Data behind the Melges 15 Europeans
Now that the dust has settled and the blue skies have passed, a data analysis of the inaugural M15 Europeans held on the Hyland Shipping course, as part of VDLR gives some interesting insights about both the boat and the teams sailing. Slicing and dicing the Vakaros Racesense data for the 9 races informs us what metrics are important when it comes to winning races.
Just 5 thousands of a second separated the closest finishers on one super close race finish!
The boat and the teams
29 teams raced every race
9 races were sailed, with 7 different race winners
6 nations competed
4 of the 9 races were won by female skippers
Oldest winning race skipper was 60
Youngest winning race skipper was 19
Oldest team was 129 years young
Youngest team was 39 years old
16 family combinations among the 29 teams
Heaviest team was 175kg (came 8th)
Lightest team was 120kg (came 11th)
Closest finish gap between teams was 5 thousands of a second
Closest distance to the start line without being over was 9cm
Least On Course Side at the start was 6cm (ouch)
Blending old school photography with Race Sense data.. And IRL 564 did not cross the fleet, USA 1017 put paid to that !
The Race Sense Data
So, what data makes the most difference to performance apart from where you actually finish? Using the attached RaceSense data, three metrics were analysed across the 29 teams across the 9 races.
1. Distance to Line
2. Overall Distance Sailed
3. Average Speed
Distance to Line was as the gun went at every race. Averaging this across 9 races allowed a ranking for each team. In some ways a measure of starting, though it did not take account of where on the line you started! The best ranked team was on average 4.36 metres behind the line which is approx. 1 to 3s behind depending on conditions at the event. The worst performer was 12.91 metres back. With respect to the results, DTL was found to have just a 38% correlation with the overall ranking.
GBR 1024 had the best metrics for Distance to Line across the regatta.
Next up was Distance sailed, surely sailing the least Distance means winning? Or does speed matter more? Distance was measured as soon as the gun went and totaled for each team. Quite a variation here with the least total distance being 50.895km versus the max at 55.809km. Unsurprisingly sailing almost 5km more (almost another race) than your competitors has a big impact on overall results. With respect to the results Distance sailed was found to have a 72% correlation with overall ranking.
562 sailed the least cumulative distance at the Regatta, take a bow tactician!
Finally boat speed, does being quick trump everything else? Many sailors are familiar with the idea that boat speed makes a tactician a master. Again, big ranges across the fleet here with average speeds across the regatta varying between 5.31 knots to 4.62knots. With respect to the results Average speed was found to have a 90% correlation with overall ranking.
So if you must choose, pick boat speed as the metric to focus on the most. As for the overall winner, ISV 1015? They were good on all 3 metrics and significantly sailed the third least distance and were the second fastest average speed across the regatta. So, sailing very fast and travelling the least distance unsurprisingly is the recipe for success!
Full RaceSense data is here
Full RaceViewer data is here, Day 1 is the Practice Day. See here