As you may know, since 1973 US SAILING has endorsed the North American Portsmouth Yardstick as an empirical handicapping system to provide equitable scoring of different boats sailing the same course. Based on the Dixie Portsmouth Yardstick this system used two or three digit handicaps, with the option to use an adjusted handicap based on the wind speed or “Beaufort Number.”
In 2020, US SAILING has decided to move away from the traditional US SAILING Portsmouth Yardstick for Portsmouth scoring (Dixie Portsmouth Numbers) to the Royal Yachting Association’s Portsmouth Yardstick. Although the scoring formulas are similar for both systems, there are some significant differences:
- The US SAILING PY relied on modification and updates through its volunteer Portsmouth Committee, the RYA PY relies on PYOnline which is an online portal for clubs to submit and manage data for their sailors.
- US SAILING PY uses two or three digit handicap factor, the RYA PY uses a three or four digit handicap factor, as such the scoring formulas are VERY different. In general, most US SAILING PY DPN ratings can be converted to RYA PY ratings by multiplying the DPN by a factor of 11.58. In other words, you can’t mix the RYA and US SAILING ratings, pick either one or the other.
- The US SAILING PY used various BN factors to adjust the handicap factor based on wind speed, the RYA PY uses a single handicap factor regardless of wind speed.
- The US SAILING PY table contains 1,696 boat models, the RYA PY table contains 97 boat models.
Without going into the “why’s” (see https://www.ussailing.org/competition/offshore/portsmouthyardstick/ for details) we will just deal with the “hows.”
CHANGES
Regatta Network has converted the existing US SAILING PY table to include the RYA rating for all 1,696 boats. As such, in Regatta Network, you ‘ll now have the option to use:
- The existing US SAILING PY DPN based on the current (2017 US SAILING Portsmouth Table) with BN factors. (HOW TO: On the scoring options tab of the Edit Event Information console, only list the classes to be scored with Portsmouth. Entrants will choose their rating from the lookup with BN factors).
- The US SAILING PY DPN based on entrant entered rating. Note: all entrants need to enter the US SAILING DPN, not the RYA rating. (HOW TO: On the scoring options tab of the Edit Event Information console, tick the box to “Do Not Use the Portsmouth Database). Entrants will enter the rating of their choice). As the organizer you will need to verify that all entrants enter the appropriate DPN rating.
- RYA PY scoring using rating the calculated rating based on the 2017 US SAILING PY table. (HOW TO: On the scoring options tab of the Edit Event Information console, tick the box use the RYA Rating. to be scored with Portsmouth. Entrants will choose their rating from the lookup with BN factors).
- The RYA PY scoring using an entrant entered rating. (HOW TO: On the scoring options tab of the Edit Event Information console, tick both the USE RYA Rating box and the Box to Not use the Portsmouth Database. Entrants will enter the rating of their choice), Again, as the organizer you will need to verify that all entrants enter the appropriate RYA rating.
For information on joining PYonline and submitting your club's results, please see: http://www.pyonline.org.uk/ we will be posting details on downloading your results from Regatta Network to submit on PYonline shortly.
