Mark raised it , and it really pisses me off that we in uk use a formula that went to an extra decimal point and then makes a sweeping assessment of crew weight at 75 kgs , I weigh 118 kgs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but have to sail as fast as someone carrying 43 kgs less than me , stick that in the formula and see what fdifference that makes ,
Why in a measurement formula can we not assess crew weight far better and fairly , afterall theres plenty of weight equal lised classes that seem to cope with self regulation in weight declaration and settings .
Texel is no better in that respect .
and with modern rigs there is NO time when extra weight is an avantage .
And before any says it , I find with type 1 diabetes it is extremely difficult to lose weight
I sympathise with your situation, we looked at crew weight adjustment for a person as part of the rating system but rejected it because:
1, How do you ensure the helmsman is the weight they are claiming? (and so handicap?) - put everyone on the scales before each race?
2, How does the race team know what handicap you are on today? Different crew = different rating, after Christmas different rating, mid winter (more gear) different rating, mid summer (light summer shorties) different rating!
3, How do you manage a race series if the handicap for the boat changes each time the crew or crew KG changes?
4, Do you thus impose on the race team to insist that the same crew sail the boat for the series and not get fat at Christmas or thin to get the shorts on in the summer.
5, What happens if you change weight thru a season / series? Do you have to go on the scales before you leave the slipway between each race / day? What happens if it's hot / cold when you go on the scales?
6, Some classes such as the Laser 5000 had weight equalisation systems, do you propose that we insist that each class changes their class rules to implement this - not going to happen!
It would be a nightmare to administer for people entering races – how many people would query / protest for a claimed weight?
Would people turn up early for races each Sunday morning so they can go on the scales?
It would be a nightmare to produce results for a boat that had different handicaps for a number of races in a series.
