New Portsmouth Yardsticks published on the RYA website 28.02.2008.
Some suprises for the foilers and disappointment overall.
http://www.rya.org.uk/KnowledgeBase/technical/pys.htm
Bye for now
Barnsie

Amazing - two years on the trot No 252 has suddenly got faster sitting in the garage over the winter!!!  I'll just nip out and let her know that she'll need to buck up her ideas from April 6th when she will be in the water!!!

The modern Merlin is still a handicap bandit even off the new less generous handicap:

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=140383

Hmm, yet the three Merlin sailors concerned are some of the best in the Nationals fleet and the winners, GT crewed by Olly, have a notable track record in other classes as well.  I was there and it seemed to me they just sailed damn well in the tricky, highly variable conditions and deserved to be at or somewhere near the front. 

That's not to say others weren't sailing just as well, but sometimes conditions just suit a particular class.  Merlins usually do very well at the Steamer, but last year the event was won by a Fireball (windy) and the year before was a Wayfarer (light).

A question regarding Merlin PY No's for those clubs that run handicap races on inland waters or rivers (either Merlin fleets alone, or Handicap fleets with other Classes):
What PY value do you use for your Merlins? Is it justified to use larger PY No's for the older boats, when such boats can be very competitive on inland waters anyway? Any comments?

Hi Nigel
We sail on the sea but have just been knocked from 1019 to 1003, B14's and similar boats have been knocked by similar amounts.

Can't really see why clubs are acting in an arbitrary manner when the handicaps are set by the RYA.  If our very best sailors are sailing with a PY of 1019 then rather than hammer you at club level then surely it is up to the other sailors in your handicap fleet to improve.  There are age related handicaps as well which are recognised by the Merlin fleet and can be applied at club level at their discretion.  See the link below.  But to come way below official lowest handicap seems a little harsh.  It is slipping downwards (officially) every year anyhow

The bottom line is other classes just do not like it up them!
My club has traditionaly set Merlin handicaps at "whatever" irrespective of age of boat cause we are not the best sailors in the club.
Other classes have been penalised cause they are good sailors. 
As we improve guess what they try to alter our handicaps even though the pond is so small spinakers hinder more than help. 
Do they alter the handicaps of those who sail solo no they do not.
Face it we have the best 14 foot boat out there regardles of age or design with active vintage and regional circuits with an accepted method of allowing us to almost sail fairly against 60 year old boats.
Some classes are just envious of the entire Merlin thing, sadly rather than join us they will try to knock us.

So organise a seperate start and race level or with agreed personal handicaps. Not sure of thr logic of Garys' post its seems rather a levelling down is his thesis. Handicapping is a bugger avoid if you can.

My experience of moving PY numbers is that it makes scarcely any differance. At Coppet week regatta (Saundersfoot) the Merlin has sailed off 1000 for 3 years and our results have not been affected at all.

I think if we were placed under 1000 i'd be having words with the sailing comittee as that puts us awfully close to the Fireball but otherwise i'd wait and see.

Setting PY numbers solely using crew skill factor means is most certainly NOT what the scheme is intended to do. If a club I raced at were to do this i would be looking elsewhere for my sailing.

By all means use personal handicaps, but it really should run as a separate series extracted from the main series. Both the clubs i sail at work like this.

At Cookham (R.Thames) for many years we have used the standard Merlin PY No. for handicap races with other Classes (yes, we have a number of races like this each year, along with our usual 'Merlin only' series). It's the same boats racing each time, give or take, but each reduction of "1" in the PY equates to a 5sec longer corrected race time for a 90min race - equivalent to about 5 boat-lengths at 10mph. This would seem to give the non-Merlins, with their stable PY No's, an un-earned advantage.

Here here Nigel!! Sort them Non Merlins out!! (unless I am sailing my OK of course!!!)