For those few folks out there who don’t know who Dr. Rules is?… we thought it just might be time to pull him out of the closet. Dr. Rules has earned his self taught Phd designation in the little thing we refer to as the Racing Rules of Sailing. Not really though…, he has a PHD kind-a-like our Mayor has a CPA…he passed the test but he never got around to filling the paper work out or paying his dues. Since only a few folks don’t know who he is and have asked for it, here it is..
NOYC.org: How did you get started sailing?
Doc: When I was 12, there was a city run sailing program (like NORD) where I lived at the time. For $25 your parents could dump you off every day during the summer and, by the way, you’d learn how to sail. After the summer, if you had the aptitude and the interest, the club had a few racing boats that would be assigned to you at the cost of another whopping $25 per year. The sailing director would deliver the boats to the regatta and all you had to do was show up. Once I aged out of the junior program I went halves with my dad (using hard-earned paper route money) to buy a first-year production Laser and it kept going from there.
NOYC.org: What kind of sailboat racing are you into these days?
Doc: One design is the only true racing, but I really enjoy all aspects. Time on the water is precious. I own a couple one designs and a cruising boat and enjoy crewing on some other one-designs and for a select few PHRFers. Unfortunately, the reason most one-design fleets don’t last for more than a few years is that there aren’t many people who are willing to be beaten on a continual basis, which if you don’t have the time to practice or sail a lot of regattas, will happen in one-design. Then you either get better or you get frustrated. PHRF, on the other hand, allows certain boat types to win, regardless of talent, when the conditions or course (point-to-point) fit their boat. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, if that is what keeps them coming back. It’s just a shame when you hear them in the bar afterwards patting themselves on the back.
I’m really saddened as well about the decline of true offshore sailing in this area. Nowadays, anything longer than 10 miles is considered a distance race and that’s really sad. If kids had more opportunity to mix intense round-the-buoys racing with distance racing, they wouldn’t burn-out at such a high rate. There’s nothing like the smell of real salt air, the glow of a phosphorescent wake and not hearing a phone ring for 4 or 5 days to readjust your chi (whatever that is, but my friend’s wife says there’s value in that).
NOYC.org: Not that I’m counting, but you’re a pretty established one-design sailor, you probably beat me two out of three times I’ve sailed against you. But just lately, I’ve seen you slumming in the PHRF fleet, What’s up with dat?
Doc: It’s a combination of the time-on-the-water issue and the opportunity to sail in far-away places. In less than two weeks I’ll be doing my 10th gulf crossing and I can’t wait. I actually used to sail a lot of PHRF with a really fun and fast group of guys but the owner bailed from sailing for some other elitist sport and I haven’t been able to replicate that experience yet. By the way, I think it’s 3 out of 4, but like you said, who’s counting.
NOYC.org: Should the LPRC cut the “A†class rating band off at Zero (exclude both Decisions)? Why or why not?
Doc: That’s a tough question. Tighter rating bands are the only way to simulate one design racing in any handicap racing, but at the same time, tell me the last time you went to the bar after a race they participated in and didn’t try to find out how they did (or Saga before them and Equation/Gauntlet before that). You have to admit there is an allure to boats of that size and speed and if you’re not on one, you’d like to be at least once for the experience. After all, if you are going to lower yourself to handicap racing, accept that there will be people of various ratings. Don’t try to make chicken salad out of chicken droppings.
I find it hard to stifle the participation of a guy who just laid out major bucks to participate at the level he finds fun and challenging. If you think about it, negative PHRF ratings used to be unthinkable, yet now you have more and more of them. I say keep them out of the Challenge Cup but let them play in everything else (so long as they have enough water!). Or better yet, why don’t we eliminate Class D and include the big guys. Who really wants to sail on anything shorter than 30 feet anymore? (By the way, all the people supposedly in-the-know on the NOYC.org message board don’t know of another minus-rater that’s headed to town soon that will owe Little Decision time…)
NOYC.org: Could you name just a few of folks that you think have exceptional knowledge of the sailing rules?
