The Twenty Hundred Club modified its race penalty process for the 2017 season where penalties did not reduce at a rate of 5 seconds per mile each year as they did in past seasons. Members may recall that prior to 2017 the club applied a handicap of seconds per mile based on race results from previous years that were “worked off” incrementally. A first place finish resulted in 15 seconds per mile handicap additional to the PHRF rating for the next year; second was 10 seconds and third was 5 seconds. These penalties were “worked off” at a rate of 5 seconds/mile by racing in subsequent years without placing in the top three.
The modified process used since 2017 was modified in 2019 to split the Block Island Race with separate penalties out and back. The overall BI finish is calculated using the penalties applied to the separate results. The penalty process is administered per below:
- Penalties will be added to the scratch sheet for a particular race in the year following a race if you place in 1st, 2nd or 3rd position.
- The penalty subtracts from your race rating 15 sec/mile, 10 sec/mile or 5 sec/mile for first, second or third respectively.
- This will occur even if you elect to sail in a different class the following year (eg spinnaker to cruising) or at a different rating (one design to PHRF).
- A racer must race to remove a penalty from a previous year – skipping a year’s race will not eliminate the prior year’s penalty.
- There is no “persistence” in the penalty. In other words, the penalty for a podium finish will only be assessed for the previous year and for the year prior to that for boats that did not race with the penalty. The penalty is removed automatically after the second year, or by sailing in the race with the penalty. A return to the podium during a race being sailed with a penalty will cause a new -15, -10 or -5 second per mile penalty appropriate with the finishing position of that year without regard to results from prior years. Thus penalties are discrete with a new penalty earned replacing any previous existing penalty.
- Penalties are aligned with a boat/owner pair. If an owner changes boats, the penalty does not transfer to the new boat. If a boat changes hands between two THC members, the penalty returns to zero. Owners with multiple boats who earn a penalty have it assigned to the boat the penalty was earned.
- Penalties for the Block Island race are discrete for the race out and the race back. The overall finish is calculated using the individual races with their respective penalties.
Actual assigned penalties will be posted on the Twenty Hundred Club website Penalties page. Racers are encouraged to check their penalties before each race to ensure accuracy.
