POWER FLEET

POWER FLEET NAVIGATIONAL RALLIES: REVIEW OF THE SEASON 2021

BY ELENA MIROCHNIK & CLYDE AINLEY

Navigational rallies, formerly known as predicted log contests, don’t get as much publicity as the sailing races, but have been run for decades by dedicated followers at yacht clubs across North America and around the world. In Fact, Predicted log racing was the subject of a Sports Illustrated article in 1955 that ran with the headline, “Predicted Log Races Offer Power Cruiser Skippers a Combination of Stiff Nautical Competition and a Relaxing Cruise with the Family”. Our Chicago Yacht Club is no exception. We usually run 5-7 contests every season; and in 2019, we hosted North American Invitational contests with captains from across the country coming to Chicago to compete.

Although these contests were created by power boaters for power boats, any type of boat can compete in navigational rallies because the contests are usually run at each participant’s speed, generally in the 5 to 15 knots range.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

For each rally there is a preset course of 12-20 nautical miles. The course has several waypoints (marks) for the skipper to pass in sequence. The skipper chooses his/her own running speed for their boat in advance and predicts the time it will take for their boat to travel from one mark to the next. These predictions can be determined by long hand math, utilizing the distance for each leg on the chart and the chosen speed, but more often skippers rely on navigation software and spreadsheets. The predicted time between each mark and the total elapsed time at the end of each leg is submitted to the Race Committee on a contest form signed by the skipper.

Then the skipper, the crew, and a Race Committee judge board the boat and go out on the Lake to run the course. As they run the course and call their marks, the Race Committee judge registers the actual elapsed time it takes for the skipper to pass each mark. Scoring is determined as a percentage of error between the time the skipper predicted and the actual time the boat took to run each leg. The winner is the skipper with the lowest percentage of error. This may sound simple, but the catch is that no timepieces of any kind are allowed during the contest, and, with traditional predicted logging, skippers must run the course using only their compass and line of sight for direction and engine rpm for boat speed.

However, as with all things boating, technology has infiltrated the sport to allow skippers and their crews to utilize chart plotters, auto pilot, and GPS on one or two legs in each contest. This marriage of traditional navigation techniques with limited use of modern marine electronics adds excitement to the contest, while providing opportunities for skipper and crew to learn how to program and operate their electronics while underway. Even with the introduction of electronic navigation, time keeping devices are still disabled or covered and understanding a particular boat’s handling, turning radius, and reaction to wind and waves remain crucial for accurate predictions.

Participants sharpen their navigation skills, gain better understanding of their boat’s performance, and, most of all, enjoy a day on the water. Contestants coming in first, second, and third receive a brag flag and everyone earns points toward the Club Championship. The Club Champion is determined by the cumulative results of all rallies. The last rally of the season is also a standalone contest for receiving the coveted Nicholas C. Giovan Memorial Trophy, named after storied predicted logger Nicholas C. Giovan, a legend in the sport, who once won all four local trophies and accomplished an unprecedented sweep of all five national trophies with a record 16 wins out of 20 contests in a single year.

In 2021, the CYC Power Fleet organized 7 rallies on courses created by its members. In addition to the traditional navigational skills, marine electronics were incorporated on some legs requiring crews to program GPS coordinates on the fly and track to waypoints with autopilot. The competition was tight but, in the end, both the Club Championship and Giovan Trophy went to Kenn and Loren Wolf and their boat “Noanne”. Congratulations Kenn and Loren! Their names will be inscribed on the Giovan Trophy and a photo of their boat will hang on the Power Fleet wall at Monroe station. Walter “Sonny” Lisowski, captain of “Mirage” took 2nd place in Cub championship, and Clyde and Meg Ainley and their boat “Spontaneous” took 3rd place.

Kenn and Loren also represented the Chicago Yacht Club in San Diego at the North American Cruiser Association rallies this year and took a phenomenal 4th place, only 0.004% difference behind 3rd.

Many thanks to our Wintrust sponsors, the contestants, race committee, and the CYC staff of both stations who worked hard to create a successful 2021 Season at the CYC. We look forward to next season and invite all members, regardless of their fleet affiliation or boating experience, to join the fun and comradery. ✶