FAQ

FAQ -- Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply for membership?

Do I need to belong to a yacht club?

What is "THE RED BOOK"?

How are the classes divided?

What is a VPRS rating and where do I get one?

How do I enter a race?

What do I have to do if it says its a self timing start?

How does self timing work?

What do I do with my finish time?

Where can I see the results of the races?

This all sounds very interesting and I would like to talk to somebody about it. Who should I contact?

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Can I apply for membership?

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.

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Do I need to belong to a yacht club?

There's no requirement to belong to a yacht club although most members of PYRA are also members of yacht clubs.
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What is THE RED BOOK?

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.

How are the classes divided?

All monohull yachts race under VPRS (Velocity Prediction Rating System)

Class 1 -- Fast group with spinnakers -- Class Flag -- Numeral 1

Class 2 -- Medium speed group with spinnakers -- Class Flag -- Numeral 2

Class 3 -- Slower speed group with spinnakers -- Class Flag -- Numeral 3

Class 4 -- Non spinnaker Class (all speeds) -- Class Flag -- Numeral 4

Within Classes 1 2 and 3 competitors may race in a 2 handed division by declaring entry in the 2 handed division on the entry form. A blue flag should be displayed on the backstay when racing in the 2 handed division.

Multi Hulls race under the MOCRA rating system

Class 5 -- Multi Hull Class -- Class Flag -- Numeral 5

What is VPRS - and how do I get a rating certificate and TCC (time correction coefficient)?

VPRS is a new rating system for ballasted monohull yachts which has recently replaced both IRC and PHHS across all classes in PYRA.

VPRS stands for 'Velocity Prediction Rating System' - which works by predicting the speed of a yacht on various points of sail, in a variety of weather conditions. The average speed is then calculated and used to derive a TCC.

To accommodate visiting racers, a TCC can be issued where some measurements are missing - although the estimating bias here aims to ensure that no advantage is conveyed.

VPRS is entirely measurement based - and has been producing ratings that on average lie within 1% of those issued by IRC. All the information needed to apply is provided on the web site - in particular see the measurement and apply pages.

For members of PYRA the cost for a rating certificate is included within the membership fee 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. Please refer to the VPRS web site for more information and measurement forms. Completed measurement forms should be sent to the secretary with your membership application forms and membership fee. For existing members of PYRA a revalidation form will be issued with annual membership forms.

You will need to do this while your boat is out of the water. (If your boat is in the water our rating officer may have hull measurements for a sister boat which might suffice temporarily). Should you require any help you should contact our rating officer Ruth.  (NB  use your "back" button to return to this page).

How do I enter a race?

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.

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How does self timing work?

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.

What do I do with my finish time?

Results should be e-mailed to: results@pyra.org.uk

Subject should contain:-

Race number(s) - Boat

Your e-mail text should include:-

The race(s) in which you have competed

The name of your boat

The sail number of your boat

The Class in which you have competed

Whether you were entered in the 2 handed division

Your finish time(s) in BST Hrs/Min/Sec

Where possible the name or sail number of the boat(s) ahead and astern

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 direct the e-mails to whoever is compiling and calculating the results for that race without the need for you to track who it is hence the Hon. Records Secretary can have the (very) occasional Monday off ! If you wish to discuss this please phone Ron Gentle01202871038.

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Where can I see the results of the races?

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.

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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:-

Parkstone Yacht Club -- Ian Hayes

Poole Yacht Club -- Brian Thompson

Royal Motor Yacht Club -- Hubert Lea

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Spare01?

Spare02?

Spare03?

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