How pursuit scoring works

A pursuit race uses handicaps like a corrected-time race, but applies them at the start instead of the finish. Boats start at different times, slowest first, and the first boat across the finish line wins outright. There is no corrected time to work out afterwards, which makes the result instant and easy to watch.

Staggered starts

The idea is that if every class is given exactly the head start its handicap deserves, all the boats should, in theory, reach the finish at the same moment. The slowest class starts on the first gun, and faster classes are held back by the difference in their handicaps.

Dockside works out each class's start delay with this formula:

start delay = target duration × (1 − this class's PN ÷ reference PN)

The reference PN is the slowest boat in the fleet by default, so the slowest class gets a delay of nothing and starts on the first gun. A faster class has a lower PN, which makes its delay positive, so it starts later. The target duration is roughly how long you expect the slowest class to take, and it sets the scale of the head starts.

For example, with a target of 60 minutes, a reference PN of 1200, and a class on PN 1000, the delay is 3600 × (1 − 1000 ÷ 1200) = 600 seconds, so that class starts 10 minutes after the slowest one.

Setting it up

When you set an event's scoring to Pursuit you set the target duration, a rounding interval that rounds each start time to a tidy number of seconds, and optionally a reference PN if you do not want to use the slowest boat. Dockside then works out the per-class start times. See Set up a pursuit race.

Why run a pursuit

Pursuit racing suits handicap fleets that want a clear, watchable finish. Because the handicap is built into the start, sailors and spectators can see who is winning on the water, and the first boat home is the winner, with no wait for corrected-time results.