An interview with Rob Davis on the 2023 Rally to the Crown

Few sights are nicer than watching a New England coastline slip below the horizon on a fine summer afternoon while carrying a 15-degree heel angle and a cracked-off jib or an off-the-breeze sail providing VMG. If this sounds like good thinking and you live in the Massachusetts Bay area (or don't mind a delivery), the Rally to the Crown (July 21-30, 2023), which is being organized by Hingham Bay Racing, could be your kind of adventure.

The rally-style event features two starts and a single finishing line. The first starting line is off of Marblehead, while the second is off of Hingham, and the single finishing line is off of Provincetown. The return rally features a single starting line, reciprocal courses, and dual finishing lines. Boats can leave anytime from 0700 hours on Friday, July 21, so long as they arrive in Provincetown for dinner at 1800 hours on Saturday (July 22). Then, for the return runs, boats have until Sunday, July 30 to complete their courses, giving sailors time to enjoy P-town or Cape Cod in between passages.

Better still, the event benefits the Center for Coastal Studies (www.coastalstudies.org), which—according to their published mission statement—is dedicated to "preserving and protecting marine ecosystems and the coastal environment through applied research, education and public policy initiatives."

I checked in with Rob Davis, regatta chair of the 2023 edition of the Rally to the Crown, via email, to learn more about this fun-minded distance-sailing event.

Can you please give us some background on the Rally to the Crown, its history, and where the event gets its unique name...especially in the state that sparked the Revolutionary War? Or, does this moniker not pertain to the monarchy?

I developed the idea for the race over the past year and a half. It was in response to the drop in handicap racing in Mass Bay, which is about 70 percent over the past ten years.

My take on the situation was that bigger-boat sailors were looking for family time, as they try to work their boats into the kids' baseball, soccer, dinghy racing and math-camp commitments. It was also clear to me that people are looking for distance events, rather than buoy racing.

We came up with the name "Rally to the Crown," because the Crown and Anchor is a recognizable landmark that everyone likes to go to. The Crown has a terrific pool area, which overlooks the beach and the harbor. They have gone out of their way to be nice to us.

How many participants are you expecting this year?

From the outset, I was thinking that ten boats would be a major win. I am now told to be prepared for a lot more than that, which would be a great outcome for Mass Bay handicap racing and for the Center for Coastal Studies.

How competitive of an event will this be? I note the word "rally" in the event's title, but I also see that you guys are using ORR-EZ, not PHRF...wouldn't PHRF equate to a lower barrier of entry? Or, have most racer/cruiser to cruiser/racer boats in your area switched to ORR-EZ ratings?

I am told that ORR-EZ is easier to set up and more accurate than PHRF. We have not had any complaints about using ORR-EZ instead of PHRF, and we have a personal guaranty that the ORR-EZ certificates can be put together in short order.

Can you please tell us a bit more about the time trial format that the event is using? Will there be RC boats in both Marblehead and Hingham to record the starts, or are boats employing the honor system?

Logan Greenlee, who is a skilled sailor, aviator and programmer, has cooked up this scheme. My layman's understanding is that he can access wind and current data for the period that each boat sails the race, develop an idealized time based on the ORR-EZ rating, and then correct against actual performance. This is similar to a constructed course rating.

There will be two starts, one in Marblehead and the other in Hingham, and boats will converge in Provincetown. On the return, there will be one start and two finishes. This set-up lets us run the race in this format, fairly.

Each boat will provide its start and finish time to the RC for scoring. We have encouraged people to use tracking software, which has become relatively cost-effect and easy to set up.

What kinds of onshore entertainment is planned once the fleet reaches P-Town?

The Crown and Anchor are hosting dinner and awards on Saturday, 1800 - 2000 hours. There will be a cash bar at the Crown in Saturday, 1600 - 2000 hours. They are also providing grab-n-go breakfast boxes, on Sunday, 0630-0800 hours.

The Center for Coastal Studies will be at the Crown to talk about their work and promote their rescue and research efforts.

The Center for Coastal Studies is a great organization. Can you please tell us a bit more about how the event selected this organization as its beneficiary? Or, was the event built around creating this sponsorship?

The Center for Coastal Studies does important work in protecting and rescuing the whale population and in marine research. My hope is that this event is successful enough to make a meaningful contribution.

Every sailor takes the environment seriously, because it's the right thing to do. It's a natural fit, at least in my imagination, for the sailing community to support the CCS.

Can you please tell us about any steps that the rally is taking to try and lower its environmental wake?

The event is paperless, including registration, protest forms, reservations and so on. Even the merchandise is drop-shipped from Team One [Newport], which is a major reduction in the carbon foot print.

RRS 47 scarcely needs mentioning, because every sailor I know is already hyper-sensitive to protecting the ocean.

Is there anything else about the Rally to the Crown that you'd like to add, for the record?

Let's hope that this event catches on. It's good for Mass Bay racing, families and the Center for Coastal Studies. It's also good for Provincetown, which has outstanding transportation links and a well-protected harbor. The town needs more sailboats.