How Does HKPN Actually Work - A Simple Guide
Written by Robert Berkley
What is HKPN? A Golf Style Handicap for Sailing!
The Cruiser Owner’s Association (COA) is authorized by the Hong Kong Sailing Federation (HKSF) to run the HKPN system. In a nutshell, HKPN is a golf-style performance based handicap for sailing that allows everyone in a sailing race to have an equal chance of winning. In a perfect world, all yachts racing under HKPN will correct to a similar time. There will normally be a few boats that race better than they have done historically, and a few that will have a nightmare on the race course, but if the corrected times of the majority of the fleet are closely bunched, then the system is working as planned.
How to Get an HKPN Rating
An HKPN can be obtained by submitting an application form found on the COA web-site. These are free to members of the COA but cost $100 for non-members.
How was my Initial HKPN Established?
The HKPN Ratings Committee assesses a yacht’s rating using the information provided on the HKPN application form along with comparisons between boats in other rating/handicapping systems, such as IRC, PHRF or Echo. Sometimes yachts race before applying for an HKPN. In these cases, actual on the water performance will be used for their initial HKPN.
An initial number is issued on the assumption that a yacht is reasonably well- prepared and reasonably well-sailed. If these two criteria are not met, then an initial HKPN will be a little punitive at first. Once a yacht starts racing, her number will change relatively quickly to match her actual performance. If a yacht gets an initial HKPN that is too soft, and she comfortably wins her first race, then the whole fleet that have been regularly racing gets disadvantaged. If a yacht starts racing and ends up mid-fleet in the results, then that would seem a reasonable start.
How is HKPN used to work our Results?
A yacht’s corrected time for a race is determined by the following formula:
Corrected Time = (Elapsed Time x 1000) ÷ HKPN.
For example, a boat races for 60 minutes and has an HKPN of 888.
Corrected Time = (60 x 1000) ÷ 888 = 67.57 minutes (67 minutes 34 seconds).
The yacht with the lowest corrected time wins the race!
How do Ratings Change?
For every race, the HKPN Programme works out the Average Corrected Time (ACT) of the top 2/3’s of the racing fleet. If a yacht’s corrected time is faster than the ACT, then her HKPN will get smaller. Conversely if her corrected time is slower than the ACT, her HKPN will be increased. The HKPN Programme allows greater movement in a boats rating in her earlier races to more quickly reflect her actual performance on the water. On rare occasions, the Ratings Committee will manually change a rating that is overly harsh or too favourable. Changes to a yacht’s HKPN are published at least every fortnight on the HKPN list as soon as an HKPN is accurately reflecting on-the water performance. The latest HKPN ratings can be found here.
Which Races Count?The HKPN Programme only uses the time taken for a yacht to complete a valid race. A valid race incorporates nearly every race held in Hong Kong with results based on elapsed times (class racing doesn’t count, neither do races such as single or double-handed). A valid race is also one in which the wind conditions allow fair results….i.e. when the wind doesn’t die completely and makes the whole race a lottery. If a yacht races under IRC, her times will also be entered into the HKPN Programme and her HKPN will be continually updated so that when she does race under HKPN her rating is accurately matched to her performance relative to other boats.
By Sailing Badly for Long Enough, Surely my Rating will be so Good I Cannot Lose!
If a yacht’s corrected time is more than 110% of the ACT, a poor performance will be recorded and no change to a rating is made. A well sailed yacht should not see her rating unduly affected by a bad day out on the water. If a crew thinks that by sailing badly, a rating will change, then it is worth pointing out that most times the rating doesn’t actually change through poor performance. A string of poor performances can be a result of two things. Firstly: a rating that is overly harsh. Secondly: a crew trying to gain a more favourable rating. Overly harsh ratings get re-assessed. Attempting to massage a HKPN will normally result in a crew just wasting their time on the water, sailing badly and seeing no changes made to their HKPN.
I am not Happy with my Rating. What can I do?
If you are not happy with your HKPN, email the COA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and tell us. The Ratings Committee will look into your race history and if appropriate make a change.
Effective Monitoring
Every handicap system needs effective monitoring and that is one of the most important jobs of the HKPN Ratings Committee. Not many races take part in Hong Kong that one of us is not part of or at least hears about. Everyone who races under HKPN, though, can play a part in monitoring. Every yachts HKPN is based on past performance. Should an owner make changes to his or her boat that will affect performance, than it should be declared. This rarely happens, so please feel free to tell us if you notice significant performance enhancing changes to another boat’s crew, rig, or sails. Under development is a scheme to make declarations of significant performance enhancing changes to a boat mandatory and failure to do so subject to penalty or disqualification from races.
Club Representation
HKPN Club Representatives exist for all the sailing clubs of Hong Kong. Jamie McWilliam (RHKYC), Elaine Morgan (ABC), Andy Pickles (DBYC) and Justin Shave (HHYC) are part of an HKPN Ratings Committee chaired by Jon Zinke which also includes Bo Fussing and Rob Berkley. We keep an open ear to any issues you may have. Alternatively contact us through the COA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Future Initiatives
- Continued close liaison with the RHKYC, the ABC, DBYC and HHYC,
- Simplified HKPN application process,
- Full trial of alternative performance handicapping systems,
- Penalty scheme for undeclared performance enhancement,
- Enhanced feedback loop from clubs and RO’s,
- Fully integrated on-line system for race entry.
A Worked Example of HKPN Progression
Definitions: Average Corrected Time (ACT): the Average Corrected Time of the top 2/3’s of the racing fleet.
Hong Kong Performance Number (HKPN): The HKPN as defined on the HKPN list and the number which is used for calculating results.
Work in Progress (WIP): The non-published HKPN, calculated by the HKPN Programme and updated after every valid race that is not a poor performance.
- A new boat is issued an HKPN of 754. WIP equals initial HKPN of 754.
- 1st race results use HKPN 754. Based on a boat’s elapsed time, the rating that she would need to match the ACT is calculated. For race 1, lets assume this is a rating of 800. HKPN remains at 754 for next race, WIP will change to 800.
- 2nd race results use HKPN 754. Lets assume that the rating that a boat would need to match the ACT in race 2 is 770. The difference between this and the current WIP is 30. 50% of this difference is used to update WIP to 785.
- 3rd race results still use HKPN 754. For race 3, lets assume that a boat would again need a rating of 770 to match the ACT. 33% of the difference between 770 and the current WIP is used to modify the WIP. In this case, the WIP is trimmed by 5 (33% of 785-770) to become 780.
- 4th race results once again use HKPN 754. For race 4, lets assume that a boat would need a rating of 796 to match the ACT. The difference between 796 and the post-race 3 WIP is 16 points. 25% of the difference is used to modify WIP to become 784.
- After race 4 the HKPN is updated to match the WIP and the next race uses the new HKPN of 784.
- For race 5, results will now use the newly published HKPN of 784 (which is now equal to WIP). If for race 5, the rating that a boat would need to match the ACT is 776, then 12% of the difference between this and the WIP of 784 is used to modify the WIP to 783.
- Step 7 continues for all future races with the HKPN updated to match the WIP at least every 2 weeks.
Ideally the HKPN Programme is left to its own devices for the first four races without any intervention. It can be seen above that for her first four races, our example sailed to a rating of 800, 770, 770, 796. If she had sailed to a rating of 800,790,795, 796 then it is possible that her HKPN would have been lifted after a couple of races to more closely match her performance on the water rather than let her suffer a slightly punitive handicap for longer than need be.