There
are two primary grades of membership, full membership, and crew
membership.
Full
membership is open to owners of bona fide yachts, there are certain
safety requirements which these need to satisfy, in particular, that
the yacht is seaworthy, has a SSSN equal to or greater than 20 for
cross-channel and night races, and carries certain safety equipment. (Cross Channel and Night Races are ORC Category 3 while day races are ORC Category 4, see the links page for full requirements). A life
raft is required for cross-channel races. (See section 3.0 "Safety"
of THE RED BOOK).
The
owner, by signing the membership application form, warrants that the
yacht fulfils these requirements.
Crew
membership is open to non-boat owners. Crew members receive all the
association mailings including a copy of THE RED BOOK.
Secondary
grades of membership are, temporary membership, which is open to
visiting yachtsman to enable them to complete in a maximum of two
weekends racing, and honorary membership.
To
apply for membership contact the secretary by email
secretary@pyra.org.uk or
download an application form from the PYRA section of this website
“Membership Form”.
This
is the handbook and program and is issued each year. It includes
officers and constitution, sailing instructions and notice of race,
social, trophies and prize giving. It is essential to carry a copy
of THE RED BOOK on board. Additional copies can be purchased from
the Secretary.
Historically
there was also THE BLUE BOOK, THE RED BOOK was printed in red ink
while the BLUE BOOK was in blue ink. THE BLUE BOOK contained the
constitution and was subsequently incorporated into THE RED BOOK. THE
RED BOOK is still printed in red ink.
The
THE RED BOOK may be viewed on the PYRA section of this is web site.
Class
1 -- IRC rating of 0.931 and above, Class 2 -- rating 0.930 and
below.
Class
Flags Class 1-- Numeral 1, Class 2 -- Numeral 2
Classes
3A and 3B race under PHHS handicap and in addition there is a penalty
of 1% per crew for carrying more than two crew members over the age
of 15 on the date of the first Class 3 race in the current year.
Class
3A PHHS handicap of 0.866 and above, Class 3B handicap of 0.865 and
below.
Class
Flags Class 3A – International flag "A", Class 3B --
Numeral 3
Class
1 and 2 boats may race in Class 3 with a PHHS handicap,(perhaps
without a spinnaker and No 1 genoa for more harmonious short-handed
family sailing)!
There
is no charge for a handicap certificate and it is valid for the
current year.
A
new certificate must be obtained each year.
As
in all rating systems a number of leading hull and sail dimensions
are required. On the PYRA section of this web site go to the tab
marked "Handicap Forms" and download the forms, or contact
the secretary. You will need to do this while your boat is out of
the water. (If your boat is in the water your handicapper may have
hull measurements for a sister boat which might suffice temporarily).
Should you require any help you should contact your handicapper.
In
addition to PYRA the main yacht clubs in Poole Harbour have their own
handicappers. You should contact the secretary for the handicapper's
contact details. secretary@pyra.org.uk
The
higher the number the more stable and safe the yacht. The base number
can be reduced v slightly if the yacht satisfies other additional
safety features, for example, no external lockers,full compliance
with certain safety categories. More information is available in an
RYA Handbook G23.
If
you are intending to race in category 3 races, cross-channel and
night races, then an SSS number of 20 or above is required. If you're
intending to sail only category 4 races, coastal passage races or
local day races, then there is no requirement for an SSS number.
and
then go to the “stability list” on the related links to see if
your your boat is listed. If not it may be necessary to talk to the
RORC rating office to see if you can obtain a copy IRC certificate of
a sister boat. The SSS number may be critical on smaller and lighter
craft.
Some
typical values (shown in brackets)
J24
and Melges 24 (9), Mumm 30 (13), Corby 29 (17), First 27.7 and
Hunter HB31 (18), Hanse 300 (20), OOD34 and Bavaria 32 (24), Sigma 33
(25), Contessa 32 (29), Nicholson 32 (36), Sadler 34 (37).
