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RACING

Bucket Ratings

For the 2008 Superyacht Cup in Antigua, the same system used by the St Barts Bucket and the Newport Bucket will be introduced.

The goal of the Bucket Rating system is to provide starting times that result in the entire fleet converging on the finish line at the same time, and do this for a variety of courses in any wind speed. This is a tall order and can never be met to perfection. But, we are starting to come very close, at least for those boats that are reasonably well sailed.

The key is to have a rating system that understands the speed of a boat at all points of sail and in all wind speeds. This kind of system is generally called a velocity prediction program (VPP). This is a scientific method calibrated by tank tests of hulls and wind tunnel tests of sails. We use the VPP developed by Jim Teeters, now the Associate Offshore Director at US SAILING. To keep the rating process simple for the competitor we limit the inputs to the bare minimum that effect performance: length, weight, draft, ballast, rig and sail characteristics. A singe page entry form provides this data.

Bucket boats are not, by any stretch of the imagination, fully tricked out racing boats. There are compromises. For example, our input sheet asks whether you need to furl your headsail in order to tack. We also observe performance on the water. The fact that Maltese Falcon actually can go backwards as she passes head to wind was factored into her ratings. Some boats have centerboards that are simply not all that effective.

The Bucket Rating is therefore a mix of the technical capability of the VPP and the "observed" performance that occurs in the real world. The VPP is very good at predicting the changes in performance with changes in wind and course. This allows us to accurately transfer what we learn in one race to another race with different conditions. The observed performance allows us make rational adjustments that reflect compromises to race capability. The rational adjustment might be a change in stability if we see a boat excel in light air but struggle in strong winds.

This system is working very well and the results of the 2008 St. Barths Bucket were outstanding: the first 10 of 26 boats finished within 150 seconds of a two hour race, many of them overlapped.

How to obtain or update your Bucket Rating

If your yacht has taken part in the St Barts Bucket or Newport Bucket since 2004 you will already have a "Bucket Rating" which can be updated by providing new information to Jim Teeters, please contact kate@thesuperyachtcup.com for more information. If you are applying for your first rating certificate, please go to HOW TO ENTER and download the application form. Please make sure you provide all the information requested in the form.