Laying the windward mark

I think a lot of the criticism of club race officers is born of the fact that its a damn sight easier to set a decent course on the sea with steady winds.

Lets face it, if you can't set a half decent course in Portland Harbour at Weymouth when there's a reasonably steady breeze then you probably should consider manning the galley rather than the committee boat next time.

On the other hand if you're setting a course on the gravel pit at Much-Tickling-in-the-Marsh SC then you've got to consider:
the wind shadow from the trees up near marks 4 and 5 in an Easterly, but 3 and 4 in a N Easterly,
the persistent backing of the wind in the top rightcorner if its westerly, or veering if its gone round to the North,
the shifting wind coming round Top hill, which means that a beat on the left hand side of the lake is about 10 degrees backed compared the the right hand side if the wind is between 300 and 360 degrees, but the reverse between 250 and 300...
the shallow patch near the west end of the dinghy park where you mustn't set an upwind leg, but is OK to send people through on a run unless you've got the asymmettric class in the race...

and when you've struggled with all that and a 45 degree windshift 5 minutes after the start some little **** comes up after the race and tells you what a crap course you set, and how much better the race management is at Weymouth...


Edited by JimC

Hi,

Given that on our inland water there always a slight variability in wind direction, I prefer the line to have a slight port bias - this gives a little more thought to the starting process.

Colin

Thanks guys, Good stuff and I'm making notes.  

So how many clubs race courses have runs that are that accurate? ....and of course some course shapes seem to be dictated  by what boat the OOD sails.

Think I'll get some cotton "wands" made up and stick them in the ribs.

Edit...Gordon and Jim, what you say makes good sense.....but what lengths would you personaly  go to in a club race to achieve the "W" upwind and a square run down wind?

 

Edited by GK.LaserII

Eitheryou're attached to the sea bed, in which case you are measuring the true wind, or you're not in which case you are measuring what I have heard described as the "sailor's wind".

Line should be square to sailor's wind, beat should be set downtide (looking up the beat) of the sailor's wind and run downtide (looking down the run) of sailor's wind. The ideal course in a cross current is thus a W walking the course downtide.

For most racing getting the run more or less right will give the best racing (especially in the "downhill skiing" classes). 

Gordon

No- that would be well out of line I reckon.