- This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated March 11, 2025 at 8:26 pm by
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I think that some of the skippers were surprised to find any wind at all at Puddleduck this morning given that the forecast was for a light Easterly and that usually translates to nothing by the time that it makes its way up towards Richmond. But there was a good zephyr at least – no more than one or two knots but that is all it takes to get the DF95 sailing.
With the Peter Smith Memorial Regatta for DF65’s coming up next week we decided that it would be a good idea to trial the split fleet management system just to make sure that we were on top of it before Saturday. In fact Gadget did plenty of research and planning and of course was all over it and so it ran smoothly today and should be no problems running it for the regatta. Thanks for your work on this Ron!
The main principal used in operating the system is that the best performers from the B fleet are given the opportunity to improve their result by promotion to the A fleet, while the worst performers from the A fleet are demoted to the B fleet for the next round. Thank goodness that it is all managed by a computer spreadsheet which correctly totals each skippers performance.
Running the split fleet system has got some definite advantages and might be worth us considering as the growing size of our fleet at Puddleduck is starting to make it difficult to achieve good sailing on the small pond.
Good features of the split fleet management system are that:
- You are usually sailing in a fleet of sailors of your own ability.
- Most skippers get to sail more than half the races. (Today we only had 8 races but most skippers sailed more than four.)
- B fleet skippers have a better chance of ‘winning’ a race.
- The dam is less crowded which leads to better racing.
- Scratch starting gives skippers valuable experience at this important aspect of racing.
And bad features of the system are:
- If you get ‘stuck’ in either the A fleet or the B fleet then you will not get a lot of racing.
- It doesn’t work for handicap racing.
- B fleet wins are not highlighted in the results.
It is certainly something for us to think about anyway.
Overall today Jammy was again the winner finishing with just 4 points having discarded a fourth position. Bodge was second with a race win and a second place in his total. Rosco and I tied for third place and had exactly the same scorecards after discards were allowed and so regular count back could not split us. This situation rarely occurs! To split the tie it looks like the software has awarded third overall to Rosco on the basis that his position in the last race was better than mine. Well done Rosco! And congratulations to Bodge and Jammy too!
There is a good wind forecast for Saturday’s Regatta. This is the biggest day on the Puddleduck calendar so we hope that you can make it. Remember to bring $25 to cover your entry fee and lunch at the cafe.
Shorty
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