[Rhodes22-list] The Chili Race

[Roger Pihlaja]

Julie,

Your PHRF rating will depend upon how old your boat is & how it is equipped.
If you have the IMF mainsail & your boat is less than 5-8 years old with all
the elaborate, heavy interior cabinetry & other luxury "stuff"; then, lobby
for 295 sec/mile or even higher if the race committee will give it to you.
Dynamic Equilibrium, my 1976 Rhodes 22 only weighs about 2800 lbs, has a
fully battened mainsail, a bi-radial layout 150% genoa constructed from
composite sailcloth & rigged on a Harken unit 0 roller furler, & it's rigged
for a tri-radial spinnaker.  A PHRF handicap of about 260 sec/mile is in the
right ballpark for Dynamic Equilibrium.  If I understand your post, the race
committee rated your boat at 260 + 17 = 277 sec/mile?  If so, that's just
about right for a newer Rhodes 22 (about 3500 lbs) with standard mainsail,
standard roller furling genoa, & no spinnaker.  Over the winter, work on
improving your understanding of the racing rules, strategy, & tactics.  Next
spring, wet sand the wetted surfaces on the hull, keel, centerboard, &
rudder blade so they are completely smooth & fair.  Apply a a nice smooth
coat of bottom paint over these surfaces & scrub the boat's wetted surfaces
just prior to a race.  Work on your starting tactics & procedures until you
can hit the starting line going full speed, in clear air, right at the gun.
Get your tacks & gibes working so they are nice & crisp.

Over the winter, consider reading the following books:

Fred Imhoff and Lex Pranger, "This is Competitive Sailing, Boat Handling and
Race Management", (SAIL BOOKS, INC., Boston, 1978), ISBN 0-914814-14-1

David Dallenbaugh, "The North U. Smart Course, North Sails Guide To
Race-Winning Tactics and Strategy", (North Sails, Inc., 1989)

David Dallenbaugh, "The North U. Fast Course, North Sails Guide To Sail
Trim, Rig Tuning, and Crew Work", (North Sails, Inc., 1990)

The two North U. books are actually the textbooks from seminars given by
North Sails, Inc. on various aspects of competitive sailing.  North U. also
offers seminars on basic sailing and cruising.  If you are really serious
about racing, consider attending one of these seminars over the winter.  The
textbooks & information on North U. seminars should be available thru your
local North Sails, Inc. sail loft.

Good luck!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julie Thorndycraft" <julie at circle7.net>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 7:57 PM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] The Chili Race


> Just got back from a beautiful afternoon sailing and participating in the
last race (The Chili Run) of the season at the yacht club where we have our
boat. It was also are first race of the season for us - the incentive being
the chili cookoff that was held at the end of the race. Up to this point
we've been content to cruise in our normal 'don't spill my wine' fashion and
not too concerned about how fast we were going or how well our sails were
trimmed.
>
> But the Chili Race caught our attention and my husband was determined to
win the Chili contest with his Skunk Creek Red Chili Recipe so we put in our
entry fee and off we went. The winds were light (6knots) and we sailed on a
beam reach for most of the race which was a simple down and back. As usual
with lake sailing the winds tend to shift and there were times that we
seemed dog-piled in one area - I'm used to keeping about 100' between our
boat and another so when we are within chatting distance with another boat
(5'), I get a little nervous.
>
> Our race results were less than impressive but we had a great time and the
wind/weather was fabulous for this time of the year in Minnesota. Since we
are the only Rhodes 22 at the club, they used some book they had for
guidelines for the PHRF rating - they used a 260 which was the average for a
Rhodes 22 Continental plus they added an additional 17 for 'miscellaneous'.
I noticed in some earlier messages that other Rhodes have been rated at
295 - if we race next season is there a different PHRF rating that we should
lobby for?
>
> On the Chili front, Dan tied for first with his entry and this was far
more important than where we placed in the race - serious competition starts
when there's cooking underway. His prize - a cheap bottle of sparkling wine!
>
> Can't stand to see the season end,
> Julie Thorndycraft
> S/V Blue Loon
>
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