There
are two primary ways to enter, firstly by signing up on one of the
entry forms posted on the noticeboards at Royal Motor Yacht Club,
Poole Yacht Club, and Parkstone Yacht Club, and secondly by sending
an email to the secretary. There is a prescribed preferred layout of
the email in THE RED BOOK, section 2.0 conditions of entry, race
entries. Entries must be received by noon on Wednesday for a
Saturday or Sunday race, and by noon on Tuesday for a Friday race.
There
is a third way to enter, by making line entry, this however should
only be used as a last resort for unforeseen situations rather than
making up for laziness of not entering by the other methods.
A
line entry is made by calling up the PYRA committee boat and advising
them that you wish to make a line entry, your sail number, boat name,
your class, and if class 3, the number of crew. Please be mindful of
the start boat who are probably short of manpower and may be,
anchoring, already in a starting sequence for another class, and have
enough to do without additional radio transmissions. There are some
races which traditionally have a lot of starters and for these line
entries are not allowed, this will usually be noted in the race
programme.
What
do I have to do if it says its a self timing start?
You
will have to select your own start time within the time limits stated
and to declare this at the same time that you enter. You then cross the start line on or after the declared start time.
Most,
if not all races finish on unmanned finish lines defined by two
points/buoys forming a transit with one of the points/buoys and an
outer distance market forming the line to be crossed.
The
skipper is required to take his own time when the bow reaches the
line. The time should be to the nearest second and should be based
on an accurate watch or clock. The time required is BST in hh:mm:ss.
Watches should be set to GPS time, radio transmitted time from
Anthorn Radio Station in Cumbria (used to be Rugby until March 2007)
used in clock and watch synchronisation, or the pips on FM radio,
(not digital radio or digital TV). A note should be made of the name
and approximate finish time of that boat in front and behind. The
time of passing through mid course gates (when specified), with that
of the boats ahead and behind should also be recorded so that in the
event that there are no finishers results can be calculated based on
the time of passing through the gates.
You
can use this link to check the seconds on your watch, (it states that
it is accurate to within a second, but will not be as accurate as a
radio synchronised clock or watch, also give it about a minute for
the time to settle down), (the hours are wrong because the signal is
coming from Germany)
http://www.ptb.de/en/zeit/uhrzeit.html
At
away destinations the times should be given to the class captain so
that provisional results may be calculated. You should keep a copy of
these times to phone in or e-mail to the record's secretary as this
must be done by 1800 hrs on the day following return despite giving
the class captain the times.Remember
to bring them ashore after the race!
Failure
to advise the records secretary of your finish time by 1800 hrs will
result in a "did not finish" result.
Where possible the name or sail number of
the boat(s) ahead and astern
If you raced in classes 3 or 4 - you must
advise how many adult crew (anyone over 15) were on board
If
you raced in Classes 1 or 2 Two handed series (maximum 2 crew)- you must include this information
The time limit for notification to the
records secretary is 18.00 on the day following the race or group of races, so
for a weekend away, eg Friday to Sunday the latest time to get your result in
is 18.00 on the Monday.
Note that where results have been
collected by class captains and provisional results have been announced at a
rendezvous you are still required to notify your result to the records
secretary.
Late or incomplete information will mean
that your result(s) will not be included.
No access to e-mail—lets talk
Why do we want to do it this way?
We want to get
the results onto the website in a reasonable time. By using the
results@pyra.org.uk address the information is recorded in a way that should be
difficult to misinterpreted and our webmaster can directthe e-mails to whoever is compiling and
calculating the results for that race without the needforyou to track who is it is—hencethe Hon. Records Secretary can have the (very) occasionalMonday off ! If you wish to discuss this please phone Ron Gentle01202871038.
Results
are posted on the PYRA notice boards at Parkstone Yacht Club, Poole
Yacht Club, and Royal Motor Yacht Club, and also on the PYRA section
of this web site.
This
all sounds very interesting and I would like to talk to somebody
about it. Who should I contact?
Any
of the PYRA officers will be more than happy to talk to you, however,
in the first instance you should contact the secretary by e-mail at
secretary@pyra.org.uk to
obtain contact phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Phone numbers are
omitted from this web site to avoid nuisance calls and phishing.
At
each of the main clubs there is a PYRA representative:-
