments as is. Paul Grimes recused himself prior to the discussion and vote on this certificate.

1. Old Business:
2. a)       None

VII.    New Business:

1. a)       Rating of Multihulls – As noted PHRF-NB does not issues certificates for multihulls
2. b)       J/35, Seraphim, certificate 15665. Discussion of the current Cruising Headsail Credit Restrictions. This was submitted to the board for discussion base on the referenced boat that currently caries a cruising headsail credit but had raced in BIRW using a rating from out of district and not conforming to our requirements for the cruising headsail credit. It was agreed by the members present that PHRF-NB requirements did not carry over to other districts and could not create a rating issue in PHRF-NB.
3. c)       Meeting – July 26th:  Zoom and/or place members present agreed that Zoom is more practical and encourages greater participation.

VIII.    Adjournment – 8:30pm

Text of additional comments

The Beneteau Figaro 3 is a one design class,designed primarily for offshore,harsh conditions and is meant to be sailed short-handed.Other offshore boats use water ballast like Sunfast3300, this boat has foils like an IMOCA 60.As evidenced in Vendee Globe and Ocean Race Europe , foils are NOT an advantage except for very special conditions of high wind, flat water. Since they cannot be retracted, in TWS less than 16-18Kts, they are a detriment in being drag only and no lift (righting moment) at low boat speeds, pretty much all upwind speeds. The max boat speed is 7.1 Kts upwind only achieveable at 15kts+ of TWS. and the boat must be heeled at 22 degrees to render the lifting surface parallel to water surface and thus useful lift. Downwind speeds and reaching are what the foils are good for but again boat speed must be greater than 14Kts to achieve a benefit and heel must be at least 15 degrees. So typical running with the A sail runner on the boat in VMG conditions produces only drag at TWS below 1518Kt-. Other good condition is with CODE ZERO at TWA of 120 degrees- we have removed the code zero because very little if ANY sailing inshore done at such angles.

  In summary, it is a 33 foot boat with extra drag compared to a “normal” 33 foot boat like a Melges 32 which I had and raced for 6 years. It had a PHRF rating of 60 and seemed quite fare given our results over the years racing PHRF. Our skill level was such that we won the Leukemia cup several times in around the island races, we won the Newport cup several times around the island, won the Conanicut YC round the island race, and was in the top ten world-wide sailing with pro crew sailing the boat One design.

That is all theory, but the results of last week NYYC regatta speaks for itself. WE sailed almost even with the best sailed Sunfast 3300 (BYTE) and better than the poorest 3300(Alchemist) but still lost because of our rating. Byte finished third overall with a 67 rating and all the miles sailed suggests we should have the same rating- —-we are at a clear disadvantage still upwind but in 15+ downwind we have a slight advantage. In over 25 TWS we would have an advantage but it is a very unlikely circumstance.

The results of last season with the boat sailed by professionals in doublehanded offshore configuration showed the SAME result relative to the Sunfast3300. In the New England solo twin race and the Ida Lewis distance race, the Beneteau could NOT beat the 3300 boat for boat as it was relatively light. In the Vinyard race where it was windy (25+) and with reaching possible, the boat could sail its rating. But with the demise of the Olympic doublehanded event, the boat will not sail offshore and for N.B. racing in 25+ will be very unlikely. Removal of the code zero also reduces the boats ability to reach at angles 95-130 where the boat has an advantage.

I know we sailed the boat well because we could match the polar VPP during racing. We had two of the three crew well-seasoned pro crew-Chuck Allen of North Sails and Erica Lush seasoned boat captain of 12M and excellent offshore sailor. The third crew was my wife who has raced for 20 years at pit. She has raced on Swan42, Melges 32 and J 105 One design for 20 years.

In addition to outcomes, it is clear that although we owed time to all other boats in our fleet we were clearly slower by a large margin expected for waterline differences for example compared to Mike Toppa on W43 . Our starts were all good including port tacking the entire fleet after one start and still coming third to the first top mark.

In order to be competitive and motivated, I suggest a rating equal to Sunfast 3300 of 67– and for sure if we just always win which would NOT have happened in the races mentioned- we would have been 4th, happy to change as would be appropriate. I feel the arguments are clear, and my skill level and crew work should have produced a more fair result.

Thank you