Race Comittee

[HERSH]

Well, had my annual task of being on Race Committee. Luckily I was not the chairman this year.

Fluky wind and strong incoming current. ( Hudson River). Being the Chairman under these conditions is a loose -loose situation. No matter what you chose ( cancel or run a race) you will be wrong.

Well Phil, ( an IBM V.P) was the chairman so I let him make all the choices. ( And let him take all the complaints that are sure to arise this week as people second guess what the Race Committee should have done. What course and whether to even run the race. He agrees, being a V.P at IBM is easier then being RC on a windless day After postponing, while waiting for the wind to pick up, we got the various fleets started.. Of all the fleets only 1 boat finished, a J-34. Was out in the RC boat from about 12:45 PM till 5:30 PM ( normally in around 3:15 PM). Went through two bottles of water and 1 can of Coors. Most of the boats would struggle to make headway against the current, then drift back when the winds died.

I am not sure if the saying "a bad day sailing is better then a good day at work", should have exceptions. This past Sunday was not fun, for the racers or Race Committee.

Hershey

 

[shnool]

RC gets a bad rap.. no matter what...

Nobody wants to be the bad guy and cancel a race, or postpone, or worse start it and cancel it mid-run. You've effectively wasted everyone's time. HOWEVER, you have to make the call, and stand by it. Too many people have rearranged their busy schedules to not at least be definitive in your decision.

Couple weeks back, our RC delayed a race, then started it, only to call it as the winds were picking up. The fleet rules state that if the first boat isn't around the windward mark by 2.5 hours, the race is called. They called the race and we were IN wind, moving at 5.5 knots... we sailed back anyway and it took us 15 minutes to cross the finish that was still there. We were physically 2nd across the finish. Didn't count.

Oh well. I get it though. The Fleet made the rule so that RC wouldn't have to bake in the sun for 5 hours (like you did) for what should never be more than a 3 hour race.

We've been close 2 other times now... started in 0-4mph winds... but the day seems to pickup winds as we race, and the last half was in 8-10mph... go figure.
From this:

To this:

 

[HERSH]

What do you guys use for a RC boat. Our club purchases old pontoon boats and uses them as our RC
boat. Makes a good platform with bimini tops.

Hershey

 

[shnool]

Yeah I agree that the pontoon boats are really the best choice...
We don't have a "club" boat to do RC... but one owner allows us to borrow one from time to time.

Some owners would rather use their own boats... which is fine with these guys with big boats (27 foot catalinas) and inboards, but for us with outboard pushers, it's kind of silly.

But yeah, mostly larger motorboats. It allows the RC to shorten course if the winds die off. If you have an RC using a sailboat, they aren't always able to motor fast enough to adjust course and get back in time to create the finish line.

 

[Rightbrainer]

Local club here uses two boats: a 20' or so cuddy-type anchored at the start/finish line with all the horns and flags, and a Whaler skiff (named 'Waldo') to set and move the marks. They typically set a mid-gate W/L course and move the marks all the time to adjust for light winds. Obviously, the skipper's main concern is to know where's Waldo. Sometimes they don't set the leeward mark until after the start if the wind is shifting to keep the course aligned. They are usually running three classes simultaneously on the course: J-24, J-22 and Ensign.