How sailing handicaps work.

Line honours and corrected time

Line honours go to the first boat across the finishing line. Handicap racing lets different boats race each other fairly: each boat’s elapsed time (finish time minus start time) is converted into a corrected time with her rating, and the lowest corrected time wins.

Which system, and which number from a certificate, is set by the notice of race. The rating comes from the rating owner — a measurement certificate (ORC, IRC), a national list (SRS) or a published yardstick (PY). We do not publish rating lists; ask your club or the rating owner.

Time on time

Most systems multiply: corrected time = elapsed time × a time correction factor (TCF). A faster boat has a higher factor, so her elapsed time is “stretched” more.

Worked example (IRC): boat A sails 1:30:00 with a TCC of 1.050 → 5 400 s × 1.050 = 5 670 s = 1:34:30. Boat B sails 1:32:00 with 1.010 → 5 520 s × 1.010 = 5 575 s = 1:32:55. B was second on the line and wins on corrected time by 1 minute 35.

The Portsmouth Yardstick

The RYA’s Portsmouth Yardstick gives each class a Portsmouth Number (PN): the higher the number, the slower the boat. Corrected time = elapsed × 1000 ÷ PN.

Worked example: a dinghy with PN 1100 sails 50:00 → 3 000 × 1000 ÷ 1100 = 2 727 s = 45:27. A faster dinghy with PN 1000 sails 46:00 → 46:00. The slower class wins by 33 seconds.

In average-lap racing boats sail different numbers of laps; the RYA formula scales them to the most laps sailed: corrected = elapsed × most laps × 1000 ÷ (PN × laps).

Time on distance

Time on distance gives each boat an allowance in seconds per nautical mile: corrected time = elapsed time − (allowance × course distance). It ignores the conditions, so it suits long races of known length. ORC certificates carry both time-on-time and time-on-distance values; performance-curve scoring, which also uses the wind strength, is a separate ORC method.

PHRF (North America)

PHRF — the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet — is the most common club handicap in the United States and Canada. US Sailing sanctions the regional PHRF authorities, and each region assigns its own ratings, so the same design can rate differently in two regions. A PHRF rating is in seconds per mile: the lower the number, the faster the boat; very fast boats rate below zero.

US Sailing lists two ways to score it. Time on distance: corrected time = elapsed time − rating × course distance (nautical miles). Time on time: corrected time = elapsed time × TCF, with TCF = A ÷ (B + rating); US Sailing recommends A = 650 with B = 550 for average conditions, 480 for heavy air or all off the wind and 600 for light air or all windward work. Some fleets use their own constants — PHRF Lake Ontario uses 566.431 ÷ (401.431 + rating). Your sailing instructions say which method and which constants apply.

Worked example (time on distance, 6-mile course): a boat rated 180 has an allowance of 180 × 6 = 1 080 s = 18:00. If she sails 3:00:00 her corrected time is 2:42:00. Time on time, average conditions: a boat rated 120 has TCF 650 ÷ (550 + 120) = 0.970; 63:30 elapsed becomes 61:36.

National systems

Many countries run their own handicap lists for club racing — Yardstick in Germany and the Netherlands, LYS in Finland, NOR rating in Norway, OSIRIS in France and others. Each owner publishes its own numbers and method. Our free calculator scores ORC, IRC, SRS, PHRF (on the English pages), the Portsmouth Yardstick and any other time-on-time factor; it has no preset for those national systems yet, because we only add a system after checking its formula in an official source. If your notice of race says corrected = elapsed × your rating, use “other time-on-time factor”.

Ties, rounding and live estimates

• Rounding: IRC rounds corrected times to the nearest second; follow your system’s and your SIs’ rule.
• Ties in a race: boats with equal corrected times tie, and the points for the places involved are added and shared equally (Appendix A7); series ties are broken as Appendix A8 describes, unless the SIs say otherwise.
• Live corrected positions during a race are estimates: they project each boat’s current position to the finish. Only finish times give a result — that is why VesselSOS Racing marks them “proj.” and results stay provisional until the race committee publishes them.