Back in 2006 I did what academics do when they want to see if something is a good idea: they get a student to try it out first!  I offered to undergraduates, as a final year project topic, the problem of finding a simple linear regression model for predicting sailing handicaps.

It was fortuitous that a student stepped forward who was very able and a sailor. He obtained data on 50 boats in the Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) and showed that a simple formula using waterline length, beam and sail area gave a respectable approximation to the CSA performance ratings.

My target was closer approximation, but the project demonstrated the potential.

(The student, by the way, won a national prize for his work.)