502 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 30, 1907. 
The Handicap Class. 
To those yachtsmen who have watched the 
evolution of the yacht racing rule, the present 
system of handicapping boats has proved an in¬ 
teresting topic of discussion. A year ago the 
handicap yacht racing class was organized with 
Mr. G. P. Granberry as President, H. A. Jack- 
son as Secretary, and Dr. J. B. Palmer as 
Treasurer. The object of forming such a class 
was to so rate a boat that if persistently raced 
she was sure to win one or more prizes during 
the season. It was not intended for the latest 
built boats, the up-to-date thin-skinned racer; but 
was a consolation class, as it gave any old boat, 
outclassed by recently-built ones, a chance to 
compete with an equal show of winning. 
A number of years ago- the Yacht Racing As¬ 
sociation of Long Island Sound was established 
for the purpose of. bringing boats from all the 
different yacht clubs under one system of 
measurement. Heretofore each club measured 
its boats by a different rule; a home-made, rule- 
of-thumb kind of affair that did very well when 
the boats were all of similar models, but when 
every man on the Sound tried to get a different 
kind of a boat from that of his neighbor, trouble 
was sure to follow, and it did. 
The association adopted a rule as fair to all 
as it was thought possible to classify such a 
mixed-up lot, but it was like trying to frame a 
rule that would, by some formulae of measuring 
the lengths of their legs, give equal chance in 
a race between an elephant, cat, pig and a giraffe. 
It showed at once that each different species 
could only fairly race with one of its own kind. 
So schooners raced in one class, sloops in another 
and cats in another. They were subdivided into 
classes by lengths. They had good, fair racing 
because, as we might express it, horses raced 
against horses, pigs against pigs and cats against 
cats. But what happened? Five or six men 
started raising racing butterflies (call them 
dories if you please) ; another set of men bred 
a special line of spotted pigs and then declared 
they were not common pigs and must be raced 
by themselves. Others bred racing stock of deer 
or 1 ostrich, long-legged, light and powerful 
creatures that easily distanced the common lot. 
Sib the judges sat in judgment on their case 
and each class of animals became subdivided 
into racing dogs, house dogs, working dogs, plain 
dogs, etc. The rules that started out to be a 
good Samaritan toward all beasts found, like the 
railway agent that had to care for a crate of 
guinea pigs, that they multiplied far faster than 
he'could build crates to hold them. 
Look for instance at any of this year’s race 
programmes. The whole idea of forming the 
union was to simplify matters, yet here we see 
regular classes, raceabout classes, knockabout 
classes, and special classes for the same size of 
boats. Take, for instance, a Larchmont 21- 
footer ; those boats are eligible for the 27ft. 
regular class, the regular raceabout class, their 
own 21 ft. class, or the handicap class. Not only 
are they eligible, but they have been doing this 
very thing. Last year the American one-design 
class split up the Maryola racing in the second 
division of the handicap class. Rascal went in 
the 27ft. class and Kid raced in the raceabout 
class. Surely something is wrong. It does not 
seem to be the manner of measuring the boats 
for the rule has been changed almost constantly 
since the start, so that every one capable of 
formulating a rule has had a chance to “try it 
on the dog,” so to speak. The rule now in 
vogue is far more complicated than should be 
necessaty if such a manner of rating yachts were 
the proper thing; but has not the handicap 
system of racing come nearer to solving the 
question than any rule heretofore tried? 
Does it not give each boat a far better chance 
to receive an occasional reward in the shape of 
a prize won? It certainly seems SO' to us. For 
this reason; a winning boat’s handicap is in¬ 
creased every time she wins, and the losing 
boat’s allowance increased until an average is 
reached which enables the slow boat tO' win; 
then like an automatic machine she in turn be¬ 
comes taxed in favor of less fortunate boats. 
It is really an averaging up which, were the 
weather conditions, etc., the same throughout 
the year, would arrive at a definite handicap by 
the end of one season putting each boat in her 
relative place on the handicap scale. But owing 
to the variations in weather conditions, this con¬ 
clusion will naturally not be arrived at until two 
or three seasons’ racing have been “boiled down” 
to get the average of a boat’s ability in both 
heavy and light weather. The first year’s rac¬ 
ing has, however, produced far better sport, 
for those engaged in it than they could ever 
have hoped to have attained in the open classes 
under the linear measuring rules. 
What show would a heavy, built cabin sloop 
fitted with all conveniences stand against a hollow 
band-box like a raceabout, even if she was about 
the same tape line length. What has length got 
to do with it? What has her cubic contents to 
do with it? Can a horse run fifty miles an 
? - 
hour if his legs are xxVx2xy2x .876 in 
length. But suppose you run that horse over 
a mile course and time him. Then run another 
and get his time. Or as in boat racing take his 
time when he is actually running a race. Can¬ 
not you easily figure out how much faster one 
is than the other? And how much more accurate 
you can figure if, as this rule does, you take his 
average for the five last races. If he does it 
in three minutes and another horse takes four 
minutes, would not it be fair to suppose the fast 
horse could allow the other quarter of the time 
it took him to go the mile. 
If the races are tO’ be won before the boats 
are built let well enough alone; but if it is to 
be a contest between the yachtsmen as to' whose 
ability as a sailor will win, the handicap system 
will give by far the best sport, as last season 
proved. There were twenty-eight races sailed, 
and in those races the handicap class supplied 
178 starters and there were 79 prizes won by 
handicap boats. The accompanying chart com¬ 
piled by Mr. Theo. Granberv shows each boat’s 
performance and is worth studying. 
By far the best publication giving descriptions 
of the various and numerous rigs in use on 
eastern seas is a book called “Mast and Sail,” 
published by Messrs. E. P. Dutton & Co., of 
New York. 
To any one who has read J. Fenimore 
Cooper’s “Wing and Wing,” or W. Clark 
Russel’s sea tales, such a book is indispensable, 
as it brings all the odd rigs described in those 
tales right before one’s eyes. 
* * 
Messrs. E. B. Smith & Co., manufacturers of 
marine varnish, have published a neat little 
pamphlet entitled “Winners,” which is well 
worth preserving, and will be sent to any yachts¬ 
man upon request. 
* « * 
Mr. A. Hansen, of City Island, will build the 
two 15-footers designed by Mr. C. D. Mower 
for racing in Gravesend Bay. 
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TABLE SHOWING RESULTS OF 1906 RACES IN THE HANDICAP CLASS ON L. I. SOUND. 
