# Lack of wind on long distance race



## Maravilloso (Jul 10, 2013)

Hi folks!
today we just finished a 20 Nm long distance race in our club in Progreso
Mexico.
"maravilloso" our boat has the smallest number of phrf in our float.
The race was a 4h 15 m. long, but in the middle of the race, about 1 hour
all the boats were lack of wind.
for this, our competidor got closed about 1m 30 s for the handicap.
if the wind was gone for two or three Hours all the others boats had come by
several minutes.
is there any rule to compensate this.

tks!


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## sailordave (Jun 26, 2001)

Admiral and I did a 16 mile race last month that took 6 and a half hours to complete! UGH. ONE boat got a decent start and hooked into some wind/current and pulled away from the other 3 boats in our class. They finished just under 6 hours; 4 min. before the time limit expired which meant it was a legal race for all boats in our class. At least the last 2 hours were good sailing.


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## foamy (Nov 26, 2012)

Then there was the time in the mid 90's doing a 25 mile (total) upwind downwind course, Dana Point to Newport Beach CA and back. Off Newport the wind died; down coast current was showing SOG in minus numbers even though the sails were drawing. All boats (about 30 or so) dropped out...but my dock neighbor and close race series competitor was spotted anchoring to wait out possible winds. So I maintained my SOGs of about 0.0001 knots.

The race started off Dana Point about noon, no time limit. To make a long story and even longer race short, we both finished about midnight...25 miles in 12 hours. The rest of the fleet figured the race was a throw-out! That one-two finish in class and fleet sure helped our standings, though can't remember how it all ended up. Then there was Transpac in 2007...but that's another story.


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## PaulinVictoria (Aug 23, 2009)

Or this year's Driftsure. That was fun, 36 hours of light winds, strong currents, anchoring in Race Passage before finally retiring in sight of the finish line.
Anyway, I don't know of any racing where racers are compensated for there not being much wind, that's racing for you.


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## Sailormon6 (May 9, 2002)

The portsmith rating system factors in the average windspeed during the race, but it's used primarily for small boats, not for big, offshore yachts.


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## Tim R. (Mar 23, 2003)

Time on time scoring may be a better option.

http://offshore.ussailing.org/PHRF/Time-On-Time_Scoring.htm


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

Unfortunately the faster rates boats will always be victims of fleet compression when the wind dies. It will happen whether the handicap is calculated time-on-time or time-on-distance. Any time the lead boats sail out of the wind and wait for the slower boats to get to the hole, or the wind fills in from behind it won't be a happy day for the lead boats. Over the course of the season, however, situations like that will probably be balanced out by the situations where the faster boats are able to complete the race before the wind dies, leaving the slower boats to drift home, or escape from the hole before the smaller boats, and disappear.

The biggest thing I see when the wind shuts off is that on a lot of boats the crews pull out the snack and drinks and wait for the wind to come back with their sails flopping. It is the boats that stay focused and never give up trying to keep the boat moving that prevail. In my experience there is almost never NO wind, and there are usually opportunities for the crews that maintain a high level of concentration. Light air sailing can be exhausting!


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