Doc: Unfortunately you don’t really hear of people described as rules experts like you do about their sailing skills, but Walter Chamberlain and Harry Chapman come to mind (just don’t ask Harry a question unless you have lots of time to spare). Fortunately, the reason for this may be that there doesn’t seem to be many protests on the local level, it’s only when it’s turned up a notch at the regional/national level. Besides, someone who is good at rules is usually never in the protest room.
NOYC.org: What is it that you do for a living?
Doc: It sure isn’t writing for NOYC.org…
NOYC.org: Describe your sailing personality.
Doc: It must be fun. I also try to determine what I’m trying to get out of a sailing experience. For my more serious sailing, I’d much rather choose a class that presents a challenge and get beaten by world champions and learn something than a class where it is easy to consistently beat up on a weaker fleet. For the rest of it, I try not to take it so seriously I can’t enjoy it and I refuse to sail with people who can’t have fun. I love to beat people who are more serious yet gain nothing from it.
NOYC.org: Who mentored you or influenced your sailing skills the most?
Doc: I’ve sailed with and against a lot of people over the years and picked up a little from each and every one of them (both positive and negative), but I can’t say I ever had a mentor or single significant influence. In the early years, a lot of it was self-taught and I continue to learn a lot by reading, then taking it out and trying it on the racecourse. You can also learn a lot by watching videos, but not the way most people watch them. Next time you’re watching a Key West or A-Cup video, watch them as if you are a football coach trying to break down the plays – you’d be surprised at what you can pick up.
NOYC.org: What do you consider your biggest racing accomplishments?
Doc: I can’t say I have any really big “skins†to hang on the wall, but I think that I have consistently sailed at a fairly high level over the years. What I really enjoy about sailing is the opportunity to sail against the world’s best and, on occasion, beat them. In one of the classes in the most recent Olympics, I have beaten the gold medallist 10% of the times I raced him and beaten the silver medallist 20% of the time. So what if it has only been over 10 races, I’ll never forget those races!
NOYC.org: Do you belong to a Yacht Club or Sailing Association?
Doc: Yes, the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club. Seriously, I don’t think the differences between clubs are that material, so long as you join AND PARTICIPATE in the one you choose to join. After that, it’s just a matter of getting what you pay for – do you want the pool and restaurant or not. I also belong to US Sailing and two one design classes.
NOYC.org: Who do you consider to be the top sailors at SYC and why?
Doc: Tommy Meric (a natural sailor combined with a technical mind), Johnny Lovell (very driven), Scotty Sonnier (anyone who can make a Flying Scott move, much less go fast, deserves credit), Marc Eagan (or is he a BWYC member?), Howard Cromwell (on the wire), Kyle Smith (great sailor while also the best crew morale officer you could imagine). Finally, I’m not sure which club claims him (is Fountainbleau YC still active?), but Luther Carpenter fits in here somewhere.
NOYC.org: Do you race on Wednesdays nights or play bingo?
Doc: I used to live for Wednesday nights, but it’s harder with a wife and kids, even if the wife is a good sailor. I think we’re going to enter the cruising boat in some races after school is out, but my kids will do all the post-start steering (I bet they don’t hit anybody…). As for bingo, I only use cards that have O-69.
NOYC.org: Who do you consider to be the top sailors at NOYC?
Doc: Benz, for all the obvious reasons (built-in telltales for one), Tom Baker, all the Brennans, Scott Tongius
NOYC.org: Who are the top sailors in the GYA?
Doc: All the above qualify, but you’d have to add John Dane, III, Hunter Riddle, Zane Yoder (remember, you only asked about good sailing ability)
NOYC.org: What do you think stunted your growth?
Doc: Too much sex and an above-average gravitational pull.
NOYC.org: Thanks for all that you have contributed to NOYC.org. Any closing comments?
Doc: Thanks for asking. As I said recently, I’ve easily learned as much as I have “taught†while writing these, so I’ve really enjoyed it.
